SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he has “no concerns at all” about a media report that federal authorities are investigating a property tax break he got by taking toilets out of a Chicago mansion he owns.

The billionaire told reporters Wednesday he’s “very confident” that any review would show “all the rules were followed” in the tax appeal on the home.

WBEZ radio in Chicago cited anonymous sources in reporting Wednesday that Pritzker, his wife and his brother-in-law are under investigation. The U.S. attorney’s office would not confirm or deny an investigation.

Pritzker reimbursed Cook County $330,000 in October after a county inspector declared that he and his relatives engaged in a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers. Toilets were removed so the home could be declared “uninhabitable,” lowering its property value.

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Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC.</s>By Joseph Bustos

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, his wife M.K., and his brother-in-law are under federal investigation for a property tax break that netted the billionaire governor $331,000 in tax relief, Chicago Public Radio station WBEZ reported Wednesday.

WBEZ reported the probe began in October while Pritzker, a Democrat, campaigned to unseat then Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. The station added there are no signs that criminal charges are imminent.

The Pritzkers received the tax break after toilets were removed from a mansion the couple owns. That mansion was later deemed uninhabitable.

A Cook County inspector general called the move a "scheme to defraud" taxpayers.

During an unrelated news conference in Chicago on Wednesday Pritzker denied wrongdoing.

"I'm very confident that any review of this matter will show that all the rules were followed. I have not been contacted by any law enforcement. Neither has M.K.," Pritzker said, according to WBEZ. "My opponents raised this issue and it became a political subject last October. But today we're very focused on the important work that needs to get done in Springfield."

Marc Elias, an attorney for the Pritzkers, denied the governor or his wife did anything wrong.

"We are confident that any further review of the matter will show that the appropriate rules were followed," Elias told WBEZ.

Pritzker, who became governor in January, is pushing an ambitious agenda, which calls for moving the state to a graduated income tax structure, legalizing recreational marijuana and legalizing sports betting.

The tax break became a campaign issue last fall and Pritzker volunteered to repay the $331,000 in tax savings he received.

The Illinois Republican Party used the news of the federal investigation as a way to campaign against Pritzker's push to put in a progressive income tax in the state.

"An Illinois governor under federal criminal investigation 101 days into office must be a new record -- even for Illinois," said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider. "We already knew Pritzker was a serial tax dodger. He stashes millions offshore in zero-tax Bahamas bank accounts and took the toilets out of his Chicago mansion to dodge over $330,000 in property taxes. The Cook County Independent Inspector General called it 'a scheme to defraud' taxpayers. Yet Pritzker continues to push tax hikes on Illinois families and businesses -- absurd hypocrisy from Pritzker. J.B. Pritzker can't be trusted. Pritzker must immediately cease all of his efforts to raise taxes, including his graduated income tax, because he's under federal criminal investigation for not paying his own taxes."

The Republican Governors Association on Wednesday even tied Pritzker to former governor Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of trying to sell Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat.

"After just a few short months in office, J.B. Pritzker has already proven to the people of Illinois that he is completely unworthy of their trust," said RGA Deputy Communications Director John Burke. "This investigation raises serious questions regarding Pritzker's conduct and shows that he is nothing more than another corrupt politician who thinks he's above the law, just like his friend Rod Blagojevich."

(c)2019 the Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Ill.)</s>Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, along with his wife and brother-in-law, reportedly is under federal criminal investigation for a questionable property tax appeal that has hung over him since last year’s gubernatorial race.

Pritzker – a Democrat who took office earlier this year – has been the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation since last October, although no criminal charges have been brought against him, a law enforcement source told Chicago radio station WBEZ.

“I’m very confident that any review of this matter will show that all the rules were followed,” Pritzker said Wednesday during a press conference. “I have not been contacted by any law enforcement, neither has MK (Pritzker’s wife).”

