The StoneZONE with Roger Stone - January 17, 2026


Mark Vargas ｜ 01-15-26

Topics
J.B. Pritzker blind trust
Hosted by
Roger Stone Troy Smith Jake Novak
Mentioned
J.B. Pritzker Brandon Johnson Mark Vargas Donald Trump Tim Waltz McCormick Place Richard Nixon Gavin Newsom Dick Cheney
The Stone Zone ｜ 01-09-26 The Stone Zone ｜ 01-19-26

Episode Stats


Length

16 minutes

Words per minute

148.89

Word count

2,524

Sentence count

165

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

While President Donald Trump and his doge reformers are trying to take a chainsaw to federal waste in Washington, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker appears to be playing a very different game, one that funnels massive amounts of taxpayer money into assets tied to his own family hotel empire.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Every week, the Payne family cuts straight to the real financial story.
00:00:04.460 The one question, Bob, everyone's asking is, are we in an artificial intelligence bubble?
00:00:10.080 You've been through boom and busts. What do you think?
00:00:12.860 No hype, no myths, just what actually matters to your money.
00:00:17.440 Does feel very similar to what we experienced in the 90s. Where are we,
00:00:21.460 though? Are we in 1995, 1997, 1999?
00:00:25.300 Listen to the Payne Points of Wealth on the Red Apple Podcast Network.
00:00:30.000 The Stone Zone, entertaining and informative on the Red Apple Podcast Network.
00:00:36.840 And we're back in the Stone Zone.
00:00:40.020 While President Donald Trump and his doge reformers are trying to take a chainsaw to federal waste in Washington,
00:00:47.480 Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker appears to be playing a very different game,
00:00:52.100 one that funnels massive amounts of taxpayer money into assets tied to his own family hotel empire.
00:00:59.440 What we're going to reveal to you today is not some recycled political attack.
00:01:04.360 It's a fresh information pulled straight from public records with conflict of interest written all over it.
00:01:11.280 Joining me now is the editor-in-chief of the Illinois Review, Mark Vargas, to help break down the story.
00:01:18.260 Mark, welcome in to the Stone Zone.
00:01:20.920 It's great to be with you, Roger. Thank you.
00:01:22.420 You have worked with me here in the last 48 hours to produce a blockbuster story,
00:01:30.120 one you'll find nowhere else,
00:01:32.520 which essentially reveals that J.B. Pritzker, who is already a billionaire,
00:01:39.840 has used the Illinois Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority
00:01:44.440 to funnel more than $180 million in taxpayer money into the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel in Chicago since 2011.
00:01:54.820 Pritzker appoints nearly half the members of the board of that authority,
00:01:58.880 giving him enormous influence on how the taxpayer dollars are spent.
00:02:02.660 But the point here most people may not understand is that Governor Pritzker, a billionaire,
00:02:09.780 and his family own the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place.
00:02:14.140 Tell us more about this.
00:02:15.660 It really is remarkable, Roger, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
00:02:19.820 Given all the widespread and massive fraud happening,
00:02:22.520 and that's being uncovered in Minnesota under the failed leadership of tiny dancer Tim Waltz,
00:02:30.740 people are beginning to take a look at California and Illinois, for an example.
00:02:35.960 And what we've uncovered, Roger, really answers the why.
00:02:39.540 Because J.B. Pritzker has been so aggressive in attacking the president on a variety of fronts,
00:02:45.060 whether it's illegal aliens over everyday citizens,
00:02:48.400 or whether it's lawlessness over law and order.
00:02:50.900 But in particular, he's attacked the president on DOCHE and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government.
00:03:00.460 And Governor Pritzker has called rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government,
00:03:04.300 he's called it an insult to Americans.
00:03:07.060 So that began to beg the question, why?
00:03:09.740 Well, we've certainly answered that why.
00:03:12.120 That Governor Pritzker has spent his time before office,
00:03:15.220 and particularly while in office, profiting off the backs of everyday Illinoisans.
00:03:21.040 What you mentioned was remarkable.
00:03:23.200 What triggered is that in fiscal year 2023,
00:03:26.060 $8.8 million were spent for hotel infrastructure improvements for the Hyatt Hotel there in downtown Chicago.
