Known for hosting lavish inaugural balls, Gov. JB Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker are throwing a big party in Chicago with musical guest John Legend on day two of the Democratic National Convention.
Invitations to the Salt Shed concert on Tuesday, August 20 were sent on Friday. Pritzker, who helped bring the convention to Chicago along with U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, is also expected to speak at the convention on the same day.
An heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, Pritzker has not been shy about using his wealth for campaign and government expenses — or to just throw a big party. According to Forbes, Pritzker is worth an estimated $3.4 billion and is the richest sitting politician in the U.S.
Pritzker’s 2023 Inaugural Ball was held in Springfield in a glitzed-up Illinois State Fairgrounds building, with Bruno Mars entertaining a crowd of thousands. Pritzker and the First Lady danced to the song “You’re Still the One” during the event. All proceeds from the event, which was sold out, went to charities.
Maroon 5 played at the Democratic governor’s 2019 Inaugural ball about three weeks before the band performed at the Super Bowl. Pritzker doled out $800,000 to match ticket sales from the ball, which featured swanky chandeliers, an Earth Harp and a magician. Proceeds from tickets went to the Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic and Illinois Fairgrounds Foundation.
Both performances were kept under wraps until the day of the event.
The governor also hosted a George Clinton concert to celebrate former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s 85th birthday in 2019. The Pritzkers paid for the party, but several Illinois businesses donated products.
MK Pritzker has been “intimately involved in planning” all of the parties. Both Pritzkers “generally love a party,” according to a longtime staffer. The Pritzkers have also hosted cocktail hours and game nights for lawmakers at the Governor’s Mansion.
The governor has routinely brushed aside questions about the costs of his inaugural balls. And days before he was sworn in, Pritzker in 2019 announced he would be using personal money for some governmental salaries.
According to the Illinois Comptroller’s office salary database and already publicly disclosed information from the governor’s office, Pritzker paid out at least $1.43 million yearly to double the salaries of 20 key staffers, including four deputy governors and his deputy chiefs of staff. He has continued to double salaries for key staffers in his second term.
