Pritzker’s latest tax disclosure raises high-dollar questions for Barrington voters

Five months before Democratic primary voters head to the polls, Gov. JB Pritzker released partial tax records showing he and his wife reported more than $10.3 million in 2024 taxable income — including more than $1.4 million from gambling. For Barrington-area residents watching the governor’s race, the figures underscore a recurring debate over personal wealth, taxes and transparency in state leadership.

What changed

In campaign materials released Wednesday, Pritzker’s team said the 2024 total was the couple’s highest in several years, up from $3.2 million in 2023 and $2.3 million in 2022. The campaign attributed the jump to the family trusts that hold a substantial portion of the governor’s wealth.

Asked why last year’s income was roughly three times 2023’s, a spokesperson for the governor’s campaign said in an emailed response that “certain trusts make distributions each year, and the taxable income associated with those distributions changes from year to year based on the performance of trust assets.”

Pritzker does not take a salary as governor, an office he’s held since 2019.

What the numbers show

Beyond the topline income figure, the partial disclosure offers a glimpse — but not a full accounting — of the Pritzkers’ finances:

  • The 2024 records list $1.425 million in income from “gambling.” Asked for details, the campaign said: “The Governor had winnings and losses from a casino during the year and those amounts are reported on his tax return.”
  • The couple paid approximately $1.6 million in federal taxes for 2024, about $300,000 more than the previous year, and $512,120 to the state, about $358,000 more than in 2023, according to the returns released.
  • Trusts benefiting the governor paid $4.5 million in state taxes and $30.2 million in federal taxes in 2024, the campaign said. In 2023, trust payments totaled $10 million to the state and about $50 million to the federal government. Those returns were not disclosed publicly.
  • The Pritzkers reported $3.3 million in personal charitable donations in 2024, up from $1.65 million in 2023, the campaign said.
  • Forbes placed Pritzker’s net worth at $3.9 billion as of Wednesday, compared with an estimated $3.7 billion when he released returns last October.
  • Christian Mitchell, Pritzker’s running mate for the 2026 election, reported over $583,600 in state taxable income for 2024 while paying $28,890 to the state and about $160,000 in federal taxes, the campaign said.

How the disclosure works — and what’s missing

As in past years, Pritzker’s campaign released only the top pages of his federal and state tax returns. Those documents provide a partial picture and do not include schedules that could detail income sources or deductions. The campaign has not provided the governor’s full federal and state returns.

Much of Pritzker’s fortune is held in domestic and offshore trusts, according to the campaign. Since entering public life, Pritzker and his campaign have declined to release tax records for those trusts, making the information difficult to independently verify. The campaign reported the aggregate trust tax payments listed above but did not disclose the underlying returns.

After he was elected in 2018, Pritzker said he transferred control of his personal investments to an independent trustee at Northern Trust Co. and promised to divest “his personally held direct interests in companies that have contracts” with the state, though he has not provided a full accounting of those transactions. While Pritzker refers to the setup as a “blind trust,” experts have said the arrangement isn’t truly blind because trustees must supply information needed for mandatory economic interest disclosures. Pritzker has said he has no control over investment decisions and has promised, upon leaving office, to make a final accounting of any returns earned on investments in any company that held state contracts and to make equivalent contributions to charity.

Why it matters locally

The campaign’s disclosure does not identify any Barrington-specific spending, investments or charitable donations. Still, the release is likely to resonate with Barrington readers for several reasons.

First, the magnitude of the governor’s taxable income — and the volatility tied to trust distributions — shapes public debates about fairness, disclosure and how those with substantial resources approach public service. The records also highlight sizable tax payments at both the personal and trust levels, which the campaign says can vary significantly year to year.

Second, the inclusion of more than $1.4 million in gambling income is unusual for a sitting governor and may draw questions from voters about the circumstances, even as the campaign notes those winnings and losses were reported on the return. The disclosure did not provide further detail about the timing or nature of the winnings beyond the campaign’s brief statement.

Third, the Pritzkers’ reported $3.3 million in personal charitable giving for 2024 marks a jump from the previous year, though the campaign did not list recipient organizations.

The longer arc

The new figures arrive as Pritzker seeks a third term and continue a yearslong pattern of selective financial disclosures. In 2021, the Pritzkers reported $18.5 million in state taxable income, most of it — $11.3 million — from capital gains. In 2020, they reported $5.1 million in state taxable income, $2.4 million the year before during his first year in office, and $4.4 million in 2018, when he ran for governor. In 2017, the year Pritzker left the private equity firm he ran with his brother, he and his wife reported $55 million in state taxable income.

Pritzker has used his personal fortune as an heir to Hyatt Hotels Corp. to bankroll his campaigns and other Democratic efforts. The campaign said he has spent about half a billion dollars in political funding, including for other candidates, last year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago and support for abortion rights. He has self-funded his races and spent more than $130 million in 2022 to defeat Republican Darren Bailey.

For Barrington voters, the latest release lands as the campaign season accelerates. The numbers offer headline insight into the governor’s finances but leave key details — especially about the trusts and the gambling income — outside public view. Whether the campaign provides more documentation, or sticks with its long-standing partial approach, will help determine how much clarity voters have as they weigh leadership and transparency in the months ahead.

Source: supplied Chicago Tribune notes