00:03:36.700 Hyatt Hotel obviously is owned by the Pritzker family.
00:03:39.820 And when we learned that the board that you had mentioned, this MPEA board that approves the taxpayer-funded money,
00:03:47.160 we also learned that Governor Pritzker controls almost a majority of the board
00:03:51.520 because he appoints five of the 11 members.
00:03:54.660 And so they certainly are not questioning where to put those tax dollars
00:03:58.780 or the fact that those tax dollars are going into the Pritzker family pockets that includes the Illinois governor.
00:04:05.180 But it's much deeper than that, Roger, the $180 million.
00:04:08.200 We've also discovered that Governor Pritzker, since taking office in 2019,
00:04:15.440 his so-called blind trust has also held interest in 12 for-profit companies
00:04:21.400 that have collectively secured more than $20 billion in Illinois state contracts,
00:04:28.280 all funded by who?
00:04:29.920 The taxpayers.
00:04:30.880 And there, Illinois has been raising income taxes, sales tax, business tax.
00:04:37.040 It's the highest tax state in the nation.
00:04:40.000 And now we know why.
00:04:41.300 Because the hard-earned money of everyday, blue-collar, hard-working Illinoisans,
00:04:46.940 that money is not to improve government services.
00:04:50.040 That money isn't being used to improve their lives, create a safe environment for their community.
00:04:55.500 No, that money is going to line the pockets of Governor J.B. Pritzker and his closest allies and family members.
00:05:01.780 I do want to correct one misstatement I made.
00:05:05.540 The actual hotel facility is owned by a state authority,
00:05:10.440 but the Hyatt Corporation, controlled by the Pritzker family,
00:05:14.420 operates the hotel under a very lucrative management agreement
00:05:18.260 that pays a percentage of gross revenue plus incentive fees tied to the profitability of the hotel.
00:05:25.140 Now, as you point out in this groundbreaking piece at the Illinois Review today,
00:05:31.300 this latest $8.8 million awarded to the hotel in fiscal year 2023
00:05:38.600 was initially called Infrastructure Improvement.
00:05:42.440 It was part of a $59.5 million renovation approved in December of 2024,
00:05:48.740 which covers 1,258 guest rooms and additional projects,
00:05:53.960 upgrading more than 93,000 square feet of common areas.
00:05:57.640 Now, these, as you point out, are not routine repairs.
00:06:01.280 These are value-boosting investments,
00:06:03.600 HVAC, plumbing, electrical upgrades that directly increase occupancy,
00:06:10.200 which increases revenue, which increases long-term profitability,
00:06:14.480 which puts more money into the pockets of the Pritzker family.
00:06:18.460 It really is remarkable.
00:06:20.680 And again, it answers this question.
00:06:22.320 Why has Governor Pritzker been so opposed to any programs,
00:06:26.880 any organizations, any groups wanting to explore waste, fraud, and abuse in Illinois?
00:06:31.500 This answers it, because his hotel and his blind trust businesses
00:06:37.420 have secured all of this money, all taxpayer money.
00:06:41.640 We also know, Roger, that's not in this article,
00:06:44.320 that it's been estimated that since Governor Pritzker has been in office since 2019,
00:06:48.960 over $22 billion has been wasted.
00:06:52.480 And this is separate from the taxpayer money going to his hotels
00:06:55.760 and to line his business, the pockets of his business associates.
00:06:58.800 This is on top of all of that, and that's a very, very conservative number.
00:07:03.480 So obviously, we know that number is much, much higher.
00:07:05.800 But the most conservative number is around $22 billion
00:07:08.720 in wasted taxpayer money on top of what's been happening
00:07:13.300 and what we've uncovered already.
00:07:15.700 So again, I think this is making what's happened in,
00:07:18.480 what's currently happening in Minnesota with Tim Waltz and his team.
00:07:24.340 I think that's just the tip of the iceberg
00:07:25.960 on what's happening here in Illinois.
00:07:27.440 Every week, the Payne family cuts straight to the real financial story.
00:07:35.440 The one question, Bob, everyone's asking is,
00:07:38.420 are we in an artificial intelligence bubble?
00:07:41.120 You've been through boom and busts.
00:07:43.080 What do you think?
00:07:43.900 No hype, no myths.
00:07:46.080 Just what actually matters to your money.
00:07:48.500 Does feel very similar to what we experienced in the 90s.
00:07:51.960 Where are we, though?
00:07:52.640 Are we in 1995, 1997, 1999?
