Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Chris Welch raise their glasses while visiting London. | Facebook.com
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Chris Welch raise their glasses while visiting London. | Facebook.com
It was Sunday Funday in London for Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and the state's top two Democrat legislative leaders.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Westchester) and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) both posted a photo of the duo and Pritzker having a mask-less toast in an English pub, congratulating themselves on a week pitching Illinois as a "green energy" hub world leaders at a United Nations summit on the topic.
"Cheers to a great trip to London promoting Illinois as a climate leader and one of the best places in the US to bring electric vehicle manufacturing," Harmon posted on Facebook.
On Sunday, Pritzker participated in a conference at Strathclyde University where leaders of "sub-national governments" like Illinois discussed initiatives to ban coal and natural gas and replace it with wind and solar energy.
Along with other state and city leaders from around the world, Pritzker discussed signing on to a "memorandum of understanding" to "halt" development of land that would encroach on the habitats of wildlife in Illinois by 2030. He also agreed to crack down on livestock methane gas emissions, cutting them in Illinois by 30 percent.
The trip was Pritzker's first international one as governor. He and an entourage, including Welch and Harmon, arrived in London on Wed. Nov. 3 by private jet, according to published reports, also scheduling meetings in Glasgow. Joining Pritzker were close aides, including his chief of Staff Anne Capara and deputy governors Christian Mitchell and Andy Manar.
Last Thursday, Pritzker, Harmon and Welch visited the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business' London campus.
Pritkzer was one of six governors who attended the summit, all Democrats. The others were Kate Brown of Oregon, Jay Inslee of Washington, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, David Ige of Hawaii and John Bel Edwards of Louisiana.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California planned to attend but canceled his plans. He received a booster COVID-19 vaccine jab on Oct. 26.
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