East Central Reporter

The $330,000 property tax break that Gov. J.B. Pritzker gained, and subsequently repaid, has attracted the attention of federal prosecutors who have requested 5 months' worth of files from the Cook County assessor’s office related to two mansions he owns on North Astor Street, according to a July 17 Chicago Sun-Times story.

As widely reported, the tax break was provided to then gubernatorial candidate Pritzker under former Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios. The U.S. Attorney’s office has asked the current assessor, Fritz Kaegi, to release all forms of communication between Pritzker and Berrios’ staff dating back to 2012.

Republican Precinct Committeeman Tom Vahling from Effingham County issued the following statement:

“It indicates to me that the county tax assessor is in cahoots with him along with Michael Madigan's law firm that does the appeal to lower property taxes. There's a whole circle of people involved.”

The inquiry into Pritzker’s properties is part of a larger federal investigation of a years-long bribery plot involving Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) in which Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, head of the Illinois Democratic Party, has been implicated.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that some $1.3 million allegedly was paid to individuals associated with Madigan, and records disclose that ComEd agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Madigan is not identified by name in the charging documents, released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, but "Public Official A" is believed to be Madigan who has been in office since 1971.

Vahling told the East Central Reporter that it’s too early to tell whether Gov. Pritzker will see jail time.

“It’s only because Donald Trump is president and the Department of Justice is actually seeking justice,” he said. “There are so many layers that it took this long to get down to the root of the corruption. Mr. Barr hasn't been attorney general that long and I think he is the one that's going after the corrupt politicians.”  

Vahling also took issue with Gov. Pritzker’s order requiring all residents to wear masks including, presumably, children over the age of two.

“I've heard the governor many times say that it's got to do with the school reopening that anyone over two years old is required to wear a mask all day. That’s unworkable. And if you know any three-year old that can wear a mask, I'd like to meet them because that's not natural and it's unworkable. I've also heard it said that wearing a mask saves lives. Well, I'd like to see the peer-reviewed study that he's talking about.”

Instead, Vahling would like to see Pritzker stay out of the debate.

“Let the schools reopen as each local school district sees fit. Children are the least affected by this virus from what I understand of the science. They usually don't spread the virus to adults.”

At this time, the scientific community has not determined that children to not spread the coronavirus easily, and most current studies indicate that they carry the same viral load as adults.

On April 30, former New York Times reporter and published author Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) tweeted:

“And it seems Illinois has dropped its rule that 2-year-olds wear masks in daycare. Even Governor Lucky Sperm Club knows he can push only so far.”