SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – Gov. JB Pritzker has lost 80 pounds over the past two years with help from a GLP-1 medication, and many state employees are benefiting from insurance coverage for the same type of weight loss drug.

Illinoisans have seen videos of Pritzker taking morning walks along the Chicago lakefront and outside the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield. However, there is much more to his recent weight loss journey.

The Democrat said he turned to a GLP-1 after he was diagnosed with prediabetes and later Type 2 diabetes.

Illinois has provided state-employee insurance coverage for weight loss medication since July 2024. Many workers like Barb Shelton are seeing a major difference.

“I have lost 105 pounds, and you have given me my life back,” Shelton told Pritzker while hugging on Aug. 13.

Shelton told WAND News she has now lost 115 lbs.

“My mom and daddy lived to be 93 and 94. I want to get there too,” Shelton said. “But Mom and Dad weren’t as heavy as I was. I weighed 293. I’m smaller now than when I was way before I got married and when I was in college.”

The 64-year-old IDOT engineer said she has talked to many of her coworkers about the success she has seen through GLP-1s. State employees 18 and older diagnosed with prediabetes, gestational diabetes, or obesity are eligible for the insurance coverage.

“I pay, I hate to say it, $25 per month for four shots compared to 10 at $1,300 or $1,200,” Shelton said.

Barb said she is so happy Pritzker is now sharing his experience with weight loss medication, and she hopes the governor’s message encourages people to consider this option.

“If you’re at the bottom of your barrel, at your wits’ end, reach out to someone and get there,” Shelton said. “Just like the governor, little at a time.”

State employees can find information about the weight loss benefit on the Department of Central Management Services website.