Pritzker went on to call the matter “a political issue” raised by his opponents during last year’s gubernatorial campaign and said he was focused on his work as governor.

The investigation centers around a property tax break the billionaire Pritzker and his wife sought for a 126-year-old mansion the two purchased. According to a Cook County inspector general’s report, which was first discovered by the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker ordered workers at the mansion to remove all the toilets in the residence so it could be declared “uninhabitable” – giving the couple a large tax break.

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

The report also said that the governor’s brother-in-law, Thomas J. Muenster, and the first lady’s personal assistant, Christine Lovely, made false representations on tax appeal documents. The scheme apparently cost taxpayers more than $331,000, according to the IG report.

Marc Elias, a lawyer representing the Prtizkers, added to WBEZ that neither the governor nor his wife has been contacted by law enforcement officials about the matter, and denied any wrongdoing on the part of his clients.

“Neither the Governor nor the First Lady have been contacted by law enforcement regarding the property tax appeal,” Elias said. “We are confident that any further review of the matter will show that the appropriate rules were followed.”

The reports of the investigation into Pritzker, who just celebrated his 100th day in office, were quickly flagged by political rivals, who called him out for seeking tax breaks while he has proposed raising taxes.

“An Illinois governor under federal criminal investigation 101 days into office must be a new record – even for Illinois,” Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider said in a statement. “We already knew Pritzker was a serial tax dodger. He stashes millions offshore in zero-tax Bahamas bank accounts and took the toilets out of his Chicago mansion to dodge over $330,000 in property taxes.”

Schneider added: “The Cook County Independent Inspector General called it ‘a scheme to defraud’ taxpayers. Yet Pritzker continues to push tax hikes on Illinois families and businesses – absurd hypocrisy from Pritzker.”

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The Chicago Tribune reported last year that Pritzker used offshore banking in the Bahamas to avoid paying taxes on his family’s fortune. Pritzker acknowledged the offshore accounts but argued that they were originally set up long ago by his grandfather.

“Any trusts for my benefit that are offshore, I have received no distributions from, and those trusts are only providing charitable contributions,” Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotels chain, told the newspaper. “That’s all that they do.”

The newspaper, however, found several offshore shell companies created between 2008 and 2011 – long after his grandfather’s death – that were either totally owned by Pritzker and his brother, or by close associates of the now-governor.</s>SPRINGFIELD — With his critics piling on, Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday he followed all of the rules when it came to obtaining a property tax break on a mansion he owns in Chicago.

Pritzker made the comment during an appearance at an Illinois State Police forensic center in Chicago. He was responding to reporters’ questions about a story on WBEZ radio, citing an anonymous source, that federal authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the governor, his wife and brother-in-law over the tax break obtained on the mansion.

Pritzker said that neither he nor his wife, M.K., have been contacted by law enforcement.

“Let me be clear that I’m very confident that any review of this matter will show that all the rules were followed,” he said.

WBEZ reported a law enforcement source said that an investigation was launched in October into the property tax break that Pritzker received on an unoccupied mansion he owns next to his home in Chicago. The radio station said there is no indication that criminal charges are imminent.

Pritzker obtained about $331,000 in property tax relief on the property after it was declared uninhabitable, in part because there were no toilets in the building.

However, a report from the Cook County inspector general that was disclosed by the Chicago Sun-Times found M.K. Pritzker had directed workers to remove the toilets to have the building declared uninhabitable. The report also said the governor’s brother-in-law, Thomas Muenster and M.K. Pritzker’s personal assistant made “false representations” on tax appeal documents.

Ultimately, the inspector general said there was a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers out of the $331,000 tax break. After the Sun-Times story appeared, Muenster paid the $331,000 cost of the tax break to Cook County.

Former Gov. Bruce Rauner tried to make the tax break an issue in last fall’s campaign for governor, saying that Pritzker had likely committed a crime. Pritzker cruised to an easy victory.

Republicans were quick to attack Pritzker following the WBEZ story.

