Pritzker Civic Involvement

Political Activities

From his early days as a legislative staff member on Capitol Hill and his founding of an organization to attract young voters to the Democratic Party, to his role as delegate at the Democratic National Convention, J. B. Pritzker’s involvement in local and national politics spans more than two decades.

A onetime candidate for U.S. Congress and National co-Chairman of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign, J.B. Pritzker has become a leader in Democratic Party circles. He supported President Obama in the 2008 general election and played a role in bringing the Clinton and Obama campaign leadership together in Illinois.

Pritzker served as chairman of the Illinois Human Rights Commission where he reformed the state’s chief civil rights agency adjudicating housing and employment discrimination.

In 1992, Pritzker founded Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century, a national organization dedicated to attracting voters under the age of 40 to the Democratic Party. In 1994, Campaigns and Elections' Politics magazine named Pritzker one of the “Rising Stars” of the Democratic Party. He also served on the legislative staffs of U.S. Senator Terry Sanford (D-NC), U.S. Senator Alan Dixon (D-IL) and U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), for whom he worked on issues related to international trade, election reform and handgun control.

Organization Affiliations

J.B. Pritzker is a Trustee and serves on the investment committee of Northwestern University and is a member of the Board of Governors of Northwestern University School of Law. Additionally, he is a board member of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, a trustee of the Field Museum of Natural History and a member of the Economic Club and the Commercial Club of Chicago.

An attorney and Northwestern University School of Law graduate, J.B. Pritzker is a member of the Illinois Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.