Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Griffin ups the ante, threatens to move business out of Chicago

Thursday, May 19, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Katherine Doherty, Natalie Wong and Shruti Singh for Bloomberg…

Billionaire Ken Griffin is reaching a tipping point with Chicago, the home to his market maker and hedge fund business, as the city wrestles with rising crime.

“We’re getting to the point that if things don’t change, we’re gone,” Griffin, who founded both the hedge fund Citadel and the market-making business Citadel Securities, said Thursday in an interview. “Things aren’t changing.” […]

“I am involved in politics because I’ve seen what happens when you have poor political leaders,” Griffin said during a Bloomberg Intelligence event in New York on Thursday. “Right now, I live in a state that’s the case study of this.” […]

“My patience is wearing thin,” Griffin said Thursday in the interview, citing an incident he witnessed outside his office this past weekend.

I’ve asked which incident he was referring to.

* From Natalie Edelstein at the Pritzker campaign…

No one should take Ken Griffin’s moral outrage seriously, considering one out of every four guns recovered from city homicides in the past five years came off the assembly lines of companies in which Citadel held shares. If public safety––not scoring cheap political points––truly kept Griffin up at night, he would divest himself from the very weapons that perpetuate cycles of violence. Instead, he’s allowed his investments in gun and ammunition companies to grow to more than $139 million, up 62% from three months ago from when he first claimed to be aware of them.

Governor Pritzker has added hundreds of new troopers to the depleted ranks of the Illinois State Police and funded state-of-the-art crime labs to provide law enforcement with the tools they need to quickly solve crimes and put dangerous criminals behind bars. He’s also made unprecedented investments in violence prevention programs, ensuring people have access to the tools that prevent crime in the first place, such as mental health support, job training opportunities, and summer youth employment programs.

Crime is a complex and multifaceted issue that Illinoisans are understandably concerned about, but we will not be lectured by those actively profiting off of gun violence.

…Adding… Griffin’s spokesperson said his boss witnessed this incident.

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*** UPDATED x2 *** US Census admits it undercounted Illinois population by 2 percent

Thursday, May 19, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* NPR…

For the 2020 census, all states were not counted equally well for population numbers used to allocate political representation and federal funding over the next decade, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released Thursday.

A follow-up survey the bureau conducted to measure the national tally’s accuracy found significant net undercount rates in six states: Arkansas (5.04%), Florida (3.48%), Illinois (1.97%), Mississippi (4.11%), Tennessee (4.78%) and Texas (1.92%).

It also uncovered significant net overcount rates in eight states — Delaware (5.45%), Hawaii (6.79%), Massachusetts (2.24%), Minnesota (3.84%), New York (3.44%), Ohio (1.49%), Rhode Island (5.05%) and Utah (2.59%).

For the other 36 states, as well as Washington, D.C., the bureau did not find statistically significant net over- or undercount rates.

Official release is here.

A 2 percent undercount means Illinois grew by about a quarter million rather than shrank by 18,000.

*** UPDATE 1 *** Gov. Pritzker…

Following a review of 2020 U.S. Census Data, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today that Illinois was undercounted by nearly 2%. This means that Illinois’ population grew by nearly 250,000 people and is now above 13 million people for the first time in Illinois history. In response, Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement:

“I ran for governor on a promise to be our state’s best chief marketing officer and reverse the trend of outmigration we’ve seen over the past few decades. These latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show that Illinois is now a state on the rise with a growing population,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “From boundless economic opportunities, to booming economic development and leading institutions of higher education, Illinois has so much to offer our new residents. While it is disappointing that these numbers were not reflected in the initial count, I have already spoken to members of our congressional delegation and will work tirelessly to ensure Illinois receives its fair share of federal funding. I look forward to celebrating this development with all Illinoisans, including those who routinely badmouth our state.”

*** UPDATE 2 *** US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi…

Earlier this year, I wrote to the Census Bureau regarding my serious concern that the agency had undercounted Illinois, potentially putting our proportional federal representation and funding at risk. I’m glad to see that the Bureau’s additional review of their data has revealed the truth: that our state’s population is growing and now exceeds 13 million for the first time in our history. These new findings reaffirm that our state is on the upswing in every way, and I’m committed to ensuring that we get our fair share of federal funding.

