Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday dismissed questions about a complication from a urology procedure last week, declining to provide any significant details beyond what his office had already disclosed.
“Literally, I’ve given you the information. I had a urological procedure, and there’s — I would tell you and release any information if it was life-threatening or anything that would interfere with my ability to do my job,” Pritzker said when asked whether he planned to have his doctors make any statement about his health.
The governor, who has rarely addressed his health publicly, underwent a “routine out-patient urology procedure” on May 1, according to his office. Neither he nor his staff has disclosed what the procedure was for.
Pritzker, who said his doctor is based in Chicago, said he “started to feel something that I thought might be related to the procedure” around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. on Wednesday when he was in Springfield.
He went to the emergency room at Springfield Memorial Hospital, where doctors and nurses “patched me up and sent me home and said, ‘This is not serious,’” Pritzker said Monday.
He reiterated that he continued to work from home and described himself as a “61-year-old, healthy man who has never had any life-threatening illnesses.”
Pritzker’s spokesperson, Matt Hill, previously said the governor had a full day of work the day after the complication.
The governor’s press conference on Monday was one of two appearances before members of the media so far this month.
On Wednesday — hours before Pritzker sought treatment at the Springfield hospital — he and other state and Chicago Democratic leaders greeted party leaders who visited Chicago as part of the process to decide what city will host the 2028 Democratic National Convention.
In response to a question at the DNC event about whether he could share any additional information about his health or any ongoing concerns, Pritzker said, “Nope, you guys got plenty of information, I think.”
Pritzker will face Republican Darren Bailey in November as the billionaire governor hopes to sail to a third term, amid speculation that he may run for president in 2028.
Should he run for higher office, scrutiny on Pritzker’s health — or that of any other competitive candidate — would likely only multiply. Former President Joe Biden, an octogenarian while in office, ultimately dropped his 2024 reelection bid amid a chorus of concerns about his age and fitness for office. President Donald Trump, who turns 80 in less than a month, has also faced health questions.
