Category: News

Posted on

J.B. Pritzker Supporter Rides To the Rescue Again, This Time For Joe Berrios

While Pritzker refuses to take a stand on Berrios’ Cook County property tax racket, Pritzker supporter Luis Gutiérrez publicly endorses Berrios

Following the Chicago Tribune’s and ProPublica Illinois’ report highlighting the disturbing cycle of corruption in Cook County property tax assessments and appeals, prominent Democrats have followed J.B. Pritzker’s lead by refusing to take a stand on Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios’ corruption.

Even as Democrats call for Berrios’ resignation or even endorse his opponent, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel refuses to say whether or not he supports Joe Berrios’ re-election, just like Pritzker. Pritzker supporter and outgoing Democratic Congressman Luis Gutiérrez went out on a limb and publicly endorsed Berrios, signaling Pritzker’s tacit approval of their corrupt property tax racket.

Chicago Democrats continue to protect their insider friends while the Madigan-Pritzker-Berrios ‘unholy trinity’ bleed Cook County families and small businesses dry.

###

Posted on

Democrats Are Abandoning Joe Berrios, But J.B. Pritzker Is Still Silent

Pritzker’s silence is a desperate attempt to protect the corrupt Pritzker-Madigan-Berrios property tax racket

“J.B. Pritzker refuses to criticize Joe Berrios because without Berrios, Pritzker and Madigan can’t profit from their corrupt property tax racket. Pritzker needs Berrios’ support to secure huge property tax breaks for himself and make it past the upcoming primary. Berrios needs Pritzker to dole out campaign cash and work hand-in-hand with Madigan in Springfield. It’s a racket that would make even the most corrupt politicians blush.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

Days ago, the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois released their fourth installment of an investigative series looking into the Cook County property tax system. The bombshell report revealed that Cook County Assessor and Democratic Party boss Joe Berrios, with the support of Mike Madigan, is running what is essentially a property tax racket that shifts property taxes from the rich to the poor.

Unsurprisingly, most Democrats want nothing to do with Berrios and Madigan. Just yesterday, three Democratic members of Congress were the latest Democrats to endorse Berrios’ opponent. Last month, “Chuy” Garcia, Heather Steans, and David Orr all endorsed Berrios’ opponent as well.

But who is one Democrat that “won’t be critical” of Joe Berrios or Mike Madigan? None other than J.B. Pritzker.

And it makes sense – J.B. Pritzker is an integral part of the corrupt Pritzker-Madigan-Berrios property tax racket. Pritzker funnels campaign cash to Madigan and Berrios, Madigan gets rich off of his property tax appeals law firm and uses his political machine to back Berrios and Pritzker, and Berrios doles out huge property tax breaks to billionaire insiders like Pritzker while backing Pritzker’s campaign for governor.

J.B. Pritzker’s silence on Joe Berrios is a desperate attempt to protect his corrupt property tax racket with Madigan and Berrios.

###

Posted on

ICYMI: Madigan’s and Pritzker’s Corrupt Alliance

Madigan is depending on [Pritzker] to use his family fortune to win an overwhelming victory that will return Illinois to one-party rule”

It’s no secret that House Speaker Mike Madigan is supporting J.B. Pritzker’s campaign for governor. Pritzker funnels campaign cash to Madigan’s political front groups while Madigan “breaks legs behind the scenes to help Pritzker.”

Pritzker needs Madigan’s support to get through the primary and Madigan needs Pritzker’s money to tighten his grip on power and return Illinois to a one-party state before the next round of redistricting. Together, Pritzker and Madigan will team up to hike taxes, line their pockets, and expand their Chicago Political Machine.

And now voters are discovering their corrupt scheme.

From the News-Gazette editorial:

…Madigan, who is also chairman of the state Democratic Party, has made no official endorsement. But it’s common knowledge — as well as a source of considerable resentment — that Madigan is backing Pritzker. Madigan is depending on the billionaire to use his family fortune to win an overwhelming victory that will return Illinois to one-party rule and ensure that he will again be able to gerrymander state legislative districts after the 2020 Census.

