Pritzker heads to California to promote Illinois film biz, fundraise for convention and abortion rights

Gov. J.B. Pritzker leaves Sunday for a five-night economic development trip to California to promote Illinois to business and film leaders — and to raise funds for Chicago’s Democratic National Convention and two key abortion initiatives.

Pritzker, along with Illinois film officials and stakeholders, plans to meet with major studios and distributors to discuss business and film industry investment in Illinois and to tout the state’s film industry tax credit, which helped rake in $700 million in film production expenditures in 2022.

He will start his trip in the San Francisco Bay area to tout the state's investments in quantum and manufacturing to business leaders, then head to Los Angeles on Monday. He returns to Chicago on Friday, according to the governor’s office.

Pritzker also plans to fundraise for the convention's Host Committee and for abortion rights ballot initiatives in Arizona and Nevada. The money raised would go directly towards the initiatives, not to Pritzker’s political advocacy group Think Big America, a Pritzker campaign spokeswoman said.

Pritzker in October launched the nonprofit to protect and expand abortion rights throughout the country, and has already contributed to efforts in Virginia, Nevada and Ohio.

The host committee is trying to raise between $80 million to $100 million for the August convention. Spokesman Natalie Edelstein would not disclose a fundraising tally, but said they are “well on their way” to that goal.

In Arizona, abortion rights groups are seeking to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would create a “fundamental right” to receive abortion care until fetal viability. Doctors would still be able to decide whether it’s needed to protect the life of the pregnant individual. And in Nevada, groups have launched an effort to place an amendment on the ballot that would enshrine abortion rights in the state’s Constitution.

Pritzker has deep ties to California. He was born in Palo Alto and frequently speaks of time spent with his late mother, then an activist and finance chair for Democratic senators and the northern California women’s chair for the Democratic Party. That meant Pritzker was frequently in rooms with Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, David Goodstein and Gloria Steinem.

His cousin Gigi Pritzker is co-founder of the film production and financing company Odd Lot Entertainment.

The governor’s office said Pritzker has no plans to meet with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, although his office reached out to let him know the Illinois governor would be visiting the state.

Newsom and Pritzker are widely viewed as potential 2028 presidential contenders, and both are key surrogates for Biden’s reelection campaign. Newsom in 2023 launched a political action committee called the "Campaign for Democracy," which is aimed at helping Democrats and focused on exposing and fighting "rising authoritarianism across the nation" ahead of the November election.