Have We Been Misspelling J.B. Pritzker’s Name?

There is a mystery at the heart of Illinois government. Statehouse reporters have been in private discussions about it for weeks. After internal deliberations here at public radio, we thought it was finally time to go public.

The question has repercussions throughout state government. It has a role in every piece of legislation that will be signed into law in the coming years. Ultimately, it flows from the highest level of power in the land: the office of governor.

What we’re really talking about here is a relatively small matter. And I mean literally small — like a poppyseed. I'm talking about periods — the punctuation marks you would expect to come after initials. Major media organizations have been using those periods on the name of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. But that's not how the governor has been spelling it — at least not lately — though his name has appeared with periods in the past, as when he ran for Congress in 1998.

Look, Illinois has big problems, from budget deficits to struggling human service agencies. But if reporters don’t get little details right, we know you’re going to wonder whether we’re getting the big stuff right, too.

So when it comes to the question of how to accurately write Pritzker’s name, I knew I had to go to the source. Gov. Pritzker spoke with me Wednesday in his private office in the east wing of the Capitol:

Mackey: “Typically the way we begin an interview with someone — not usually necessary in your case — but we say: ‘Can you say and spell your name and what you do?’”

Pritzker: (laughs) “JB Pritzker. I’m governor of the state of Illinois.”

Pritzker: “Well let’s just start with the fact that when I sign my name — you’re getting into all kinds of complexity that I don’t think much about — but when I sign my name on documents, for many years, I mostly don’t stop to put a period, as you’re scribbling your name in your signature form, you don’t stop between letters, you’re just signing. By virtue of you asking this question, I’ve really had to rack my brain if I’ve ever even thought about the initials — the periods themselves — between them. I can only tell you that it doesn’t matter much to me.”

The punctuation may not matter much to the governor. But like I said earlier, details do matter to reporters.

Mackey: “I guess I don’t feel like I have a definitive answer though about whether to use periods in your name or not.”

Pritzker: “This will be one of the great mysteries of Illinois politics for hopefully many years.”

We could end the story there. But on matters of style, we need a decision.

Many of us rely on the Associated Press to settle these questions, so I emailed the corporate office in New York. Never heard back. Spokeswoman Lauren Easton wrote back after broadcast: “AP is considering how to handle the styling of the governor’s initials but hasn’t yet resolved it.” But the AP Stylebook says when someone uses initials instead of a first name, periods should be used:

AP style tip: Use periods and no space when an individual uses initials instead of a first name: H.L. Mencken. pic.twitter.com/fl38tIpkaR

— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) April 15, 2015

The AP also has a history of adding a period to a name despite the bearer’s inconsistency on the matter: Harry S. Truman. (The AP is not alone on that — even Truman’s presidential library uses a period.)

Our style: Harry S. Truman. He once said there was no need for the period because the S did not stand for a name. Asked in the early 1960s about his preference, he replied, "It makes no difference to me." AP style has called for the period since then.

— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) August 13, 2018

So at least here at public radio, a governor named for men called Jay and Bob will remain J.B. Pritzker.

The Q&A portions of this story have been edited and condensed.