New Pritzker, Lightfoot bobbleheads a nod to their handling of coronavirus crisis

One of the world’s largest commemorative bobblehead producers gave a nod to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot this week for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Illinois and Chicago.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum on Friday unveiled bobbleheads featuring Pritzker and Lightfoot.

The museum chose to honor Pritzker and Lightfoot, along with several other governors, for their work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the state, co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said in a statement.

Pritzker has been giving daily updates since March and decided last week to extend the state’s stay-at-home order through May with some modifications, despite pressures to re-open Illinois.

Meanwhile, Lightfoot has been extremely vocal and visible throughout the pandemic. Over the last two months, she’s become a meme for her no-nonsense approach to enforcing the state’s stay-at-home order. She also released an amusing PSA to encourage Chicagoans to stay home.

“During these unprecedented times, we want to continue to raise funds for an amazing cause while putting a smile on people’s faces with bobbleheads,” Sklar said. “We received a lot of requests to make bobbleheads of Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot and others who have been instrumental in the continued fight against COVID-19, so we’re excited to be releasing these bobbleheads today.”

Both bobbleheads can be pre-ordered online for $25 each, plus a shipping charge of $8. The knickknacks are expected to ship in July.

For every bobblehead sold, the museum will donate $5 to the Protect the Heroes fund, which helps healthcare workers fighting the coronavirus. Skylar said the museum, which is located in Milwaukee, has already raised more than $185,000 for the fund through bobbleheads sales of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx and other governors, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

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