“An Illinois governor under federal investigation 101 days into office must be a new record,” said state Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider, who accused Pritzker of dodging taxes with off-shore back accounts. “JB Pritzker can’t be trusted. Pritzker must immediately cease all of his efforts to raise taxes, including his graduated income tax, because he’s under federal criminal investigation for not paying his own taxes.”

Ideas Illinois, which opposes the graduated income tax, also said Pritzker should drop the idea.

“Governor Pritzker should immediately abandon his push for this massive jobs tax on middle class families because he can’t expect people to pay more when he is reportedly under criminal investigation for gaming the system to pay less,” said Ideas Illinois chairman Greg Baise.

Pritzker wants lawmakers to act this spring to put a graduated income tax amendment on the ballot in 2020. He’s also counting on new revenue from legalized marijuana sales, sports betting and a fee on plastic bags to help balance the budget this year. Pritzker gave no indication he plans to back off of any of that.

“The truth is we’re going to get it done,” he said. “All of these things will pass.”</s>Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, his wife and brother-in-law are under federal investigation for a more than $330,000 property tax break Pritzker received on one of his Gold Coast mansions — in part by removing toilets, WBEZ-FM (91.5) reported on Wednesday.

The sticky timing comes a day after the Democratic political newcomer celebrated his 100th day in office — and with just weeks left in his expansive push for a graduated income tax and the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state.

A law enforcement source confirmed to WBEZ that the federal investigation began in October.

At an unrelated news conference Wednesday morning, Pritzker said, “what I know is what you all know from the reporting that was done this week.”

The governor reiterated that any review “will show that the rules were followed.” Asked if the probe will affect his push for a graduated income tax, Pritzker replied: “all of these things will pass.”

Pritzker says he has “no concerns at all” about criminal charges. Pritzker attorney Marc Elias in a statement issued earlier Wednesday had said “neither the Governor nor the First Lady have been contacted by law enforcement regarding the property tax appeal.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reported last year that Pritzker bought the historic mansion next door to his home, let it fall into disrepair — and then argued it was “uninhabitable” to win nearly $230,000 in property tax breaks.

The toilets had been disconnected, and the home had “no functioning bathrooms or kitchen,” according to documents Pritzker’s lawyers filed with Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios.

Illinois’ Republican Congressional delegation in October wrote a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s office requesting Pritzker be investigated following a inspector general’s report which called the tax savings a “scheme to defraud.”

In that letter, the congressmen wrote that the facts in the case constituted fraud and perjury.

“Illinois, perhaps more than any other state, has suffered greatly due to public corruption. Four of Illinois’ last nine governors have gone to prison,” the letter said. “It is important to send a strong signal to the people of Illinois that no one is above the law, not even billionaires running for Governor. For that reason, we urge you to fully investigate this matter with all due speed.”

A Sept. 28 inspector general’s report found that Pritzker saved $331,432.03. Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard wrote in the report — obtained by the Sun-Times — that the assessor’s office was “the victim of sworn affidavits containing false representations.”

Labeled “Evidence of a plan to Defraud Cook County,” the report includes a work-order email dated Oct. 5, 2015, from a project manager to a plumbing company vice president that says M.K. Pritzker, J.B. Pritzker’s wife, wanted the toilets pulled.

“She is going to have the house re-assessed as an uninhabitable structure,” the email says. “To do this, she would like to have us pull all toilets and cap all toilet lines in the house. Then after the assessment, she would like us to put the 1st Floor toilet back in and have this as the one functioning bathroom in the place (she will then be finishing out the front room for JB’s [Jay Robert ‘J.B.’ Pritzker’s] hangout/meeting area].”

The project manager that the Pritzkers hired told inspectors that M.K. Pritzker did specifically mention “reassessed” during a meeting, according to the report.

