Illinois Governor Condemns Trump’s Defiance of Courts: “Where Does It Stop?”

News
Alex Jane
February 26, 2025
10 minutes read

(Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) delivered a striking state-of-the-state address this week, calling on Americans to “wake up” as he warned of the dangers of democratic erosion under President Donald Trump’s administration. His speech, widely seen as a forceful stand against the president, was met with praise from Democratic supporters and pushback from conservatives.

Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday, Pritzker made an ominous comparison to Germany in the 1930s, noting how quickly a constitutional government can unravel when democratic institutions are ignored. “We’re talking about the death of a constitutional republic,” Pritzker said.

“That’s what happened in Germany in 1933, 1934. And we’re seeing today that you’ve got an administration in Washington that’s ignoring court orders. Literally ignoring when a judge says, you can’t do this. They’re going ahead and doing it anyway. The question is, where does that stop?”

Tapper acknowledged the comparison as “evocative” but questioned whether it might be too controversial. Pritzker stood firm, insisting that judicial rulings must be respected. He warned that the courts, while an essential check on power, lack the ability to enforce their own decisions if the executive branch chooses to ignore them.

Left: U.S. President Donald Trump pauses as he talks to journalists who are members of the White house travel pool on board Air Force One during his flight to Palm Beach, Florida while over South Carolina, U.S., February 3, 2017. Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters

The debate over executive power and judicial authority has been ongoing, with Vice President J.D. Vance defending the administration’s approach. “If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal,” Vance previously stated. “If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”

If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal.

If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that's also illegal.

Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 9, 2025

Vance has long supported a sweeping overhaul of the government. In a 2021 podcast, he suggested that Trump should fire all mid-level bureaucrats and replace them with loyalists. “When the courts stop you, stand before the country like Andrew Jackson did and say, ‘The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it,’” Vance said at the time.

Pritzker strongly rebuked such rhetoric, emphasizing that presidents are obligated to follow the law. “So, this is just one piece of a very long story that’s developed over the last six weeks of the ignorance of constitutional norms and indeed, disobeying the Constitution,” he said. He specifically pointed to Trump’s push to eliminate birthright citizenship, despite its explicit protection in the 14th Amendment.

“It’s in the Constitution, for goodness’ sake,” Pritzker said. “So I really think people need to wake up to what’s happening in Washington.” Pritzker concluded by acknowledging historical parallels, saying that while he is not claiming the U.S. is headed for a repeat of history, “I know what happened in the early ’30s with the death of the German democracy, and that could happen in the United States.”

His remarks are expected to fuel further debate over the state of democracy as the nation heads into a contentious election year.