Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has so many followers and associates that he receives a $30 present on the charge of 1 each three days, however due to his job he accepts none of them, and barely even sees them.
The second-term Democratic governor and multi-billionaire has been lavished with a whole bunch of presents from world wide, starting from a $950 bottle of Japanese whiskey to 35 cents: 1 / 4 and dime, to be actual.
The state’s 25-year-old Gift Ban Act prohibits public workers reminiscent of Pritzker from accepting presents, with broad exceptions. Therefore, the high-priced hooch delivered compliments of the Japanese embassy and three bottles of tequila valued at $450 have remained untapped.
“I don’t get to do that,” Pritzker mentioned at a cease in Springfield. “I will say I like tequila, so that’s why people will have given that to me, but there are a few other spirits that I like as well.”
Pricey bottles of alcohol aren’t the one presents that Pritzker eschews. Most are saved in Springfield and Chicago, with a workers member chargeable for thank-you notes. Together, they comprise 4 1/2 years of gratuities totaling 561 presents valued at $16,890.14, in keeping with a log supplied to The Associated Press in response to a public information request.
Perishable meals is shared with workplace workers and guests. The relaxation will ultimately find yourself in an acceptable charitable home, gubernatorial spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh mentioned.
A governor receives presents for causes you’d count on: A present bag when he visits a city or cuts a ribbon, a plaque from an advocacy group when he champions its trigger. Promotion additionally performs an element. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has despatched king cake and beads to gin up curiosity in Mardi Gras, whereas authors appear to consider getting a replica of their latest work into Pritzker’s fingers will land it on the bestseller checklist.
With a web value of $3.5 billion as a Hyatt Hotel inheritor, Pritzker will not be pining for a lot. But for these authorities workers who aren’t amongst the nation’s 326 richest people, in keeping with Forbes journal, the regulation prohibits accepting gifts from those who do or search business with the state, who carry out state-regulated actions and lobbyists.
Acceptable presents from one supply should not exceed $100 in a single yr and nobody could settle for meals or refreshments valued at greater than $75 in a single day.
Initiated in 1998 by the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, co-authored by then-first-term state Sen. Barack Obama and signed by Republican Gov. Jim Edgar, the Gift Ban Act was the primary main ethics reform in Illinois since post-Watergate campaign-finance disclosure legal guidelines.
“It’s worked pretty well,” mentioned David Melton of the advocacy group Reform for Illinois. “As a general rule, they (public employees) are not allowed to accept gifts. That’s the right approach.”
Based on worth alone, Pritzker may settle for the overwhelming majority of his gubernatorial present pile. Each current, arriving at a charge of slightly below 10 a month, averages about $30.
Beside the 4 bottles of luxurious liquor, there are solely six presents which can be usually off limits, together with a $200 Mondaine watch from the Swiss ambassador to the U.S. and a $120 potpourri of eco-friendly pet waste luggage, biodegradable diaper luggage, bamboo utensils and extra from a citizen named Tiffany Kuhl.
The COVID-19 disaster imbued the governor’s admirers with generosity. From March 2020 by means of December 2021, Pritzker obtained 33 presents particularly in appreciation of his pandemic protocol, together with some that appeared extra private: handmade face-coverings, gadgets with inspirational messages, picks of meals and a Gov. Pritzker bobblehead from the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee.
There additionally was “2:30 p.m. Man,” a portray of a smiling Pritzker in acrylic by SeungRi “Victoria” Park, a Chicago schoolteacher and artist.
“Every day at 2:30, he showed up on my TV,” mentioned Park, referring to Pritzker’s day by day information conferences through the worst of the pandemic. “I don’t vote for any politicians, but I like him. I wanted to paint him. He reminded me of Buddha.”
Pritzker, the state’s third Jewish governor, was not a non secular chief to Park, however his message resonated.
“I don’t go with religion and I don’t go with politicians,” mentioned Park, who has remained freed from COVID-19 within the 3 1/2 years for the reason that coronavirus crept into Illinois. “But I go with science.”
As for the Governor’s Gifts scorecard? Shirts: 54. Hats: 21. Mugs and totes: 23. Scarves: seven, together with three maroon and gold Loyola University wraps. Pens and pencils: 8. Pins: 11 (plus one rolling pin).
There had been 188 books, 27 from the authors themselves, together with former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres. He is listed as sending a signed copy of his autobiography, although he died two years earlier than Pritzker’s election. Sidney Blumenthal, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, despatched his latest Abraham Lincoln biography, together with tequila and a stuffed pink flamingo. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader and his co-author, Mark Green, every despatched a replica of “Wrecking America,” a critique of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Sometimes presents come wrapped within the mistaken potato chip bag, like when Pritzker stopped at a Freeport elementary faculty on June 6 and obtained from the Stephenson County Democratic Party two luggage of Mrs. Fishers potato chips made in close by Rockford, as a substitute of the equally salty Mrs. Mike’s potato chips manufactured in Freeport.
Party chairperson Jody Coss can not say for sure whether or not she grabbed the Freeport snack when she determined so as to add some hometown taste to the governor’s greeting.
“The intention,” Coss mentioned sheepishly, “was to give him Mrs. Mike’s.”
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Associated Press researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed.