“When asked if it was clear that M.K. wanted to have all the toilets removed because it was related somehow to the home being ‘reassessed,’ the B&A Project Manager replied. ‘She did note those two areas together,’” the report says.

The toilets were removed on Oct 6, 2015, with no directive to reinstall them. A ticket from the plumbing company notes five toilets were pulled, with the five toilet supply lines also capped, along with additional gas lines disconnected and additional work.

There were two affidavits signed that said “the property has been vacant and uninhabitable from January 1, 2012 to present. There are no functioning bathrooms or kitchen.” That was signed on Oct. 15, 2015.

One was signed by Tom Muenster, J.B. Pritzker’s brother-in-law. Another was signed by Christine Lovely, who is identified in the report’s footnotes as M.K. Pritzker’s personal assistant.

The toilet scandal became endless campaign fodder last year as former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner tried to unsuccessfully hold onto his seat. And following the release of the inspector general’s report, which occurred just weeks before the November election, Pritzker paid back the savings to the county.

Now the reported federal investigation gives fuel to another fight over the graduated income tax. Pritzker is helping to fund one side of a dark money group which is putting big bucks into fighting for the tax. Ideas Illinois, an opposing dark money group, is working hard to oppose it.

The group on Wednesday released a statement which accuses Pritzker, a billionaire heir and philanthropist, of knowing “nothing about fairness or equity.”

“Governor Pritzker should immediately abandon his push for this massive Jobs Tax on middle class families because he can’t expect people to pay more when he is reportedly under criminal investigation for gaming the system to pay less,” Ideas Illinois Chairman Greg Baise said in a statement.

The investigation may also renew calls for Pritzker to release his full tax returns. While both Rauner and Pritzker released some of their tax information, neither disclosed his full return, which would also include schedules filed to claim exemptions and donations other than those to their own charitable organizations. Releasing tax returns isn’t required for candidates or elected officials.

Pritzker has a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine at $3.2 billion. He has released four years of tax summaries, which only uncover a portion of his disposable, much of which is held in trusts.

Pritzker in January placed his investments into a “blind trust” just before taking office, as he had vowed to do during the election. The steps mean Pritzker will still make money off those investments during his term. But he’ll be removed from decision making and from managing his personal assets.</s>Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s removal of toilets from an Astor Street mansion to gain a property tax break, a move that gained notoriety during his recent election campaign, is under review by federal prosecutors, WBEZ-FM 91.5 reported Wednesday.

The report, attributed to an unnamed “law enforcement source,” said Pritzker, his wife, M.K., and his brother-in-law, Thomas Muenster, were part of the federal review. The station reported that the review began last October and said there were no signs that any charges were imminent.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago would not confirm or deny any investigation of Pritzker.

At an unrelated Chicago news conference, Pritzker said he and his wife had not been contacted by law enforcement and were unaware of any review until WBEZ aired its report.

“Let me be clear that I’m very confident that any review of this matter will show that all the rules were followed,” said Pritzker, who in the past contended the property tax situation was largely a political issue raised by then-Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s re-election campaign.

Asked if he was concerned about the matter, Pritzker said: “No concerns at all. As I say ... any review of this will show that all the rules were followed.”

A report from Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard made public in October contended Pritzker’s Astor Street property was improperly classified as uninhabitable in part due to the removal of toilets at the mansion. Blanchard called it a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers.

Blanchard concluded that Pritzker's wife asked a contractor in 2015 to remove the mansion's five toilets to make the home uninhabitable so it could be reassessed at a lower value. M.K. Pritzker's brother and her personal assistant, Christine Lovely, later made "false representations" in sworn affidavits to the assessor about the mansion's condition and when the toilets were removed, Blanchard said.

Following Blanchard’s report, Pritzker repaid the county treasurer’s office more than $330,000 for the value of tax refunds and tax breaks on the property. Pritzker said the repayment was not an acknowledgment of anything improper, but was made to get past an issue he considered distracting to the governor’s campaign.

