FACT CHECK: CBS Chicago Supports Claim That J.B. Pritzker Is Hiding Millions In Offshore Bahamas Accounts To Dodge Taxes

As J.B. Pritzker campaigns to urge an “immediate increase” in taxes on the people of Illinois, Pritzker’s efforts to hide his wealth offshore and dodge taxes himself are being scrutinized. Yesterday, CBS Chicago fact checked whether Pritzker “trims his tax bill by hiding millions offshore.” The verdict? It’s true.

CBS Chicago reports:

Is the charge true? “I’d say yes,” said CBS 2’s Derrick Blakley.

For the Pritzker’s, avoiding taxes has been a family affair. J.B.’s grandfather, A.N. Pritzker, established dozens of trusts. In 2008, the New York Times declared, “The Pritzker’s were pioneers in using tax loopholes to shelter their holdings from the internal revenue service.”

….The Chicago Tribune discovered J.B. had interests in 11 Bahamas trusts created within the last ten years, with two created specifically to benefit him.

It is ironic, said CBS 2’s Derrick Blakley, since a major theme of Pritzker’s campaign has been “everyone should pay their fair share.”

J.B. Pritzker campaigning to hike taxes on working Illinois families, while dodging his own tax burden by hiding his cash offshore, is the very height of hypocrisy.