Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has a lot riding on the Democratic National Convention

The NPR Network will be reporting live from Chicago throughout the week bringing you the latest on the Democratic National Convention.

In his second term as governor, Democrat JB Pritzker is a rising figure in the party who gets his chance to speak at the convention tonight and highlight his state all week.

Pritzker led the effort to convince the party to hold its convention in Chicago and will have the state’s reputation — and his own — riding on how it comes off, whether it’s overshadowed by protests and if it helps give Vice President Kamala Harris a boost.

“It’s Pritzker’s convention,” says Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield. “He clearly viewed this as, you know, this is an opportunity for me to go national, to get recognition, to show that I can deliver.”

Pritzker was among governors who Vice President Kamala Harris considered for her running mate.

Here are some things to know about him:

Pritzker, 59, is an heir to the Hyatt hotels fortune with personal wealth totaling about $3.5 billion, according to Forbes. One of his uncles bought a motel in 1957 near the Los Angeles airport that would become the first of the Hyatt chain and capitalize on the growth of U.S. air travel.

More from Chicago Public Media's live coverage of the DNC

After losing his first attempt at public office in a primary run for Congress in 1997, Pritzker used some of his money to pay for his own campaign for governor, winning his first term in 2018. He’s funded campaigns for other Democrats. And he started a political action committee backing abortion rights, Think Big America, which purchased anti-Trump billboards around Milwaukee during this year’s Republican National Convention.

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