The Pritzker-Hyatt Connection: IL Governor Wants Your Guns and Your Money

Gun owners who don’t want their hard-earned dollars going to anti-gun zealots dead set on disarming them should reconsider ever doing business with Hyatt. One good reason is that an heir to the Hyatt fortune, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, is plenty willing to spend his time and a very substantial amount of money for anti-gun and other left-leaning causes. Pritzker, who has a net worth of $3.5 billion according to Fortune magazine, signed a sweeping ban on many common semi-auto firearms and standard-capacity magazines last year, and has also donated more than $2 million in efforts to have liberal judges elected and another $2 million-plus in support of Ohio’s pro-abortion legislation. When Pritzker signed Illinois’ so-called “assault weapons” ban in January 2023, he did so with much fanfare.

“For the past four years, my administration and my colleagues in the State Capitol have been battling the powerful forces of the NRA to enshrine the strongest and most effective gun violence legislation that we possibly can,” Pritzker crowed at the signing. “I couldn't be prouder to say that we got it done. And we will keep fighting — bill by bill, vote by vote, and protest by protest — to ensure that future generations only hear about massacres like Highland Park, Sandy Hook, and Uvalde in their textbooks.”

Under the law, state gun owners had the opportunity to keep their firearms if they registered them with the government within a certain amount of time. Of course, that’s a tenuous situation since registration always leads to confiscation. Passage of the law brought indignation from some Republican legislators who said they didn’t intend to comply with the ban, which they considered to be unconstitutional. Those statements brought a swift rebuke from Gov. Pritzker, who, in a haughty, threatening manner, assured them that the State Police would squelch any pushback.

“You don’t get to choose with laws you comply with in the state of Illinois,” he said. “There are, of course, people who are trying to politically grandstand who want to make a name for themselves by claiming that they will not comply. But the reality is that the State Police is responsible for enforcement, as are all law enforcement all across this state. And they will, in fact, do their job or they won’t be in there.”

Of course, unlike most Illinois residents, Gov. Pritzker doesn’t need to own a firearm to protect himself and his family. The state’s Executive Protection Unit (EPU) provides 24-hour-a-day security for the governor and his immediate family, as well as for the executive mansion. Gun owners should also be aware that Hyatt owns many hotels and other recreational properties across the country and around the world that are not under the Hyatt name. In the U.S., they include more than a two dozen in California and more than a dozen in both Colorado and New York. A listing of all Hyatt vacation properties can be found here.For those to preparing to head to the SHOT Show in Las Vegas next month, note that Pritzker is no friend of the firearms industry. This year he also signed the so-called Firearm Industry Responsibility Act into law, making it easier to sue manufacturers for illegal use of their safe, legally produced and sold products.

At the time of the signing, Pritzker gloated: “Today, I proudly signed the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act into law—finally holding gun manufacturers accountable for endangering the public safety and health of our people. We hold opioid manufacturers accountable. Vaping companies accountable. Predatory lenders accountable. Gun manufacturers shouldn't get to hide from the law—and now, they won't be able to. Here's to an Illinois where everyone feels safe in every corner of our great state.” SHOT Show participants should note that there are plenty of lodging options that won’t help line Pritzker’s already well-lined pockets. In Vegas, Hyatt owns Hyatt Place Las Vegas, Hyatt Place Las Vegas at Silverton Village and Rio Hotel & Casino. Incidentally, none of those hotels are on the list of official hotels provided to participants by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which runs the show.

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About the Author

Freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut is the owner/editorial director at Red Setter Communications LLC. An avid hunter, shooter and political observer, he has been covering Second Amendment issues and politics on a near-daily basis for nearly 25 years. 

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