May 18, 2020
A private capital group owned by the Pritzker family possesses a stake in a company providing COVID-19 testing, according to the Pritzker Group Private Capital website.
According to the company’s website, PathGroup, which describes itself as one of the largest “private providers of anatomic pathology and clinical lab services” in the United States, partnered with Pritzker Group Private Capital to recapitalize, or replace debt with stock, in 2016.
An announcement dated Aug. 1, 2016, reads:
“Pritzker Group Private Capital and co-investors including Vesey Street Capital Partners invested alongside PathGroup’s management team and pathologists, who continue to hold a significant ownership stake in PathGroup and will continue to lead the company’s growth as the preferred provider of comprehensive anatomic, clinical and molecular pathology services.”
On March 16, PathGroup announced that the company would begin offering COVID-19 testing for individuals who meet the CDC’s clinical and/or epidemiological criteria.
It is uncertain whether Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker personally profits from the business endeavors of Pritzker Group Private Capital, which he co-founded with his brother Anthony. However, the governor stated in the past that he placed all of his financial assets in a blind trust after assuming office.
According to a press release from the Pritzker campaign shortly after he was elected, the trust intended to “have contracts that are wholly or partially funded with state dollars,” each of which are in accordance with state law.
Pritzker’s office also announced that the Illinois governor relinquished as much control of Pritzker Group Private Capital, where he no longer receives regular briefings, as state law allows.
The state of Illinois has not offered a contract to PathGroup. However, health pathology company Cue Health, which Pritzker Private Capital Group invested in back in 2018, received a $13 million contract from the U.S. federal government to develop COVID-19 testing.
Pritzker carries a history of using his personal fortune to fund Illinois expenses. In January of 2020, the Illinois Senate considered a bill aimed at preventing Pritzker or other public officials from using private finances to fund public expenses.
Pritzker attempted to add $150,000 to the $148,000 designated toward the salary of Pritzker’s chief of staff. Pritzker also used his estimated $3.4 billion fortune to pay $3 million in state expenses, including increased salaries for 16 top staffers.
Pritzker’s willingness to use private dollars on public expenses drew the ire of political opponents.
“Are they doubling the salary? Is this a bonus for getting legislation passed? [That] would be of extreme concern, basically, that’s pay for performance when it comes to governance and that would be highly unethical,” said Naperville Rep. Grant Wehrli.
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Lisa • May 22, 2020 at 6:29 pm
So glad my son chose another college for his education .Reading some of the editor’s comments are hysterical . He/she claims not to be stating opinion and supposedly only the facts, but he/she clearly presents cherry picked info that falsely tries to assign guilt to the governor. You claim you’re not censoring facts when that’s exactly what you’re doing. There is no proof Pritzker made a penny of profit . Shoddy tabloid style journalism at its worst Northeastern! You aren’t NU/ Medill or Columbia that’s for certain!
Managing Editor • May 24, 2020 at 5:31 pm
The NEIU Independent never stated Pritzker profited from PathGroup. In fact, we explicitly stated that PathGroup does not have a contract with the state of Illinois. Thank you for reading.
Vickie Wade • May 21, 2020 at 1:19 am
This is terrible. Conflict of interest.
Freddy • May 20, 2020 at 12:36 pm
I’m glad the Pritzker family owns stake in that company. They are a great family and JB is a great governor! ?
Robert Benson • May 20, 2020 at 8:14 am
If the NEIU Independent was reporting news here it would constitute of fact and not presumption. After my initial inquiry the article changed and mentioned the blind trust the Governor has in place with his families wealth. The final quote wasn’t given a reference or an appropriate context. If you would like to write a column that resembles Russ Stuart’s then at least acknowledge it’s a column.
Managing Editor • May 20, 2020 at 12:37 pm
At this point, it simply seems like you’re upset with the content of the article and not by anything the NEIU Independent actually did. While we’re sorry you didn’t enjoy the read, the NEIU Independent does not censor facts because it may inconvenience someone’s prevailing opinion on a political development. Check back for future updates, though this will be the our final communicative transaction with you pertaining to this article.