Pritzker at the time said that “there was nothing new in this report” and that he “abided by the rules” for seeking a reduction in his property assessment.

But Rauner contended Pritzker made the repayment to the county “because you got caught” and said the Democrat had committed “white-collar crime.” Rauner spent millions of dollars in TV ads to attack Pritzker’s character of the issue. One ad declared Pritzker the “porcelain prince of tax avoidance.”

In his report, issued five weeks before the general election in which Pritzker defeated Rauner, Blanchard included references to the state perjury law and the federal conspiracy and mail fraud statutes, but he stopped short of saying whether he referred the matter to law enforcement. The Cook County state’s attorney’s office in October said it was reviewing Blanchard’s report.

After the release of Blanchard’s report, Illinois' Republican U.S. House members called for a federal investigation of Pritzker's tax break.

The scope of any federal review was unclear. Pritzker’s campaign had paid the Perkins Coie law firm a total of $1.5 million since he launched his bid for governor, including $465,456 since Jan. 1, state campaign finance records show.

The WBEZ report comes as Pritzker served his 100th day in office and at a crucial time for the first-term governor’s agenda in Springfield, where lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn at the end of May.

Pritzker is seeking legislative passage of a state constitutional amendment that would ask voters in 2020 to get rid of the state’s flat-rate income tax in favor of a graduated-rate income tax that levies a higher tax on higher incomes.

The tax plan was the theme of Pritzker’s overall agenda as he seeks shorter-term legislative victories by legalizing recreational use of marijuana and sports betting to help balance his proposed budget. He’s also seeking a comprehensive public works improvement plan, which remains under negotiations.

How a potential federal review of Pritzker’s property tax issue would affect efforts in Springfield is uncertain. Democrats have strong veto-proof majorities over Republicans in the state House and Senate, but adverse news about Pritzker could diminish his leverage with more experienced and savvy politicians like veteran House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Republicans, who oppose Pritkzer’s income-tax plan, were quick to pounce. A group opposing the graduated-tax plan, Illinois Ideas, urged Pritzker to abandon his proposal. The group is headed by Greg Baise, the former president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association.</s>Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, his wife and his brother-in-law are under federal criminal investigation for a dubious residential property tax appeal that dogged him during his gubernatorial campaign last year, WBEZ has learned.

A law-enforcement source familiar with the investigation confirmed to WBEZ that the probe, which has not been revealed publicly until now, began last October and remains active. There are no signs that criminal charges are imminent.

WBEZ has also confirmed that Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker’s personal assistant who was involved in the property tax appeal, Christine Lovely, is being represented by one of Chicago’s most high-powered lawyers. Her attorney, Reid Schar, is a former federal prosecutor who helped convict ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges.

The developments demonstrate that the billionaire governor and his wife may face a serious legal threat arising from their controversial pursuit of a property tax break on a 126-year-old mansion they purchased next to their Gold Coast home.

A Cook County inspector general’s report, first published by the Chicago Sun-Times, later found MK Pritzker directed workers to remove all toilets from the mansion in order to have it declared “uninhabitable,” which gave the Pritzkers a huge property tax break. The report also found that Lovely and the governor’s brother-in-law, Thomas J. Muenster, made “false representations” on tax appeal documents.

The county watchdog said all of that amounted to a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers out of more than $331,000.

The governor’s office referred WBEZ’s questions to a lawyer representing JB and MK Pritzker. The lawyer, Marc Elias, denied his clients engaged in any wrongdoing.

“Neither the Governor nor the First Lady have been contacted by law enforcement regarding the property tax appeal,” said Elias, a partner with the Perkins Coie law firm, which has done extensive legal work on behalf of Pritzker’s gubernatorial campaign. “We are confident that any further review of the matter will show that the appropriate rules were followed.”

Schar, the attorney for the first’ lady’s assistant, declined to comment.

