❓WHAT HAPPENED: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) reported $1.425 million in gambling winnings in 2024, according to records from his 2026 reelection campaign.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Governor of Illinois and a potential 2028 presidential candidate J.B. Pritzker.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Gambling in Las Vegas, Nevada, during 2024; financial disclosures released in October 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “He better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming!” – Donald Trump
🎯IMPACT: Pritzker’s financial disclosure is raising alarm bells despite his massive fortune, as “gambling income” has long been used to hide and launder more illicit revenue streams—like kickbacks and bribes—in the United States.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) reported receiving $1.425 million in income from gambling winnings last year. The revelation comes after the billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune released a partial tax return, revealing an adjusted gross income of nearly $10.7 million, which also included $4.2 million in capital gains, $3.9 million in dividends, and $800,000 in taxable interest.
A spokesman for Gov. Pritzker claims that the Illinois Democrat “had winnings and losses from a casino” in Las Vegas but did not provide further details. However, the large sum of winnings is raising alarm bells despite Pritzker’s massive fortune, as “gambling income” has long been used to hide and launder more illicit revenue streams—like kickbacks and bribes—in the United States. This is especially true for lawmakers from Illinois, specifically Chicago.
Pritzker is widely considered a top contender for the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nomination and has positioned himself as one of President Donald J. Trump‘s most vociferous and aggressive critics. Trump recently blasted Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) over crime rates in the city, threatening action if improvements are not made. “Six people were killed, and 24 people were shot, in Chicago last weekend, and JB Pritzker, the weak and pathetic Governor of Illinois, just said that he doesn’t need help in preventing CRIME,” Trump declared in a Truth Social post last month.
The National Pulse reported earlier this month that Trump has gone so far as to threaten to arrest Pritzker and Johnson for encouraging violent left-wing rioters. “Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect ICE Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” the America First leader wrote on Truth Social.
Image by World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.
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