J. B. Pritzker Quotes

At the moment I am a little bit politician, yes. I think that could be my next step. It is not because I want power, it is because of what I think I could do for the people.

I used to do some philanthropic work, but with the political platform, I can contribute in a bigger way.

I spent ridiculous amounts of time as an activist and volunteer and was a teacher for 20 years.

I thought if anyone need a leg up, it was our foster children. So, I started getting involved in education reform, and that was back in 1998. And as a result of all the reform work that I had done, people urged me to run for the Minnesota state Senate. I did, I was there for six years.

Obama used to be a community organizer. He knows how to build communities.

I value public service and I'm relatively good at organizing political causes.

I was looking for a new challenge and got an interest in trying to make a difference for families. You become more aware of how important families are. They are the key institution in our culture. The reason I got into politics was to try to make a difference for that key institution, whether it was tax policy, education policy, or whatever.

To me, politics is an extension of what I do in medicine.

My duty is to raise the consciousness of the American people.

For me, the passions and issues I care so much about are ones that lend themselves to work whether you're in government or outside of government.

I think of being the mayor of a big city with so many incredible things happening - but also so many challenges and opportunities - as really being kind of the chief advocate for the people.

I've always been interested in political service and community advocacy.

I was a Senate spouse for many, many years. I kept my own career. I was teaching and Joe was doing politics. I realized when we were elected vice president that I had a platform and I knew I was not going to waste my platform. It was going to focus women and girls' education.

To me I think leadership is activism. It's giving back to your community, it's investing in oneself, and you know women and children.

I don't think there's any one definition, but to do effective political work you have to have vision and practicality, and learn how to persuade people that what you feel needs to be done does need to be done.

After PepsiCo, I do want to go to Washington. I want to give back.

I really don't have tremendous political ambition. I have policy ambition.

I always saw politics as an expansion of my role as a mom.

I came into politics because I wished to change things. You can't do that by lying to people; you have to educate, and persuade, and carry them with you - and it's often a long haul.

I'm not going to lie to you: being Speaker of the State Assembly is the best job I've ever had in my entire career. But you know, I got into politics 'cause I wanted to make a difference, and I was always raised that one person could make a difference.

I'm sure I'll be doing something of social or political worth the rest of my life.

But people that are worried about unborn babies are the same ones that vote against kindergarten programs in Indiana or school lunch funds out of the federal government.

As America knows, Obama turned down the lucrative career path guaranteed to the first African-American president of The Harvard Law Review to pursue the missions of service and teaching instead. The potential rewards for our country, now that that early choice has led him into the White House, are enormous.

Public service is a part of who I am, having grown up in a family of politicians.

I have always told anyone who would listen that I was available for more public service.