‘Tariffs are on, tariffs are off’: Pritzker dives into trade, transit and why suburbs went blue

Gov. JB Pritzker talked about tariffs, trade and the transit funding crisis while visiting Lombard Monday but didn’t reveal if he’ll testify before Congress on state immigration policies.

“I’ve been hearing from residents all across our state who are just plain mad,” Pritzker said during an event at a union hall and organized by state and DuPage Democrats to tout victories in the April 1 election.

“Voters are very upset about what’s going on in Washington and they want change and they want a party that’s actually for working families not a party that pretended to be, and now is now raising prices on virtually everything that people buy at the grocery store or when they go buy a car.”

Pritzker chided Republican President Donald Trump for levying tariffs and then reversing course on some.

“Tariffs are on, tariffs are off, tariffs are on, tariffs are off,” Pritzker said. “Do you think that creates an environment in which anybody feels comfortable that when they go to the store they know what the prices are going to be?”

The White House has said that “President Trump refuses to let the United States be taken advantage of and believes that tariffs are necessary to ensure fair trade, protect American workers, and reduce the trade deficit — this is an emergency.”

Pritzker was asked last week by the U.S. House Oversight Committee to testify in May about sanctuary state policies.

When asked if he’s decided whether to appear before the committee, Pritzker said “no,” adding “that’s something that probably doesn’t need to be decided for a couple of weeks.”

The governor also addressed a funding gap of $770 million coming in 2026 for Metra, Pace and the CTA. Along with the revenue crisis, the General Assembly is grappling with whether to give the Regional Transportation more authority over transit or to merge all four into a mega-agency.

“The reforms need to come first, there’s no doubt about that, but you also need funding, and we also need to remember that the funding isn’t entirely going to come from Springfield,” Pritzker said. “The funding has to come from the counties that are participating in those transit systems, the city of Chicago, and yes, the state will participate too.”

He noted, “there are counties that don’t get any benefit from RTA, from CTA, from Pace (or Metra), who nevertheless need support for their transit systems all across the state of Illinois. So, whatever we do needs to be somewhat comprehensive,” Pritzker said.

Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez and DuPage County Board Chair Deb Conroy hailed election victories by candidates including Addison Township Supervisor-elect Bobby Hernandez and Aurora Mayor-elect John Laesch.

“DuPage County is solidly blue,” Conroy said.

Hernandez talked about being the first Latino to lead a Republican bastion.

“We’ve been here chipping away cycle after cycle to elect Democrats up and down the ballot,” he said.

Laesch defeated incumbent Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, a Republican who challenged Pritzker in the 2022 gubernatorial election.

“It is unfortunate local elections have become partisan,” Irvin said at a separate event Monday.

“There is no partisan way to provide police and fire services, or fix your roads and bridges.”