But Madigan’s support for Pritzker has drawn fire from the other candidates.

Last week, Biss characterized Pritzker as “Madigan’s guy” and said “I’ve been independent of Madigan, and I’m proud of that.”

Kennedy, too, has been highly critical of Madigan, not only for the speaker’s influence on the gubernatorial nomination process but his role as a private lawyer who profits from “our rigged (Cook County) property tax system that benefits the well-connected and political insiders at the expense of homeowners, communities of color and working families.”

Befitting his standing as the campaign front-runner, Pritzker has declined to respond, saying he won’t be critical of party leaders like Madigan and Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios.

With four months left in the primary campaign, there’s still plenty of time for circumstances to change. Kennedy, who is rich but not nearly as wealthy as Pritzker, has yet to fully unleash his radio and television campaign, and his family name still could count for a lot among Democratic voters.

So, too, with Biss, who is seeking votes from the Bernie Sanders crowd that could be enough to win in a multicandidate race.

But it’s Pritzker who has the backing and the clout of the big boys. Fortunately for his opponents, voters will have the last word, and they have shown in the past that they are capable of thinking for themselves.

###

Posted on

J.B. Pritzker Puts Chicago Machine Ahead Of Taxpayers

“J.B. Pritzker is willing to throw the middle class and those in low-income neighborhoods under the bus just so he doesn’t make Joe Berrios and Mike Madigan angry. His statement yesterday is a sad response to a scathing report indicting the corruption at the highest levels in Cook County. The next time J.B. Pritzker says he’s working to help the middle class, no one should believe him.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

In response to yesterday’s troubling report from the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois about Joe Berrios’ and Mike Madigan’s property tax racket, J.B. Pritzker clearly stated where he stands. Instead of standing up to a corrupt Chicago machine that has been caught shifting taxes from the wealthy to the poor in a scheme that’s been called out for its “institutional racism,” Pritzker stood with them. Pritzker is willing to let Mike Madigan make millions off the backs of the poor, so long as Madigan continues to support Pritzker’s campaign behind the scenes.

For Pritzker, campaign endorsements and backroom deals with Madigan and his allies are more important than doing what’s right.

###

Posted on

ICYMI: Inside the Joe Berrios and Mike Madigan Property Tax Racket

“Inaccurate assessments also help drive business to political allies who are property tax attorneys, including Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.”

“The corruption from Joe Berrios and Mike Madigan is absolutely disgusting. For years, they have taken money from middle class families and small businesses to help line their own pockets, all the while propping up their political careers. If you want to know why Illinois has serious problems, look no further than Joe Berrios and Mike Madigan and their shameful practices of robbing hard-working Illinoisans to make themselves richer.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

Today, the Chicago Tribune published an in-depth story on how Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios and Illinois House Speak Mike Madigan have been gaming the system for years to make millions of dollars for themselves off property tax assessments and appeals. They’ve created a system that has hurt middle-class taxpayers and small businesses, and it has further solidified Berrios’ and Madigan’s political power.

See key highlights below and read the entire story here.
“Berrios failed at one of his most important responsibilities — estimating the value of commercial and industrial properties. What’s more, a separate analysis reveals commercial and industrial property assessments throughout Cook County were so riddled with errors that they created deep inequities, punishing small businesses while cutting a break to owners of high-value properties and helping fuel a cottage industry of politically powerful tax attorneys.”

…

“The repetitive process feeds a property tax appeal industry that provides the bulk of Berrios’ campaign contributions. Inaccurate assessments also help drive business to political allies who are property tax attorneys, including Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.”

…

“A Berrios ally, Madigan is a founding partner in the six-member firm that has filed appeals on nearly $8.6 billion in assessed value since Berrios took office in December 2010, the most of any firm, according to the appeals analysis. From 2011 to 2016, Madigan & Getzendanner won reductions of 20 percent from the initial values of their clients’ properties, totaling nearly $1.7 billion, the analysis found.”

