JB Pritzker

Governor Pritzker Calls on Northam to Step Down After Controversial Photo Emerges

After initially apologizing, Gov. Northram now says he wasn't in the controversial photo

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has called on Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to resign in the aftermath of a racially charged photo that emerged this week.

In a social media post, the governor called on his fellow Democrat to step aside.

“I agree,” Pritzker posted, along with an opinion piece from a Virginia newspaper calling on the governor to step down. “Governor Northam must resign immediately.”

The photo, which surfaced this week, comes from Northam’s medical school yearbook, and features a person in a “blackface” costume and another in Ku Klux Klan robes.

NBC 5 Political Reporters Carol Marin and Mary Ann Ahern take you through the week that was in Illinois politics in today’s Take 5. 

On Saturday, Virginia Democrats said that Northam, who apologized Friday for appearing in the photo, has now reversed course, saying that he isn’t in the controversial photo.

The governor now has no plans to resign, according to the party.

The Virginia Democratic Party continued to call for Northam to leave office.

"We made the decision to let Governor Northam do the correct thing and resign this morning — we have gotten word he will not do so this morning," a statement from the party said.

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