Sharon Benson • May 20, 2020 at 7:26 am
ROBERT! Get back to the bathroom and unclogging the toilet. No one cares about your silly comments on some little website. You promised the kids you’d practice your reading comprehension, and obviously have not; since you’ve responded 3 times making 0 points on any argument.
Jerry • May 20, 2020 at 1:29 am
Great work. Good article. Now I hope he’s investigated if he’s profiting off of tax payers backs.
Managing Editor • May 20, 2020 at 1:38 am
I think it’s worth clarifying that PathGroup does not have a contract with the state of Illinois, as stated in the article. Thank you for reading.
John E • May 19, 2020 at 9:59 pm
Look at Pritzker Group and PathGroup on Google, you can see it all and connect the dots. PathGtoup holds several insurance contracts as s preferred provider for diagnostic services, and is the lab used for IL Medicaid! Cue (Financed by Pritzker Group) makes the fast Covid tests used, and then PathGroup (also financed by Pritzker Group) runs diagnostics on said test! He is making $ on both the test and analysis.. then tells us businesses can’t open until a certain high level of tests are met. All while saying it is a blind trust…his brother is his Pritzker Group business partner!!!! IL now leads the US in Covid tests per capita. This guy is printing money off his policies on taxpayers backs!
John E • May 19, 2020 at 9:58 pm
Look at Pritzker Group and PathGroup on Google, you can see it all and connect the dots. PathGtoup holds several insurance contracts as s preferred provider for diagnostic services, and is the lab used for IL Medicaid! Cue (Financed by Pritzker Group) makes the fast Covid tests used, and then PathGroup (also financed by Pritzker Group) runs diagnostics on said test! He is making $ on both the test and analysis.. then tells us businesses can’t open until a certain high level of tests are met. All while saying it is a blind trust…his brother is his Pritzker Group business partner!!!! IL now leads the US in Covid tests per capital. This guy is printing money off his policies in taxpayers backs!
Robert Benson • May 19, 2020 at 9:57 pm
We are in the midst of a pandemic and the Governor is testing as many people as possible to safely navigate reopening. So that students may return to school. People may return to work. So that we know where hot spots are and then act accordingly. Illinois requires significant testing and contact tracing to achieve a safe end to quarantine. What the NEIU Independent is doing is not only irresponsible. It’s also dangerous. Testing can help significantly prevent the spread of COVID19. But for the NEIU Independent to suggest that the Governor planned on profiting from testing is a serious allegation.
Managing Editor • May 19, 2020 at 11:34 pm
This article does not make a statement on testing in Illinois or the need for it. This article also never stated that the governor harbors nefarious and/or admirable intent as there is nothing to suggest either. This article lists a series of facts, which is what news is. We believe our readers are intellectually capable enough to use the transparency provided by news outlets to come to their own conclusions, even if we don’t always agree with what those conclusions may be. News is not meant to advance or detract from a political agenda, despite the recent rhetoric and assertions of some politicians. It is meant to provide others with information, to be interpreted how they so choose. You are interpreting the facts listed in this article as an attack on the governor of Illinois. That is your own personal interpretation. However, if you’re interested in the opinions of our writing staff, please visit our “opinions” section. Thank you for reading.
Jim Love • May 19, 2020 at 9:17 pm
Just because his investments are in a blind trust doesn’t permit the trust from benefitting from all the tests that will be required by his orders, benefits his family realize now and he will when out of office.
Robert Benson • May 19, 2020 at 9:04 pm
So what source was used to quote Rep Grant Wehrli’s? Was it another news source? Was it the public record? Why is the quote placed so casually inside this story? What context does this quote serve the reader? Why not state that in January during a Illinois house session Rep Wehrli said, enter the quote, while the representative suggested allegations against the Governor?
