FBI wiretaps from 2008 captured current Illinois Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker making controversial race-related remarks during a call with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
At the time, Pritzker was advising Blagojevich on who should fill the U.S. Senate seat that was left vacated when Barack Obama was elected president, and he suggested Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White because it “covers you on the African-American thing,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
Pritzker also suggested White for the seat because he would be the most “qualified” African-American candidate.
“Of all the African-Americans that I can think that are sort of like qualified … and people will say, ‘Oh, that’s, you know that’s, that’s a pretty good pick,’ the one that’s least offensive and maybe gets you the most because it gets you that secretary of state appointment is Jesse White.”
The governor hopeful also suggested White over Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr. and others because he had a “lot in common with Obama” like the fact that “he’s black and white.”
The billionaire businessman, who is considered the favorite in the March 2018 primary, apologized on Tuesday for his 2008 comments.
“I regret the conversations in many ways, the words that I used, and the things that I didn’t say on that call that I would have preferred to have said … I can do better, and I have,” Pritzker said during a news conference alongside African-American supporters. “I clearly made a mistake that day, and I clearly wasn’t my best self.”
Former Democratic Gov. Blagojevich is currently serving time in prison for convictions including trying to sell an appointment to Obama’s vacated Senate seat for campaign money.