00:07:55.760 Listen to the Paying Points of Wealth on the Red Apple Podcast Network.
00:08:00.900 Want to fast-forward your career?
00:08:02.580 Discover the Chang School of Continuing Education at Toronto Metropolitan University.
00:08:07.500 Our programs are the perfect way to boost your success.
00:08:10.760 Visit the Chang School online today.
00:08:12.880 According to Forbes magazine, Governor Pritzker's personal net worth is estimated at $3.9 billion.
00:08:23.940 I recall an anecdote where he cheated the taxpayers when it came to property taxes.
00:08:29.820 As I recall, because he didn't want any neighbors, he bought the mansion next to his,
00:08:36.540 left it vacant, well, you take it from there.
00:08:40.720 He did.
00:08:41.120 He bought the mansion, he didn't want any neighbors, he left it vacant,
00:08:43.740 but he wanted to figure out how to cheat on taxes.
00:08:46.540 So what did he come up with?
00:08:47.980 He removed all of the toilet from the home, which makes it legally uninhabitable.
00:08:53.280 And I think there were somewhere around the range of nine bathrooms. 0.99
00:08:56.420 So they removed nine toilets.
00:08:58.260 As a result, that home became legally uninhabitable, and Governor Pritzker was able to skirt over
00:09:03.740 300, paying over $300,000 in property taxes.
00:09:07.620 When that was discovered during his campaign, he was caught flat-footed, came up with lame
00:09:14.160 excuses, and ended up paying the difference.
00:09:16.780 But it triggered a federal inquiry.
00:09:19.800 And what was the key takeaway from this entire episode was that if Governor Pritzker knows,
00:09:28.440 he knows how to skirt the rules, he knows where there are gaps, and he knows how to manipulate
00:09:33.600 the system for his own benefit.
00:09:35.800 If he could do that regarding toilets and saving $300,000, imagine what he's doing with a state
00:09:42.320 that has a $54 billion annual budget.
00:09:46.180 And we're seeing that with $180 million going to his hotel, and $20 billion in state government
00:09:51.480 contracts all funded by the taxpayers going into the pockets of his business friends and associates.
00:09:56.920 Mark, as I recall, it was you and the Illinois Review that exposed the fact that Governor Pritzker
00:10:04.860 and Mayor Brandon Johnson, a man who is the mayor of Chicago, and if his IQ was one point lower,
00:10:12.600 you'd have to water him like a plant, specifically passed an ordinance that said that the Chicago City
00:10:21.980 police officers were not to come to the rescue or aid of ICE agents if they were endangered,
00:10:29.580 which I believe you got a legal opinion that showed that the governor and the mayor could be personally liable
00:10:36.640 if any of those ICE agents sustained physical injury.
00:10:40.080 That's right. The governor signed an executive order, and federal ICE agents are experiencing
00:10:46.080 an over 1,000% increase in attacks on federal ICE agents.
00:10:51.940 And one of the largest perpetrators, pun intended, of that violent and dangerous rhetoric
00:10:58.000 is Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who have called them thugs,
00:11:04.040 domestic terrorists.
00:11:05.240 They've now signed executive orders prohibiting local law enforcement from assisting federal ICE
00:11:11.240 agents when they're surrounded by violent and dangerous moms when their lives are in danger.
00:11:16.260 And we saw that example when on a 9-1-1 transcript where federal ICE agents were calling for backup
00:11:22.060 and they were told by the 9-1-1 operator that leadership is saying they have the cops have to stand down.
00:11:28.040 It's absolutely remarkable. Under his failed leadership, it's why some of the largest corporations
00:11:34.040 in the country, if not the world, have left Illinois and Chicago altogether, like Boeing and Caterpillar
00:11:40.620 and Citadel, because of the high taxes, because of the high crime, and because of the failed Democratic
00:11:46.420 leadership of J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has an approval rating of just 6%.
00:11:51.040 I do remember when, very bizarrely, Brandon Johnson, the mayor of Chicago, said all of the civil unrest
00:11:59.120 and crime in the city of Chicago was the fault of President Richard Nixon, who hasn't been in power
00:12:06.780 in this country in over 50 years. Very, very strange behavior. Also reports that Mayor Johnson is in and out
00:12:13.600 of the hospital constantly after suffering panic attacks. This does not sound like a man who's fit
00:12:21.180 for leadership to me.
