FILE – In this Feb. 25, 2016, file photo, then, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker listens during an economic meeting in Mexico City. Pritzker’s brother, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, announced Thursday, March 26, 2020 that his sister will head up the COVID-19 Response Fund to raise funds for nonprofit organizations hurting because of the virus. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois governor has turned to a former member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet to raise money for those hurt by the coronavirus outbreak.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker says his sister, Penny Pritzker, is leading the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund to assist nonprofit agencies battered by the pandemic.
A Commerce secretary under Obama, Penny Pritzker took charge last week. She praised a bevy of cooperating businesses and organizations for $23 million already collected.
J.B. Pritzker and his wife, M.K., have donated $4 million personally and through their family foundation.
