Sangamon Sun

The traditional “fight or flight” motif took on new dimensions when potential gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker's camp played "dodge and distract” in efforts to divert observers from spotting his existing connections to imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Aaron DeGroot, spokesperson for the Illinois Republican Party, described Pritzker’s sidestepping as a “desperate” endeavor.

“(He’s) dusting off the Madigan Playbook,” DeGroot said. “Pritzker is attempting to whitewash history … The truth is that J.B. Pritzker and his family have a decades-long record of cutting deals with Rod Blagojevich and bankrolling his campaigns, while subsequently facing subpoenas from a federal grand jury." 

In a possible effort to disguise the connections, a Pritzker representative lobbed language about by designating disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s proposed dealmaking with his associate as "crazy rantings."

However, Pritzker has a long and well-documented history with Blagojevich, now serving time in prison for malfeasance.

Pritzker served Blagojevich as a campaign fundraiser when the latter ran for the U.S. House of Representatives. He and his family have contributed more than $160,000 to Blagojevich’s coffers during his campaign stints, according to records from the Illinois State Board of Elections. Additionally, Pritzker worked closely in association with Blagojevich’s father-in-law, “North Side political boss” Dick Mell.

In 1996, the Chicago Sun-Times quoted him as saying, ‘I'm J.B. Pritzker; I help with fund-raising,’ after which Crain’s Chicago Business reported on the rising public figure, stating, “Fresh from installing one junior congressman-son-in-law (Rod Blagojevich), Alderman Richard Mell (33rd) apparently has his eye on another: J. B. Pritzker.”

Pritzker, who was 32 at the time, was purported by Crain’s to have wanted former state Rep. Sidney Yates' seat, and the publication quoted Mell as saying that nothing behind the scenes would be set in stone “until Mr. Pritzker's '98 campaign is official.” The publication also  reported that the “Pritzker family scion” had abandoned a contest for Yates’ position two years prior, then quoted Pritzker as saying “I know Rod is going to be very helpful,” referring to his renewed interest in the U.S. House seat.

The Sun-Times said Pritzker’s assistance in fundraising for Blagojevich’s gubernatorial campaign may have motivated Blagojevich to give up his own seat to Pritzker as far back as 2001, when columnist Michael Sneed wrote that “Pritzker would help fund the gubernatorial race of Mell's son-in-law, Rep. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) and Mell, in turn, would throw his weight behind Pritzker for his son-in-law's North Side congressional seat.”

Blagojevich's wife, Patricia Mell "Patti" Blagojevich, met with Pritzker at one point in search of employment. The Sun-Times said she was given a position with an industrial league in Chicago with an annual salary of $100,000 in late 2008. The Pritzker Family Foundation, which had approximately $65 million in assets at the time, demurred at the suggestion of a connection between the families, as well as the premise of filling the Senate seat.

“This inquiry never moved past the preliminary evaluation state,” a foundation representative said. "No contribution was ever promised or made.”

The job offer’s timing coincided with her husband’s alleged attempt to “sell” an Illinois Senate seat formerly occupied by then President-elect Obama.

In the end, enough evidence existed to corroborate the presumed connections between Pritzker and Blagojevich to launch a subpoena by a federal grand jury in 2008.

After serving as governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, Blagojevich was impeached, removed from office for corruption, charged with soliciting bribes for Obama’s vacant Senate seat, and convicted and sentenced to federal prison in Colorado for 14 years.

In the wake of a failed attempt to get his sentence reduced in August, Blagojevich still faces another eight years of incarceration.