President Donald Trump’s recent remarks calling for Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to be jailed are the latest development in a long-standing feud between the two, both of whom have backgrounds in real estate. Their rivalry has spanned issues such as wealth, immigration, crime, and democracy.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Pritzker has recently questioned Trump’s mental fitness and suggested he may have dementia. The origins of their dispute date back to a 1992 conflict over ownership of the Grand Hyatt hotel in Manhattan. At that time, Trump and the Pritzker family each owned half of the property. The Pritzkers sought an expensive upgrade to the hotel, which would have required additional investment from both parties.
Trump, who was dealing with financial difficulties due to his Atlantic City casinos being in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, viewed the Pritzkers’ proposal as an attempt to exploit his vulnerable position. He filed a lawsuit accusing them of civil racketeering to force him out of the deal, an allegation the Pritzkers denied.
“I called Jay [Pritzker] and said, ‘You’re a bad guy, Jay. I’m going to kick your ass,’” Trump told the Journal in 2016.
The dispute was eventually settled when Hyatt Corporation, controlled by the Pritzker family, purchased Trump’s share for $140 million. Jay Pritzker, who was JB Pritzker’s uncle and played a central role in the conflict, died in 1999.
In recent years, tensions between Trump and Governor Pritzker have intensified over issues such as crime and immigration in Chicago. Last week, federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security conducted a raid on Chicago’s South Shore, arresting 37 people. The operation drew criticism from local officials because tenants, including children, were detained during the raid. This incident has prompted renewed scrutiny regarding landlord and tenant rights in the city amid increased federal involvement, as previously reported by The Real Deal.
Following the raid, Trump deployed 300 Illinois National Guard members and 200 Texas troops to Chicago. Governor Pritzker condemned the deployment as unconstitutional and the state subsequently filed a lawsuit seeking a restraining order. In response to Pritzker’s criticism of federal immigration agents, Trump stated that both Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson “should be in jail.”
The conflict extends beyond JB Pritzker. His sister Penny Pritzker, who served as finance chair for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and is now a senior fellow on Harvard University’s governing board, has recently been involved in disputes with the Trump administration regarding antisemitism claims at Harvard.
– Joel Russell