Muenster, the governor’s brother-in-law, did not respond to WBEZ’s request for comment. He had listed himself as the owner and manager of the mansion, according to the inspector general’s report.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney John Lausch, who was appointed by President Donald Trump with support from both of Illinois’ Democratic U.S. senators, declined to comment.

Disclosure of the investigation comes at a sensitive time for a governor, who’s still on a political honeymoon after his blowout victory last fall. And the distraction of a federal criminal probe could threaten to disrupt his aggressive first-term agenda in Springfield.

In the next five-and-a-half weeks, Pritzker will need to expend political capital to pass a graduated income tax, a budget, the legalization of recreational marijuana and sports wagering, and a multibillion-dollar infrastructure plan possibly dependent on a big gasoline tax increase.

A little more than three months into his governorship, the most serious campaign issue confronting Pritzker last fall appeared to have gone dormant.

The property tax scandal picked up steam just a month before the November 2018 gubernatorial election, when the Chicago Sun-Times published news of a confidential memo from Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard.

The report found the Pritzkers had caused the residence they had purchased next to their home to fall into disrepair, in part, by removing its toilets in October 2015 in order to lower the home’s property taxes by having it declared “vacant and uninhabitable.”

On that basis, the Pritzkers’ lawyers persuaded then-Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios’ office to lower the home’s market value from more than $6.25 million to slightly less than $1.08 million. That ultimately led to a dramatically lower property tax bill for the mansion.

According to the report, MK Pritzker had ordered workers to reinstall one working toilet after the house was reassessed at a lower rate, though it’s unclear whether that happened.

Furthermore, the report found that Muenster, MK Pritzker’s brother, and Lovely, her personal assistant, made “false representations” on tax appeal affidavits when they declared the home had been without functioning bathrooms for years before the 2015 toilet removals. That resulted in more than $132,000 in property tax refunds for 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Combined with future tax relief as a result of the lower assessed value, the Pritzkers gained more than $331,000 from the county.

The confidential Sept. 28, 2018 report by the inspector general characterized the Pritzkers’ tax appeal as a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers. Blanchard also connected the scheme to possible violations of state and federal law, including perjury and mail fraud.

On Oct. 4, 2018, three days after the Sun-Times published its story, Muenster cut five checks totalling $331,432 on the Pritzkers’ behalf and sent them to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas’ office. In a letter to the treasurer, Muenster insisted the refunds to the county were “in no way an admission of any wrongdoing.”

And on that same day, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office revealed it had opened an investigation into the tax appeal and turned it over to its special investigations unit.

The scope and intensity of the federal investigation is not entirely clear.

Through open-records requests, WBEZ could find no trail of any subpoenas either in the Cook County assessor’s office, which signed off on the Pritzker tax appeal, or the Cook County treasurer’s office, which cut refund checks in the case.

Likewise, current and former employees of the assessor’s office, including ex-Assessor Berrios, said they have not been contacted by federal investigators. Berrios’ one-time former top aide, Thomas Jaconetty, would neither confirm nor deny any interactions with investigators.

It’s also unclear whether Foxx’s county investigation remains active. An aide to the state’s attorney would neither confirm nor deny the existence of that probe, though the office had spoken publicly about it last fall.

Last fall, the issue gave Rauner’s limping re-election effort a fleeting injection of hope, with the former governor warning that JB Pritzker could face serious legal peril from the property tax appeal.

“He has committed, in all likelihood, white collar crime,” Rauner told reporters after a gubernatorial debate in mid-October. “This is as serious as a heart attack. Perjury, mail fraud, tax fraud. This is serious stuff. This is not a joke.”

Elias, the Pritzkers’ lawyer, would only refer back to his written statement when asked additional questions by WBEZ.

Elias is one of the most recognizable legal names in national Democratic Party circles. He served as general counsel to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and to the 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry.

