Dem Governor Discloses Massive Income — Including Over A Million In Gambling Profits

Illinois Democrat Governor J.B. Pritzker, eyeing a third term and potentially a run for the White House, revealed in a partial tax disclosure that he and his wife pulled in more than $10.3 million in 2024 — including $1.425 million from gambling, the Chicago Tribune reported.

In a single year, Pritzker reaped more than a million dollars playing blackjack at a casino in Las Vegas. Those casino winnings don’t even capture the full picture — in prior years, his income was far lower (around $3.2 million in 2023, $2.3 million in 2022) — making 2024’s eight-figure haul all the more eyebrow‑raising.

As a billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotels legacy, Pritzker has long had the means to bankroll his own political ambitions and fund Democratic causes across the nation. But with this gambling windfall laid bare just months before a critical Democratic primary, questions are bound to swirl about the optics — and ethics — of a governor who aggressively expanded the gambling sector while quietly profiting from the industry himself.

Pritzker was a driving force behind Illinois’ sweeping gambling reforms in 2019. Shortly after taking office, he pushed through a massive infrastructure bill (roughly $45 billion) that included major gaming expansions: legalization of sports betting, six new casinos, and casino/racetrack gaming at many venues.

That legislation was framed as a fiscal lifeline — a way to reclaim gambling dollars leaving the state, create jobs, and pad public revenue. Pritzker toured racetracks, made public pitches at venues like Fairmount Park, and positioned the law as a mechanism to rescue struggling horse racing communities. The promise: legal gaming would help reenergize industries fading under competition. And to many observers, he sold it as a necessary modernization of Illinois’ revenue base.

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While Pritzker doesn’t collect a salary as governor, he’s shown that his personal income — bolstered by trusts and investments — eclipses that of most public servants. The disclosure notes $4.5 million in state taxes and $30.2 million in federal taxes were paid by the trusts benefiting him, an arrangement he says is intended to shelter against conflicts of interest. He passed his investment control to an independent trustee in 2018, calling it a “blind trust,” though critics argue it isn’t fully opaque given disclosure rules.

All of this raises a central tension: a governor who actively promoted gambling expansion now reports massive earnings from gambling. In an election year, with the records partially exposed, Pritzker’s dual role as promoter and participant in the industry is bound to draw skepticism. His political future may hinge on whether voters view him as having crossed the line between promotion and profiteering.