THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All...Pritzker personal income falls by $16 million...but he gets lots of gifts...Attempting to reduce the migrant crisis
October 16, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
We hope you had a great weekend. We took our almost-two-year-old for his first haircut Saturday and I’m happy to report there were no tears (especially from me.)
It was an honor to take part in NPR Illinois’ “State Week” this weekend. You can listen to it here.
The General Assembly returns to Springfield next Tuesday. There is nothing on Governor Pritzker’s public schedule today.
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YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his wife report income dropped by more than $16 million last year (Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his wife saw a substantial drop in their state taxable income last year as the billionaire Democrat successfully sought a second term, partial tax records released Friday show.
The governor and M.K. Pritzker reported nearly $2.3 million in state taxable income in 2022, the lowest total since Pritzker began publicly releasing their tax returns during his winning campaign against multimillionaire Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018. For 2021, the Pritzkers reported $18.5 million in state taxable income, with the majority of that — $11.3 million — coming from capital gains.
The governor paid $209,948 in personal income tax to the federal government last year and $108,982 to the state, the returns show, significant drops from the $4.7 million in federal and $883,789 in state income taxes paid in 2021.
However, trusts benefiting Gov. Pritzker, a Hyatt Hotels heir, paid $42.3 million in federal taxes and $7.2 million in Illinois taxes last year, according to Pritzker’s campaign.
Pritzker does not take a salary as governor.
Since entering public life, Pritzker and his campaign have repeatedly declined to release tax records related to the trusts, so the information cannot be independently verified.
Related: Gov. J.B. Pritzker, first lady report $2.2 million in taxable income (Chicago Sun-Times)
Booze, beads and art among unclaimed gifts lavished upon billionaire Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (Associated Press)
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has so many fans and friends that he receives a $30 gift at the rate of one every three days, but because of his job he accepts none of them, and rarely even sees them.
The second-term Democratic governor and multi-billionaire has been lavished with hundreds of gifts from around the world, ranging from a $950 bottle of Japanese whiskey to 35 cents: a quarter and dime, to be exact.
The state’s 25-year-old Gift Ban Act prohibits public employees such as Pritzker from accepting presents, with broad exceptions. Therefore, the high-priced hooch delivered compliments of the Japanese embassy and three bottles of tequila valued at $450 have remained untapped.
“I don’t get to do that,” Pritzker said at a stop in Springfield. “I will say I like tequila, so that’s why people will have given that to me, but there are a few other spirits that I like as well.”
Pricey bottles of alcohol are not the only gifts that Pritzker eschews. Most are stored in Springfield and Chicago, with a staff member responsible for thank-you notes. Together, they comprise 4 1/2 years of gratuities totaling 561 gifts valued at $16,890.14, according to a log provided to The Associated Press in response to a public records request.
Perishable food is shared with office staff and visitors. The rest will eventually end up in an appropriate charitable home, gubernatorial spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said.
Related: Illinois taxpayers help fund Pritzker administration's global trade missions (State Journal-Register)
Chicago and Illinois call for faster work authorizations to alleviate migrant crisis (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Politicians and business leaders across Illinois begged President Joe Biden to extend temporary protected status for Venezuelan migrants, a move they hoped would kill two birds with one stone by helping new arrivals get to work legally and ameliorate ongoing labor shortages. Now that the president has granted that request, they’re asking the administration to speed up the processing timeline and waive fees for those work authorizations to relieve some of the burden cities like Chicago have assumed in the wake of the migrant crisis.
On Sept. 20, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would extend the work authorizations for 18 months to migrants who arrived in the United States from Venezuela before July 31. The extension would only apply to Venezuelan migrants, who make up the majority of those crossing the border, although immigrants have arrived from other countries in South America and Central America, as well as Africa.
While DHS declared that “hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals across the country will be immediately eligible to apply for work authorization,” it doesn’t mean that employers have already seen immigrants fill up their much-needed vacancies in the hospitality, service and manufacturing industries.
“Trying, for an immigrant, to get several hundred dollars could be difficult to go through the process,” said Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association. “But I can tell you, we've got companies that are chomping at the bit to hire.”
In an Oct. 12 letter to Biden, members of Illinois’ congressional delegation pressed the president for more federal funding to address the influx of asylum-seekers and to streamline the work authorization process for Venezuelans, including a blanket fee exemption for work permit applicants.
Related: Democrats welcome mat for migrants is also fraying party’s base (Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Johnson’s budgeted amount for migrant crisis, $150 million, will only last six months, his floor leader says (Chicago Sun-Times)
A not-so-warm welcome for thousands of migrants now sleeping outside in Chicago (Chicago Tribune)
Joliet Township pulls out of grant for asylum-seekers (Shaw Media)
TOP STORIES LAST WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
Pritzker Downplays Additional State Funding for Migrant Crisis
Man Accused of Throwing Rocks at Pritzker Home Had Been There At Least Three Times
THE ILLINOIZE PODCAST: Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) & Lee Enterprises reporter Brenden Moore
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
AJ Freund murder: DCFS worker guilty for failures before Crystal Lake boy’s death, supervisor cleared (Shaw Media)
Advocates push for guns to be taken from domestic abusers when order of protection served (Capitol News Illinois)
First month of bail reform: Challenges, benefits and a reduced jail population in Cook County (Chicago Tribune)
What do recent Illinois corruption trials have in common? State Rep. Bob Rita as a witness. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Johnson begins playing defense after unveiling $16.6 billion budget (Crain’s Chicago Business)
City watchdog investigating whether as many as 1,000 PPP loans received by Chicago employees were fraudulent (Chicago Tribune)
Illinois a centerpiece in $1 billion hydrogen hub project (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Illinois has more teachers with greater diversity, but shortages remain (Associated Press)
Halfway built, the Obama Presidential Center is already a South Side landmark (Chicago Sun-Times)
State files lawsuit against Springfield City Water, Light & Power over 2021 ash release (State Journal-Register)
City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin running for Congress amid allegations of unethical conduct (Chicago Tribune)
Chicago is moving to an elected school board but half of voters aren’t aware, poll finds (WBEZ)
Pontiac community leader, farmer joins 53rd Senate District race (Bloomington Pantagraph)
In the early 1900s, ‘Uncle Joe’ Cannon of Illinois was a powerful House speaker who defied an ouster effort (Chicago Tribune)
The shoebox saga lives on (Petersburg Observer & Menard County Review)
Editorial: When it comes to mass transit plans, it's the difference between 'easy' and 'hard' (Daily Herald)
Dold: We cannot forget or forgive Hamas’ atrocities (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Regulators need to keep the pressure on Peoples Gas (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Opinion: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first budget shows that the realities of the job have sunk in (Chicago Tribune)
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