Pritzker, others talk about disagreeing ... better

McCORMICK PLACE (WBBM Newsradio) -- Illinois' Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker shared the stage at a political conference in Chicago with a Republican counterpart ... to talk about how to disagree better.

The governor says he and Oklahoma's Kevin Stitt met right after both men were elected, and admit they disagree on about 70-percent of issues politically.

"We got to know each other personally, our wives know each other and I think we have mutual respect for one another," Gov. Pritzker told the audience during a Monday morning session at the National Conference of State Legislatures' annual summit at McCormick Place in Chicago's South Loop.

Gov. Stitt said that their first meeting in a hotel lobby at the beginning of what he described as "baby governors' school" has forged a strong bipartisan connection: "It's cool over the years, us calling each other sharing ideas ... 'what are you doinh on COVID, what are you doing on this' ... and that's what I think Americans want to see more."

Gov. Pritzker also praised Stitt, who as head of the National Governors Association pushed back against President Trump over the winter, after the President tried to block Democratic governors from a meeting at the White House: "It was not easy politically but you and I talked afterward and I really thanked him."

The governor told the audience that putting the rancor of a campaign in the rear-view mirror is important once a politician is elected.

"Guess what? You represent everybody," said the billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, who is running for a third term against Republican and former state Sen. Darren Bailey. "It's not about scoring political points, it's about delivering for everyone in the state, even if they didn't vote for you."

Stitt made a similar point: "When you boil it down, we're all Americans and we need to be reminded of that. Let's move our states forward."

The conference runs through Wednesday.