###

Posted on

J.B. Pritzker’s Campaign Supporters Are Riding To The Rescue Of Pritzker Friend Rod Blagojevich

Does J.B. Pritzker agree with his campaign supporters that the U.S. Supreme Court should hear Rod Blagojevich’s appeal?

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Illinois Democrats, including key allies of J.B. Pritzker, signed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear imprisoned Governor Rod Blagojevich’s most recent appeal to get out of prison early.

Congressmen Luis Gutierrez, Mike Quigley, and former Congressmen Glenn Poshard all have endorsed Pritzker’s campaign for governor and all have also signed their names onto the brief concerning Blagojevich’s appeal.

Does J.B. Pritzker agree with his campaign supporters that the U.S. Supreme Court should hear Rod Blagojevich’s appeal?

J.B. Pritzker has long been under fire for his extremely close ties to Rod Blagojevich.

In a bombshell investigative report from the Chicago Tribune, it was revealed that Pritzker was recorded on FBI wiretaps conversing with Blagojevich about being appointed State Treasurer, among other offices. Pritzker and Blagojevich also discussed campaign contributions on the same wiretap recordings.

Pritzker was later scrutinized for a $100,000 campaign contribution to Blagojevich where one reporter said “sounds like pay-to-play to me.”

In the late 90s, Pritzker said that Blagojevich would be “very helpful” for Pritzker’s own political plans. Public records also reveal that J.B. Pritzker was Rod Blagojevich’s fifth-largest gubernatorial campaign contributor.

Given J.B. Pritzker’s close ties to imprisoned former governor Rod Blagojevich, surely Pritzker has an opinion on Blagojevich’s latest attempt to get out of prison early.

###

Posted on

J.B. Pritzker Hiding Information On Inherited Family Trusts Because He’s Using Them To Avoid Taxes

“[Pritzker’s] clearly withholding information on huge family trusts” that are designed to protect his inherited wealth from taxes

After over 200 days of delay, J.B. Pritzker released a portion of his income tax returns, but his disclosed tax records raise more questions than answers.

Pritzker’s tax returns revealed that the vast majority of his income comes from inherited family trusts, not from salary income, business investments, or interest. Between 2014 and 2016, Pritzker paid $8.236 million in taxes on $29.6 million of declared personal income.

Those taxes pale in comparison to the income Pritzker derived from his inherited family trusts. During that same time period, Pritzker paid $128.97 million in federal taxes and $24.95 million in Illinois taxes on those trusts.

Unlike his opponent Chris Kennedy, why has Pritzker refused to answer questions on his family trusts?

Years of investigation and inquiry have revealed that the Pritzker family famously utilized trusts to protect their wealth from taxes and IRS scrutiny.

It’s clear – J.B. Pritzker is obfuscating on income derived from his inherited family trusts because he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s been avoiding taxes for years.

J.B. Pritzker’s campaign for governor is reaching the height of hypocrisy. Pritzker is advocating for yet another income tax hike on middle class families while cutting corrupt deals to slash his property taxes and using trusts to avoid taxes.

As Rich Miller said about J.B. Pritzker’s use of family trusts in his weekly column, “This ain’t over.“

###

Posted on

J.B. Pritzker’s Investments Reveal His Deceptions

Despite telling the Sierra Club he is for 100% ‘clean energy,’ Pritzker maintains investments in Big Oil

J.B. Pritzker’s mouth is writing checks even his wallet can’t cash.

In yesterday’s Chicago Sun-Times report, it was revealed that Pritzker continues to hold investments in industries that don’t line up with his own rhetoric.

From the Sun-Times:

“Pritzker’s extensive filing — 10 pages of hundreds of stocks, mutual funds partnership and membership interests — shows a partnership interest in Energy Transfer Partners LP, a pipeline operator that constructed and is a part-owner of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which carries oil underground from North Dakota all the way to an oil tank farm near Patoka, Ill.

” … Pritzker also has a partnership interest in Niagara Casino Group, LP and a stock in A.N.P. Gaming Corporation. The Pritzker family has part ownership of the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin. Pritzker, too, invests in big oil, with stocks in Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp.”

