Pritzkers Sought To Keep Wealth From Jury In Construction Lawsuit

CHICAGO — Court records from the legal dispute between Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jay Robert "J.B." Pritkzer, his wife Mary Katherine "M.K." Pritzker and the Evanston-based general contractor who performed a portion of a $25 million remodeling project on a pair of Gold Coast mansions show the billionaire couple tried to block a jury from hearing about their wealth and stop the contractor from inspecting work the Pritzkers claimed was shoddy, the Chicago Tribune reported.

A jury would eventually award a judgement of about $1 million to the contractor, Harold O. Schulz, which describes itself as a third-generation family-owned business that began building homes in Evanston and Wilmette. The Pritkzers complained the work was not going fast enough, a safe on the second floor was improperly installed and a Italian marble tiles for one of their children's showers mysteriously went missing, according to the Tribune.

“I am 100 percent for firing!” wrote Mrs. Pritzker of the Evanston contractor, according to court records cited by the Tribune. “He doesn’t think we will do it! He is holding us over the barrel!! Also remember that they have been way over charging… I have had ENOUGH…He is an ass! Feel sorry for his guys who will be on the unemployment line!”

After the firing, the contractor filed a lawsuit accusing the Pritzkers and their Delaware-based LLC registered as the owner of the property claiming it was still owed money and blaming repeated changes in the plans for the project for delays and cost increases at the properties at 1435 Astor St. (the family's $14.5 million, 20,000 primary downtown mansion) and 1431 Astor St. (Their $3.7 million secondary mansion where the Pritzkers famously ordered the toilets removed as part of a "scheme to defraud" Cook County taxpayers, according to an inspector general's report. Pritzker has denied wrongdoing.)

During the legal dispute, lawyers for the Pritkzers argued it would be "inflammatory and improper" for the jury to hear how wealthy they are, the Tribune reported. The Pritzkers also unsuccessfully tried to stop lawyers for the fired contractor from inspecting the interior of the mansion for privacy reasons, echoing the stated reason they blocked county assessors from reviewing the interior of their properties. (In another apparant push for privacy, the entire 1400 block of Astor Street has been removed from Google Maps' Street View sometime after last month's release of the inspector general report.)

J.B. Pritzker declined to be interviewed about the legal dispute and did not respond to a list of written questions, the Tribune reported. M.K. Pritkzer did not respond to messages seeking comment. A spokesperson for the campaign said the matter was "settled" and "all parties are satisfied with how it was resolved." The Pritzkers, in their personal capacity, were removed from the case before it made it to trial. Due to a confidentiality agreement, the total amount they paid in the lawsuit remains secret.

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