M.A. Rothman@MichaelARothman
𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐒 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐙𝐊𝐄𝐑: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐒
I’m generally annoyed by people in the public eye who I find to be hypocritical about who they are, what they believe, and their documented past and behaviors — so like the Newsom post I made yesterday, I decided to pick a couple new targets. Let’s start with good ole J.B. Pritzker. He likes to see himself in the spotlight, so let’s up the wattage on that and take a look at what’s there.
Pritzker is a $𝟑.𝟗 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 Hyatt hotel heir who wants you to believe he turned Illinois around. Before he launches his next political vanity project, every American deserves to see what he actually did to the fifth-largest state in the union.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞
Before he was governor, Pritzker bought a $𝟑.𝟕 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 next door to his Gold Coast home in Chicago. In 2015, he had 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 so the Cook County assessor would classify it as “uninhabitable” — dropping the assessed value from $𝟔.𝟑 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 $𝟏.𝟏 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 (Cook County Inspector General). The inspector general called it a “𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘥” taxpayers. Total savings from the scheme: $𝟑𝟑𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 in property tax refunds and reductions (Fox 32 Chicago). He repaid it. Federal investigators later opened a criminal probe into the tax appeals (Illinois Policy Institute). No charges were filed — but the man who would go on to lecture Illinoisans about paying their “fair share” literally removed toilets from a mansion to dodge his own property taxes.
𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬
Since 2000, Illinois has lost a net 𝟏.𝟔 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 to domestic outmigration (IRS). Under Pritzker alone, the bleeding accelerated. IRS data for 2022 shows 𝟖𝟕,𝟑𝟏𝟏 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 in a single year, taking $𝟗.𝟗 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 with them (IRS Migration Data). The income gap between those leaving and those arriving grew from $5,519 per person in 2010 to $𝟑𝟕,𝟗𝟐𝟐 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 in 2022 — meaning Illinois is hemorrhaging its highest earners. In 2024, 𝟗𝟓% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 fled to states with lower tax burdens (Wirepoints). Illinois already lost one congressional seat after the 2020 Census — it is on track to lose another in 2030 (Illinois Policy Institute).
𝐓𝐡𝐞 $𝟏𝟒𝟓 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫
Illinois has $𝟏𝟒𝟓.𝟓 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 in unfunded pension liabilities — 𝟔𝟐% 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 than California, the second-worst state (Equable Institute). Its pension systems are funded at just 𝟓𝟎.𝟖% — the lowest funding ratio in America. Unfunded liabilities as a share of GDP stand at 𝟐𝟏% — by far the worst figure in the nation (Americans for Prosperity). The median Illinois household already pays $𝟏𝟑,𝟎𝟗𝟗 in state and local taxes per year — $𝟒,𝟒𝟕𝟐 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 than the national average (Tax Foundation). And Pritzker’s pension “reform”? He’s sticking to a plan that won’t fully fund the systems until 𝟐𝟎𝟒𝟓 (Capitol News Illinois). That’s not a fix. That’s a 20-year prayer.
$𝟐.𝟓 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 — 𝟑𝐱 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬
An estimated 𝟓𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 arrived in Chicago from the southern border. By the end of 2025, Illinois will have spent over $𝟐.𝟓 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 on their care — roughly $𝟒𝟗,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 (Illinois Policy Institute, Fox 32 Chicago). Over $1.6 billion went to migrant healthcare alone through July 2024 — “𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥” (Illinois Comptroller). For context, that $2.5 billion is roughly 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 what Illinois spends on veterans’ services (IL House Republicans). The state is spending three dollars on someone who crossed the border illegally for every one dollar it spends on someone who served the country.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐝
Boeing. Caterpillar. Citadel. Tyson. Guggenheim Partners. TTX. All gone. Boeing moved to Virginia. Caterpillar — headquartered in Illinois for nearly 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 — moved 230 jobs to Texas. Citadel CEO Ken Griffin took his $36 billion hedge fund to Miami, citing crime and a hostile business environment. Since 1994, Illinois has lost 𝟐,𝟔𝟏𝟔 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 to other states, with the rate 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 (Illinois Policy Institute). The Tax Foundation found Illinois’ business climate dropped 𝟏𝟎 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬 in five years — the only Midwestern state to decline — after Pritzker imposed $𝟔𝟓𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐬 during a pandemic recovery. When asked about Ken Griffin leaving, Pritzker’s response was essentially “𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸” to Florida (Free Beacon). That’s the governor of the fifth-largest state celebrating the departure of his wealthiest taxpayer.
𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝
From 2013 to 2024, Illinois increased K-12 education spending by $𝟏𝟎 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 — 𝐚 𝟒𝟒% 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 — while enrollment 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟎% (Illinois Policy Institute). Chicago Public Schools saw instructional spending per student jump 𝟒𝟖% in four years — from $10,314 to $15,274 (CPS Data). The result? Roughly 𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 of Illinois fourth and eighth graders score at or above proficiency in reading and math on the NAEP — a rate that “𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 20 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴” (NPR Illinois). Both reading and math scores were 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃. They spent billions more. They got the same results. In some cases, worse.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 $𝟓𝟖 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐱
In 2020, Pritzker spent $𝟓𝟖 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 pushing a graduated income tax amendment he called the “Fair Tax” (NPR Illinois). Illinois voters rejected it — it got just 𝟒𝟓% of the vote, far short of the 60% supermajority needed to amend the constitution (WTTW). A $3.9 billion man spent $58 million trying to raise taxes on everyone else. The voters said no. His response? He warned of “𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘴” — as if the state’s fiscal ruin was the voters’ fault for rejecting his plan.
𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐇𝐲𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐲
While Pritzker imposed a statewide stay-at-home order on 12.7 million Illinoisans, his wife and daughter were in 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚. When they returned, they went to the family’s 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧 (Pantagraph, NBC Chicago). His defense? Taking care of horses is “𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯” (CBS Chicago). Meanwhile, small business owners were being fined for opening their doors. Restaurants were shuttered. Churches were locked. But the billionaire governor’s family was in Florida, then tending to their horses across state lines. Rules for thee.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄-𝐓 𝐀𝐜𝐭: 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥
Pritzker signed the SAFE-T Act, making Illinois the 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 to abolish cash bail entirely (ABC7 Chicago). In November 2023, a suspect with 𝟕𝟐 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 who was out on electronic monitoring was caught on video 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 on a CTA train (ABC7 Chicago). Law enforcement across the state warned the law would put dangerous criminals back on the street. Pritzker dismissed the criticism.
𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚
Despite 10 credit upgrades under Pritzker, Illinois 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 of any state in the nation (Yahoo Finance). Its Moody’s rating of A2 sits 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬. Over the prior 15 years, the state received 𝟐𝟒 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 (Illinois Policy Institute). During the Rauner-era budget impasse, both Moody’s and S&P dropped Illinois to one notch above junk — the 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞. Pritzker inherited a dumpster fire and brought it up to a controlled burn. It’s still on fire.
This is J.B. Pritzker’s Illinois. The toilets were removed. The businesses left. The taxpayers fled and took $9.9 billion in one year. The pension debt is $145 billion and climbing. The migrants cost $2.5 billion — three times what they spend on veterans. The schools spent $10 billion more and got the same failing scores. He blew $58 million of his own money on a tax hike voters rejected, then blamed the voters. His family went to Florida while yours couldn’t go to work.
And through it all — every dollar lost, every business gone, every resident who packed up — he still has the lowest credit rating in America.
𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬. 𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬’ 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟗 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.
