First lady of Illinois Mary Kathryn (MK) Muenster Pritzker delivered an informative presentation on the history of the Illinois governor’s mansion and its recent upgrades to a full room of residents at the Mather on Friday.
In 2023, Pritzker published a book entitled A House That Made History: The Illinois Governors Mansion, Legacy of an Architectural Treasure, from which she drew much of the content and photos for her presentation.
MK Pritzker signs the book of Mather resident Marie Harris following her talk on the text. Credit: Alice St. Clair, Marketing Director at the MatherTogether, she and renowned interior designer Michael S. Smith worked to redecorate the mansion to make it a space hospitable for working. Smith, known for his previous work decorating the White House during the Obama administration, wrote the introduction for the book.
“She has created a book that checks all the boxes,” said preservationist and Evanstonian Susan Benjamin, who introduced the state’s first lady to the crowd. “It is academically researched, and at the same time, it is a fun read.”
Benjamin also told residents that all sales from the book would go toward preservation of the house.
MK Pritzker’s upgrades
Just before JB Pritzker was elected in 2018, former first lady of Illinois Diana Mendley Rauner completed a series of renovations on the mansion. This included a new roof, updated HVAC, windows and more.
MK Pritzker described the house as a “well baked cake in need of frosting,” when her husband took office and the two arrived at the house. She set her sights on creating
“an interior that JB could do his job in and do the work of the people of Illinois.”
This included updating the furniture and decor in many of the rooms to be more cohesive and functional, while still maintaining the style of the house and incorporating elements of Illinois.
Pritzker showed attendees before and afters for several bedrooms, dining rooms and other rooms. These photos were met with oohs and ahs from the crowd, who listened as she explained her design choices and the differences she and Smith created in the mansion.
A particularly Illinois upgrade came to the house’s Governor’s dining room, a slightly smaller dining room than the house’s State dining room.
The Governor’s dining room features historically accurate depictions of Illinois countryside that someone standing in Springfield might see as they looked out from that very spot hundreds of years ago.
“When you’re standing in the room, depending which direction you’re looking at, that’s what Illinois looked like in that direction back in the day,” Priztker told the crowd.
This wallpaper is just one of the dozens of interesting upgrades the state’s first lady outlined in her book, and in her presentation to Mather residents.
History of the mansion
Pritzker also gave a look back at the previous residents of the house — and its multiple renovations — since it was built in 1855.
She highlighted a few favorite residents for patrons of the talk, including her own favorite, former first lady Cora Tanner. Her husband John Riley Tanner took the governor’s seat in Illinois in the late 1800s.
“She caught quite [a bit of] attention because she spoke out against lynching in the south, and she wrote a letter that was published from coast to coast. It caused quite a stir,” Pritzker said. “If you imagine, at the time, women couldn’t even vote, and here was this first lady taking such political stances.”
The first remodel to the house also took place during the Tanner administration. This first remodel saw a newly painted slate gray colored house, a change from a front single staircase to a double staircase, and an inside switch from a spiral staircase to a more rectangular one set against the wall, among other things.
The second renovation of the house happened during Gov. Frank Orren Lowden’s administration from 1917-1921. This renovation brought a more natural, prairie style landscaping to the house, created by landscape architect OC Simmons. Simmons is also known for his work on Graceland Cemetery and the Morton Arboretum.
The final renovation — before that of the Rauners’ — took place in the 1970s under Gov. Richard Ogilvie’s administration. This restoration brought back the original spiral style staircase, added a ballroom to the back of the house with private apartments on top and stripped the building back to its original brick.
Pritzkers at the mansion
Mather residents asked a few questions about how often the Pritzkers stay at the mansion.
Pritzker responded that the two split time between their Chicago home and the Springfield residence.
“When JB is in Springfield,” she said, “It is a party. There’s an event every night, a lunch, a dinner, hotel party, a breakfast. He really uses the house.”
Another resident asked if the pair’s children spend much time at the Springfield house.
“I think they might be allergic,” Pritzker said. “I think they don’t think we’re cool!”
She was met with plenty of sympathetic chuckles from attendees.
MK Pritzker shares history of governor’s mansion with residents at the Mather is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston’s most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.
