Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) revealed Monday that he has lost 80 pounds using a GLP-1 weight-loss drug, disclosing in the same CBS News interview that the state pays for the same class of medication for 55,000 state employees.
Pritzker argued the state-funded coverage will pay for itself over time by reducing the number of Illinoisans who develop diabetes.
He also said he intends to use his position as governor to promote the drug to the public.
“I have an opportunity, just with the platform I have as governor, to tell people that this is something that can work for them,” Pritzker said. “I think they should do it with a doctor’s advice. But I can tell you, at least for me, it has been really life-changing.”
The expanded coverage traces back to July 2024, when Pritzker’s administration broadened the state health plan beyond diabetes treatment to include weight loss. That decision cost Illinois $147 million in fiscal year 2025, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Pritzker’s office had originally projected the expansion would cost $210 million in its first full year, though some economists estimated the true cost could run three times that, given individual prescriptions that can exceed $16,000 annually.
Pritzker had avoided answering questions about his own weight loss for roughly a year, according to NBC Chicago, before addressing it directly in Monday’s interview. He said he takes the drug by weekly injection, walks nearly four miles along Lake Michigan most mornings, and has stopped taking insulin.
“All of a sudden, on the third day, I was like, you know, actually, I don’t need to eat that thing,” Pritzker said, describing how his food cravings disappeared.
The governor tied his decision to his family’s medical history. His father, Donald, died of a heart attack at age 39 while playing tennis, and Pritzker said he has struggled with his weight since he was seven or eight years old.
Pritzker is running for a third term as governor this fall and has been mentioned as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate. Asked whether a future presidential campaign influenced his decision to lose weight, he declined to answer directly, instead pointing to his reelection campaign.
“I honestly am focused on what’s best for the people of Illinois,” Pritzker said when pressed on 2028.
During the 2024 presidential race, President Donald Trump had said Pritzker “wants to eat all the time.”
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