In Illinois, It’s Pritzker Versus Pritzker

Trump targets Chicago as governor’s sister backs economic development with charity

A map from the Chicago Police Department tracks crime statistics.

Today at the G-7 Summit in Canada, President Trump talked about Chicago, Illinois. “I look at Chicago, I mean, you got a really bad governor in Chicago, and a bad mayor, but the governor’s probably the worst in the country, Pritzker. But I look at how that city has been overrun by criminals,” he said.

Also this month, the $400 million Pritzker Traubert Foundation held an event to highlight the finalists for a $10 million “Chicago Prize,” which backs community development projects in Chicago neighborhoods. “The third Chicago Prize continues the momentum of giving great ideas the support they need to become reality,” Penny Pritzker, “cofounder and Trustee of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation,” is quoted as saying in a news article about the prize. “Through this process, we are proud to support so many fantastic community leaders who are working hard to increase economic opportunity for more families across our city.”

One finalist proposes “a children’s center, an innovation hub with co-working space, a business hub for entrepreneurs, a new alfresco dining spot with a mini-golf course and a pavilion where neighbors can pursue green jobs.”

Another finalist promises “renaissance, not gentrification.”

No one doubts that Ms. Pritzker, who was President Obama’s commerce secretary and is the senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation, is well intentioned. But there’s a certain element of tragicomedy in Ms. Pritzker having to donate money to prop up economic development in a city and state that is suffering in part because of the left-wing tax and crime policies of her brother, Governor J.B. Pritzker, and other Democratic politicians.

If the taxes and crime in Chicago weren’t so high, more real estate development might happen organically and with private-sector capital seeking competitive returns, rather than being dependent on charity from Penny Pritzker. The Chicago police reported 573 murders in 2024. That’s a decline from a recent high of 804 in 2021 but remains staggering. Chicago has a population of about 2.7 million. New York City, with roughly 8.5 million residents, logged only 377 murders in 2024.

The cost of crime goes well beyond murders. Students enrolling at the University of Chicago are urged to pay an extra $134 for an insurance policy against the risk that their bicycles or laptop computers will be stolen during the school year.

There are vast areas of America outside of the city of Chicago where restaurants and mini-golf courses are built without requiring $10 million charitable subsidies. In those places, the public-policy climate created by taxes, regulation, and law enforcement is sufficient to support economic growth.

It’s Penny Pritzker’s charity’s money to give away how she chooses. But fueling economic growth in Chicago will take more than a $10 million prize. It will take public policy that lowers taxes, lowers regulations, and lowers crime rates—policy that treats businesses and job-creators as welcome partners rather than captive targets for maximum shakedowns. A Chicago where the risk of getting shot or taxed to oblivion is low enough that building a miniature golf course doesn’t require $10 million from Penny Pritzker—now that would really be worth a prize.