00:12:23.280 No, sources have shared that over two dozen times in just less than three years, Chicago Mayor Brandon
00:12:30.620 Johnson has checked himself into Northwestern Memorial Hospital for panic attacks. They use the
00:12:36.900 underground entrance. He uses a different, he uses an alias, a different name. He's identified by
00:12:42.820 his birth date, but they've gone to great lengths. The city has gone to great lengths to make sure
00:12:48.800 that they hide that. They also, he's also increased his Chicago Police Department detail to over 150
00:12:55.700 police officers protecting him and his family. Yet they tell us that Chicago is perfectly safe and the
00:13:02.120 idea that there's a crime epidemic. I specifically remember J.D. Pritzker, I think he was on CNN or perhaps
00:13:08.640 it was Fox insisting that the published crime statistics from the FBI were wrong and that the
00:13:15.420 neighborhoods and communities of Chicago were perfectly safe.
00:13:19.460 It's remarkable that he can say that. Don't believe, believe me and not your lying eyes when
00:13:24.980 you're looking at the statistic. Over in 2025, Chicago was the most dangerous city in America
00:13:30.500 regarding shootings and murders. Chicago is more dangerous than New York City, than Los Angeles,
00:13:36.780 than Atlanta, Philadelphia, Detroit, Washington, D.C., the most dangerous city in America.
00:13:42.200 Pritzker likes to say that President Trump has created a manufactured crisis. 67,000 dangerous
00:13:47.540 criminals on the street because of no cash bail. That's not a manufactured crisis. 1,600 police officers
00:13:52.920 short, resulting in over 220,000 high priority 911 calls going unanswered in 2023. That's not a
00:13:59.920 manufactured crisis. And finally, over 90% of Chicago's most violent and vicious and dangerous
00:14:04.660 criminals are freeing out on the streets. Why? Because they've never been identified or charged.
00:14:09.400 That's not a manufactured crisis. This is reality for everyday residents and tourists to Chicago. It
00:14:15.040 is a war zone. I really don't understand this concept of the blind trust. I remember when Dick Cheney
00:14:22.600 was the vice president of the United States, his Halliburton stock, he was the president of Halliburton
00:14:27.320 before becoming vice president, was in a blind stock. And of course, that stock became worth
00:14:31.960 billions of dollars because he lied our way into the war in Iraq, falsely claiming that Iraq had
00:14:39.160 weapons of mass destruction, yellow cake uranium to develop weapons of mass destruction, and the most 0.96
00:14:46.180 outrageous lie of all claiming that Iraq had participated in the 9-11 attacks on America. But if
00:14:54.440 you know that there's Halliburton stock in your blind trust, how blind can your trust be? J.B. Pritzker
00:15:00.920 knows that there's Hyatt stock in his blind trust. And you pointed out that over $20 billion in state
00:15:09.080 contracts were with companies tied to his own personal financial interests, all within his so-called blind trust.
00:15:19.080 Mark Vargas has discovered that J.B. Pritzker is not the only 2028 aspirant who's got deep and massive
00:15:29.240 corruption problems. When we come back, we're going to focus on Gavin Newsom, the would-be president from
00:15:35.640 California. He's got great hair and a great line of BS. But it's possible that the epic personal
00:15:43.480 corruption of Newsom could even dwarf that of J.B. Pritzker. Don't go away. We'll be right back with that story
00:15:51.500 right here in The Stone Zone.
00:15:53.960 Thanks for listening to The Stone Zone with Roger Stone. You can hear The Stone Zone with Roger Stone
00:16:00.360 weeknights at 8 on 77 WABC. If you like the podcast, share it with your friends and listen anytime at
00:16:08.160 wabcradio.com and download the WABC Radio app. Hit that subscribe button on all major podcast
00:16:15.160 platforms. Plus, follow WABC on social, on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X. See you next time for a
00:16:23.140 new episode so you never have to wonder. What the heck is going on here? Every week, the Payne family
00:16:29.620 cuts straight to the real financial story. The one question, Bob, everyone's asking is,
00:16:34.980 are we in an artificial intelligence bubble? You've been through boom and busts. What do you
00:16:40.260 think? No hype, no myths. Just what actually matters to your money. It does feel very similar
00:16:46.840 to what we experienced in the 90s. Where are we though? Are we in 1995, 1997, 1999? Listen to the
00:16:53.760 Payne points of wealth on the Red Apple Podcast Network.