By Roger Stone and Mark Vargas
Opinion
While President Donald Trump and his DOGE reformers are taking a chainsaw to federal waste in Washington, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker appears to be playing a very different game – one that funnels massive amounts of taxpayer money into assets tied to his own family’s hotel empire.
This is not some recycled political attack. It is fresh information pulled straight from public records, with “conflict of interest” written all over it.
President Trump has made draining the swamp a national priority, and Illinois deserves close scrutiny – because what is happening there mirrors the same breakdown in oversight now plaguing other deep-blue states.
Consider Minnesota.
There, corrupt Democratic governance allowed one of the largest taxpayer fraud schemes in U.S. history to explode under the noses of state officials – despite repeated warnings.
The Feeding Our Future scandal siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars in federal COVID food aid into shell nonprofits, luxury homes, and foreign transfers – while Democrats ignored warnings, smeared whistleblowers, and attacked anyone demanding accountability.
The scale of the theft continues to grow as prosecutions move forward and additional losses are uncovered. Only after federal prosecutors stepped in did the truth begin to emerge.
Illinois shows the same warning signs – different scheme, same playbook.
In Illinois, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority has funneled more than $180 million in taxpayer money into the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago since 2011. Gov. Pritzker appoints nearly half of the board members, giving him enormous influence over how taxpayer dollars are spent.
That spending includes $8.8 million in Fiscal Year 2023 for so-called “infrastructure improvements,” a $59.5 million renovation approved in December 2024 covering all 1,258 guest rooms, and additional projects upgrading more than 93,000 square feet of common areas.
These are not routine repairs. They are value-boosting investments – HVAC, plumbing, and electrical upgrades that directly increase occupancy, revenue, and long-term profitability.
Here is the critical detail Democrats want ignored: while MPEA technically owns the building, Hyatt Corporation – controlled by the Pritzker family – operates the hotel under a management agreement that pays a percentage of gross revenue plus incentive fees tied to profitability.
When taxpayers pay for upgrades that raise revenue, Hyatt profits. And when Hyatt profits, the Pritzker family profits.
Gov. Pritzker’s personal net worth is estimated at $3.9 billion, according to Forbes. Meanwhile, Illinois families are crushed by soaring property taxes, skyrocketing energy bills driven by green mandates, and a pension crisis exceeding $50 billion.
Like Minnesota Democrats during the Feeding Our Future scandal, Illinois Democrats preach “shared sacrifice” while public money quietly enriches politically connected insiders.
And the pattern goes deeper.
Under Pritzker’s so-called blind trusts, companies tied to his financial interests have reportedly received more than $20 billion in state contracts since he took office in 2019 – all funded by taxpayers, all approved under his administration, using taxpayer dollars he was sworn to protect.
There are no meaningful firewalls, no formal recusals, and no independent oversight. What Democrats label “economic development” increasingly looks like corrupt self-dealing.
Just as Minnesota Democrats attacked investigators instead of fraudsters, Pritzker lashes out at accountability itself – mocking DOGE-style oversight as “an insult to all Americans.”
That reaction speaks volumes.
This behavior is not new. Illinois voters will recall that Gov. Pritzker deliberately removed toilets from one of his Gold Coast mansions, rendering the property legally uninhabitable in order to claim a property-tax break.
A judge later ruled the maneuver improper, ordering back taxes and penalties totaling over $300,00.
Federal investigators sought records related to the tax break. It was a revealing episode: when it comes to his own money, Pritzker knows exactly how to game the system – while preaching “fairness” and “shared sacrifice” to everyone else.
President Trump knows this governor well. Pritzker sued his administration, opposed border enforcement, welcomed dangerous illegals into his state, and positioned himself as a national antagonist.
Now the evidence demands a response.
Minnesota proved what happens when corruption is ignored until federal authorities step in. Illinois should not have to wait for another Feeding Our Future-scale disaster.
Audit the MPEA. Examine the blind trusts. Follow the money.
One-party rule breeds arrogance, secrecy, and abuse – and nowhere is that clearer than in Illinois, where the governor’s family fortune appears to grow while taxpayers are told to pay more and expect less.
Sunlight is not an insult. It is accountability – and it is long overdue for Pritzker and the political machine that protects him.
