JB Pritzker Loses 80 Pounds

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he has lost about 80 pounds after taking a GLP-1 medication for two years. He said state employee insurance now covers the drugs, arguing wider access could lower costs by reducing diabetes and obesity-related illness.

Pritzker said he began after a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis and was told he would likely need lifelong treatment. He said his weight struggle began in childhood, partly from family history and “bad genes”; his father died of a heart attack at 39.

He called the results “life-changing” and said he walks about four miles along Lake Michigan nearly every morning. Pritzker did not tie the loss to a 2028 campaign and said he has made no decisions.