Gov. JB Pritzker selects former deputy governor Christian Mitchell as running mate
In a short video put out by Pritzker's campaign, Mitchell reflected on his influences on why he got into politics, including his mother, who he said was a nurse for 38 years at Rush University Medical Center, and his grandfather 'who stepped in and filled the void for me' and was a U.S. Army sergeant and a union steelworker.
'They both taught me what it was like to care about your family and work really hard, how you continue to move forward in difficult times,' Mitchell said. 'That's why I wanted to go into public service, because as difficult as life can be, I believe it can be a little bit easier if you've got leaders in government who care about working families, making life more affordable, making healthcare more accessible.'
An Illinois lawmaker who represented parts of Chicago's South Side from 2013 to 2019, Mitchell, who is Black, served as a deputy governor in the Pritzker administration from 2019 to 2023 where he was a lead strategist on energy issues, including the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. The landmark legislation called for the state to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy over the next 25 years.
Since 2023, he's worked at the University of Chicago, overseeing government relations and other offices, and he was appointed by Pritzker last year to the board of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns McCormick Place and Navy Pier. During the 2018 election cycle, Mitchell also served as the executive director of the Illinois Democratic Party, becoming the first African-American to hold the position.
'As a state representative, as the deputy governor of this state, Christian Mitchell has gotten so much done for people,' Pritzker said in the video. 'And I know when we've got to take on (Republican President) Donald Trump and overcome the challenges he's bringing to our state, that Christian Mitchell is up for that fight.'
Lieutenant governors in Illinois are constitutional officers with few constitutionally ordained duties, the most important of which is to take over for a governor who is incapacitated, deceased, quits or is removed from office.
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