Booze, beads and art among unclaimed gifts lavished upon billionaire Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
Governors receive many gifts SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has so many fans and friends that he receives a $30 gift at the rate of one every three days, but because of his job he accepts none of them, and rarely even sees them. The second-term Democratic governor and multi- billion aire has been lavished with hundreds of gifts from around the world, ranging from a $950 bottle of Japanese whiskey to 35 cents: a quarter and dime, to be exact. The state’s 25-year-old Gift Ban Act prohibits public employees such as Pritzker from accepting presents, with broad exceptions. Therefore, the high-priced hooch delivered compliments of the Japanese embassy and three bottles of tequila valued at $450 have remained untapped. “I don’t get to do that,” Pritzker said at a stop in Springfield. “I will say I like tequila, so that’s why people will have given that to me, but there are a few other spirits that I like as well.” Pricey bottles of alcohol are not the only gifts that Prit...