…Adding… Senate President Don Harmon…

This is excellent news. It confirms what most of us already know: Illinois is a great place to live and work. We need more people cheering for Illinois and fewer spelunking for misery.

…Adding… House Speaker Chris Welch…

This correction confirms what Democrats have been saying all along: Illinois is growing, Illinois is thriving, and Illinois has so much to offer.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** New Griffin gun stock story prompts intense round of finger-pointing

Thursday, May 19, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WBEZ…

Billionaire Kenneth Griffin’s financial empire expanded its holdings in gun and ammunition stocks this spring, newly-filed records show, while he and his favored GOP gubernatorial candidate, Richard Irvin, hammered Gov. JB Pritzker for rampant violent crime.

Griffin’s $51 billion hedge fund, Citadel, and its market-making cousin, Citadel Securities, increased the value of their gun and ammunition manufacturing holdings by 62% during the first quarter of this year compared to the final three months of 2021, a company filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission shows.

All told, Citadel’s gun and ammunition holdings were worth more than $139 million as of March 31, up from $86 million three months earlier, the records showed. […]

Last February, WBEZ reported how gun manufacturers in which Citadel invested produced one in four recovered firearms from Chicago homicides during the past five years.

Citadel maintained that it was compelled to hold shares in those gun companies because of its role as a market maker, but Griffin and the company faced criticism from some anti-violence activists because of his stridency in blaming Pritzker personally for rising crime in Chicago.

* From Ken Griffin’s spokesperson Zia Ahmed…

Citadel Securities is the largest equity market maker in the U.S., helping people buy or sell stock in companies they want to invest in to achieve their financial goals — whether to buy a home, fund their children’s education, or save for retirement. It is disappointing that a publicly-funded news organization insists on continuing to deliberately misconstrue our role in the marketplace and parrot sloppy political opposition research from Governor J.B. Pritzker. The violence destroying Chicago is the result of a failure to prosecute criminals, a lack of support for police, and progressive left legislation that prioritizes criminals ahead of law-abiding citizens – policies perpetuated by the Governor.

A “publicly-funded news organization.” Hmm.

* From Ken Griffin…

There’s an old adage, ‘Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty while the pig likes it.’ When great companies like Boeing decide to leave our State it should be a wake up call that policies not politics matter. The Governor should focus on making our streets safer, improving our schools, and creating more jobs in Illinois

Not sure that Boeing left for such parochial reasons, but whatevs.

* Natalie Edelstein at the Pritzker campaign…

Ken Griffin is entirely unserious about making our state safer and this massive increase in investments is just further proof. One out of every four guns recovered from city homicides in the past five years came off the assembly lines of companies in which Griffin’s Citadel held shares––and when faced with that information Griffin doubled down. Just like his hand-picked gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin, Griffin will say anything to save face in public, but Illinoisans can see right through their tired act and know where their loyalties lie.

It’s still kind of a stretch.

* Eleni Demertzis at the Irvin campaign…

Mayor Irvin is a supporter of the 2nd amendment, owns two licensed firearms and believes Mr. Griffin, like everyone else in this country, is free to invest in whatever industry he chooses. Everyone agrees the spike in violent crime is directly related to the radical anti-police, pro-criminal policies pushed by JB Pritzker and Kim Foxx. To get violent crime under control, throw Pritzker out of office, repeal his radical pro-criminal policies, empower the police to do their jobs and pass a constitutional amendment to allow voters to recall pro-criminal prosecutors like Kim Foxx.

The spike in violent crime has been national.

Anyway, your thoughts?

*** UPDATE *** A spokesperson for Boeing just called to say that the company is not leaving Chicago. “We’re going to continue employing 400 people in the area.”

The spokesperson also pushed back at Griffin’s notion that the company left because of crime or other issues. “I can confirm that is not the case,” he said.