Billionaire Gov.-elect JB. Pritzker won’t take salary

Billionaire Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker, who pumped a record $171.5 million of his personal fortune into his winning campaign for Illinois governor, will forgo his state salary, his staff said.

Considering state government’s annual spending is nearly $38.5 billion, the $177,412 annual salary Illinois pays its governors is a drop in the bucket. But the Hyatt hotel heir takes office next year facing steep financial challenges – the state’s sitting on at least $7.5 billion in unpaid bills – and refusing a salary sends a message to lawmakers and voters as he starts addressing them.

Pritzker’s staff didn’t make him available to comment.

Outgoing Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, a wealthy former private equity investor from Winnetka, also did not take his state salary during his lone term.

To forgo their salary, governors just fill out paperwork through the state comptroller’s office, which is in charge of the state’s checkbook.

“That’s the way it works with Gov. Rauner, he just doesn’t get a check,” said Jamey Dunn, a spokeswoman for the comptroller’s office.

Like Rauner, Pritzker – who hails from Chicago – says he’ll be moving into the Springfield governor’s mansion when he’s sworn in Jan. 14.

Governors from the big city like to have a rebuttal to the Chicago governor vs. Downstate governor debate, which can be defined by where the state’s chief executive calls home.