But just last month at a Sierra Club Forum, Pritzker repeatedly proclaimed the ‘evils of fossil fuels,’ saying things like:

“We’ve got to stand up to them. Our endeavor must be to say no when they say it’s ok if we pollute the air and make it harder to breath to stand up for the profits of the fossil fuel industry.”

“This idea of profits over people we have to do away with.”

“I believe we need that clean energy technology here in Illinois… in order to get to that 100% clean energy goal.”

Watch HERE.

Pritzker continues to lie to Illinoisans, regardless of their party preference. Pritzker’s incessant hypocrisy is proof that he is the wrong choice for Illinois.

###

Posted on

ICYMI: State Journal-Register Gives A Thumbs Down to Londrigan & EMILY’s List, Calls on Them to Apologize to Rodney Davis

“Londigran and EMILY’s List have detracted from a much-needed conversation [on sexual harassment]… They should apologize to Davis”

Last week, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s hometown newspaper, the State Journal-Register, gave her and EMILY’s List a thumbs down for pushing flat out lies against Congressman Davis’ testimony in a House committee hearing on sexual harassment. Here’s what they had to say:

 

Thumbs Down: To a political opponent, and a partisan advocacy group, for grossly mischaracterizing comments made by U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis.

Davis, R-Taylorville, said during a Nov. 14 hearing of the House Administration Committee that he had asked his female-led staff their opinions on sexual harassment issues in Congress. They expressed concern that an unintended consequence of the topic being in the limelight is that some offices might not hire women — an approach Davis said was wrong.

…Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, one of four people seeking the Democratic nomination for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, initially tweeted: “Really? Are you kidding me? Offensive and illegal. … One more reason he has to go.” She made additional comments on her Facebook page.

Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY’s List, an organization that supports pro-choice Democratic women and has endorsed Londrigan, tweeted in part: “Excluding women from Congress is NOT how we should address sexual harassment. Let’s get this buffoon out and elect (Londrigan) instead.”

…Even after those clarifications, Londrigan and EMILY’s List have stuck by their statements. No one likes to admit they are wrong. But that’s not an excuse for using incomplete information to spread falsehoods — even in politics, where we sadly have come to expect half-truths and outright lies during campaign season .

The issue of sexual harassment is finally getting the discussion it deserves. Londigran and EMILY’s List have detracted from a much-needed conversation on Capitol Hill by first not bothering to find out what Davis truly said, and second by refusing to admit they were wrong. They should apologize to Davis.

 

They followed up by calling on EMILY’s List and Londrigan to apologize to Congressman Davis like other female Republican leaders have called on them to do as well.

###

Posted on

Durbin and Duckworth Think Franken Sexual Assault Allegations Are “Unacceptable,” But Are Keeping His Dirty Campaign Cash Anyways

For Durbin and Duckworth, it’s all about the money, regardless of who gets hurt

It’s been nearly two weeks since Democrats “scrambled to contain the fallout” from the sexual assault allegations against Minnesota Democratic Senator Al Franken. The Minnesota Democrat was accused of groping and kissing a reporter without her consent.

In response, some Democratic lawmakers quickly distanced themselves by donating campaign contributions from Al Franken to charity. Senator Claire McCaskill donated her $30,000 in Franken cash to Missouri food banks while Senator Tammy Baldwin donated $20,000 to a group benefiting women veterans in Wisconsin.

But what are Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth doing with their campaign contributions from Al Franken? They’re keeping his dirty money. Both have received $5,000 and $21,000, respectively, but they’ve been silent on whether or not they will return the money or give it away to Illinois charities.

Durbin and Duckworth didn’t hesitate to call Franken’s actions “wrong” and “unacceptable,’ but they stopped short of putting their money where their mouth is. Dick Durbin even dodged questions on whether Al Franken should resign and hasn’t said a word about what he will do with his campaign cash from Franken.

For Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, it’s all about the money, regardless of who gets hurt.

###