Free Republic

Until recently, the most controversial members of Chicago’s ultra-rich and powerful Pritzker family were the billionaire Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker — a longtime Democratic activist and bail reform advocate — and his billionaire transgender cousin Jennifer, who’s funneled millions into universities, medical schools, gender clinics and nonprofits in support of “gender-affirming” medical care. This week, however, they’ve been overshadowed by family members who are embroiled in two of the biggest news stories of the moment. The governor’s sister Penny, 64, is front and center with the resignation Tuesday of Harvard president Claudine Gay over multiple instances of plagiarism. Penny has...

Government investigators are reporting that Google co-founder Larry Page has disappeared after a subpoena was issued for his testimony in a Jeffrey Epstein underage trafficking case. Authorities in the U.S. Virgin Islands issued subpoenas against Page and Google parent company Alphabet in the lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. bank. The lawsuit accuses JPMorgan, America’s largest bank, of playing a role in Epstein’s international child sex trafficking operation. However, a new legal filing reveals that investigators have been unable to locate Page since the subpoena was issued. Authorities have now been forced to ask Judge Jed Rakoff, who is overseeing...

A judge unsealed identities of anonymous "John Does" in Ghislaine Maxwell litigation. Several names were of Jeffrey Epstein victims, not powerful associates. One, a subject of "intense media coverage," was allowed to remain anonymous and pursue an appeal. A judge agreed to make public the names of several "John Does" who tried to keep their identities secret in the long-running litigation between Jeffrey Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein victim. One of them, however — identified as "John Doe 183" in court filings — will remain anonymous despite being the subject of "intense media coverage" and was...

...They hired the Schulz company, a high-end, family-owned contractor from Evanston. Schulz had worked on the Pritzkers’ vacation home in Lake Geneva, done work for other Pritzkers, and at the time, employed J.B. Pritzker’s second cousin as a carpenter.“ ...J.B. had no intention of ever executing a final contract with Schulz,” according to court filings by the contractor. “During this meeting, J.B. rejected Schulz’s … contract proposal and requested that Schulz submit another proposal without making any counter offer. J.B. also reiterated his demand that Schulz take all necessary action to complete its work on a more expedited basis.”