Elias’ law firm has billed Pritzker’s gubernatorial campaign fund nearly $1.5 million for legal services, including more than $618,000 since the property tax appeal controversy surfaced last October, state campaign records show.

But publicly available records don’t make clear how much, if any, of those campaign expenditures related to matters surrounding the property tax appeal case.

Editor’s note: Chicago Public Media receives philanthropic support from The Pritzker Foundation and the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. Gov. JB Pritzker is not involved with either group.

Tony Arnold and Dave McKinney report on state politics and government for WBEZ. Follow them on Twitter at @tonyjarnold and @davemckinney.</s>Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, his wife and brother-in-law are the subject of a federal criminal investigation arising from property tax breaks on a Pritzker mansion in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, WBEZ reports.

A 2018 Cook County inspector general investigation found now-Illinois First Lady M.K. Pritzker directed workers to remove toilets from the mansion in order to declare it uninhabitable, which resulted in more than $331,000 in property tax breaks.

The report called this a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers and Pritzker pledged to repay the money. But the governor and his wife may now face legal consequences.

Illinoisans are no stranger to criminal investigations into the state’s chief executive. Four of the past 10 Illinois governors have gone to prison.

The ongoing federal probe will cast further doubt on one of Pritzker’s key political objectives: removing the state’s flat income tax protection in order to install a $3.4 billion progressive income tax hike. His plan relies on a political promise that the middle class will not see further tax hikes under a progressive, or graduated, income tax regime — and that wealthy Illinoisans will pay what’s “fair.”

But the governor’s unwillingness to slow Illinois’ new spending and debt, bad math from his administration, and the experience of the last state to switch to a progressive income tax dictate that Pritzker’s amendment would be a bridge to higher taxes for the middle class. Notably, Illinois property taxes will continue to rise under Pritzker’s plan.

The investigation will be especially important to Illinois state lawmakers in the General Assembly, who face pressure from the governor’s office to approve a progressive tax constitutional amendment before the end of May, sending the question to voters on the 2020 ballot.

To pass at the ballot box, a constitutional amendment question requires approval by a 60 percent majority of those voting on the ballot question or more than 50 percent of those voting in the election.

Pritzker and his plan are already underwater in key districts held by Illinois House Democrats, according to polling conducted by Fabrizio, Lee and Associates. Respondents who said they were aware of Pritzker’s tax plan were more likely to oppose a constitutional amendment allowing for a progressive income tax.

A criminal investigation into the governor over a tax matter is unlikely to help.</s>(WAND) - A federal investigation is underway into Governor JB Pritzker's property tax appeals on a Chicago mansion after having the toilets removed.

Gov. Pritzker, his wife and his brother-in-law are the subjects of that probe, WBEZ-FM in Chicago reports.

Federal prosecutors are looking into Pritzker and his family over property tax appeals filed on a mansion. Workers were reportedly told to remove toilets from the mansion next door to their Chicago home so it could be declared uninhabitable.</s>Media reports say Gov. J.B. Pritzker is being investigated by federal authorities over the removal of toilets from one of his properties in an effort to lower taxes by $331,000.

According to WBEZ in Chicago, Pritzker; his wife, M.K.; and his brother-in-law, Thomas J. Muenster; are under investigation over reports workers were directed to remove toilets from a 126-year-old mansion the couple bought so it would be deemed uninhabitable and result in a property tax break.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported in October that “the toilets had been disconnected, and the home had ‘no functioning bathrooms or kitchen,’ according to documents Pritzker’s lawyers filed with Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios.”

The Pritzkers’ attorney told WBEZ there was no wrong-doing.

“Neither the governor nor the first lady have been contacted by law enforcement regarding the property tax appeal. We are confident that any further review of the matter will show that the appropriate rules were followed,” the attorney told WBEZ.
Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker is investigated federally for a property tax break that netted him $331,000 in tax relief by taking toilets out of a Chicago mansion he owns. Pritzker stated he has "no concerns" about the report.