Bombshell Report Reveals IL Dem Gov Candidate J.B. Pritzker Sought Political Office From Rod Blagojevich

May 31, 2017

Democrat candidate for Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker is facing new questions today after a bombshell Chicago Tribune report reveals that he sought political office from convicted felon Rod Blagojevich in 2008. Newly revealed information from FBI wiretaps shows that Pritzker reached out to Blagojevich, who is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence after soliciting bribes for political appointments – including Barack Obama’s Senate seat – about potentially pursuing the office of Treasurer of Illinois just weeks before Blagojevich was arrested. The disturbing report directly ties Pritzker to one of the most infamous political scandals and raises serious questions about Pritzker’s ethics.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

“J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire businessman with political ambitions, told Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich he was ‘really not that interested’ in the U.S. Senate seat the governor was dealing in late 2008.

Instead, Pritzker offered his own idea: Would Blagojevich make him Illinois treasurer?

‘Ooh, interesting,’ Blagojevich said during a November 2008 phone call with Pritzker. ‘Let’s think about that. You interested in that?’

‘Yeah,’ Pritzker answered, ‘that’s the one I would want.’

Phone calls secretly recorded by federal agents — never before publicly revealed — captured that exchange and other conversations between the influential Democratic donor and the then-governor discussing politics, their futures and the ramifications of Blagojevich’s authority to fill the Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Although Blagojevich raised the idea of appointing Pritzker to the Senate, Pritzker expressed his preference for being state treasurer, a post he believed might soon be vacated by its occupant, Alexi Giannoulias, who was rumored to be in the running for a post in the Obama White House. In one conversation, Blagojevich asked Pritzker for a significant campaign contribution as the two discussed the possible treasurer’s appointment.”