Here is the exact same quote printed by Illinois Policy, ““Are they doubling the salary? Is this a bonus for getting legislation passed? [That] would be of extreme concern, basically, that’s pay for performance when it comes to governance and that would be highly unethical,” Wehrli told The Center Square.” Source
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/bill-would-stop-pritzker-from-paying-state-workers-on-the-side/
Managing Editor • May 19, 2020 at 9:34 pm
We properly attributed the words to the speaker. The quote was placed in the article to demonstrate that a faction of Illinois representatives have expressed reservations about the potential political benefits of Pritzker’s personal wealth. Once again, the quotes included in our articles do not represent the NEIU Independent unless expressly stated otherwise. Thank you for reading.
Robert Benson • May 19, 2020 at 8:24 pm
Why was this article updated after I posted my comments less than a hour ago? If there were no allegations then why hasn’t the NEIU Independent detailed the changes made from the original article? If you’re practicing journalism I suggest more transparency. Also how were these claims determined,
“Pritzker carries a history of using his personal fortune to fund Illinois expenses.” What sources?
And “Are they doubling the salary? Is this a bonus for getting legislation passed? [That] would be of extreme concern, basically, that’s pay for performance when it comes to governance and that would be highly unethical,” said Naperville Rep. Grant Wehrli.” did you contact Rep Grant Wehrli for this quote? He went on the record?
Managing Editor • May 19, 2020 at 8:38 pm
The NEIU Independent updates for two reasons: clarity and after new information surfaces, as evidenced by our past articles. Yes, Grant Wehrli is on record saying this. However, worth noting is that Grant Wehrli’s inquiries do not represent the opinion of the NEIU Independent. The bill you’re inquiring about is titled Senate Bill 2320 and Grant Wehrli’s comments came in January of 2020 following the introduction of the bill. We’ll update again by embedding a link to Senate Bill 2320. Thanks for bringing the confusion to our attention. And thank you for reading.
Albert L Balcer • May 19, 2020 at 8:00 pm
Republicans in Illinois are still mad the Dems made a big deal that Rauner owned the company that built Trump’s prisons in Texas. But in every crisis there is opportunity and Republicans aren’t letting the facts of the article get in the way of this story. But it shows that Republicans are increasingly frustrated Pritzker is viewed as doing a really good job during the Pandemic and citizens are following his public safety directions. So they are lashing out.
Robert BENSON • May 19, 2020 at 7:23 pm
I’m a little perplexed by these allegations by the NEIU Independent. Why doesn’t the column mention that the Governor has no control over Pritzker Private Capital or Vesey Street Capital? That a blind trust is just that. Then the article continues to make unproven and substantially lible comments without any evidence to support the claims. Has the NEIU Independent provided any evidence to support these claims against the Governor?
Managing Editor • May 19, 2020 at 7:35 pm
There are no “allegations” here. It is a straight account of the information provided by both the Pritzker Private Capital Group and PathGroup, with links embedded in the article to each announcement referenced. If a direct account reads as an allegation, that is your personal interpretation of the material. Thank you for reading.
Robert Tito • May 19, 2020 at 2:21 pm
He looks like my favorite cartoon.
Freddy Flintstone.
He’s funny and he makes a good h sandwich
Jolanta Margasinska • May 19, 2020 at 1:57 pm
Business as usual. Money hungry and power hungry!
Tom Berry • May 19, 2020 at 12:27 pm
Is this a bonus for getting legislation passed?
No, this is a bonus to look the other way when they spot JB’s corruption! If the AG (whose salary has also been doubled), would have been inclined to search for corruption (not that he would have) it would have personally cost him money if he acted on it! This is a brilliant act of corruption only available to very rich people.
Peggy Shannon • May 19, 2020 at 8:49 am
If this is true, why isn’t it in the news or being investigated? Why isn’t this sort of thing considered a bribe? These would be my concerns, especially now when this state is hurting so badly. Shouldn’t he be using the money to help us?