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A look at the Democratic candidates’ many houses

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Illinois

* Mary Ann Ahern takes a look at the Democratic candidates’ houses…

Biss is the only candidate who has featured video of his home in a campaign ad, showcasing his family’s modest duplex in Evanston. He also owns a small home in Urbana, Illinois, that his wife bought before they were married and they now rent, he said. […]

Of those, Pritzker’s Astor Street mansion in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood has received considerable attention in the past, not just for its size but also on the topic of property taxes.

Pritzker owns the mansion next door, where the toilets were removed and it was deemed uninhabitable, resulting in a major reduction in property taxes.

Just north of the Illinois border, Pritzker also owns an expansive horse farm in Racine, Wisconsin, with several buildings on its grounds. And not far from that is the Pritzker vacation home, a mansion in Lake Geneva.

NBC 5 also obtained photos of another home, believed to be Pritzker’s, under construction in an exclusive area of the Bahamas with ocean views. The Pritzker campaign would only say that he has a home in the Bahamas, but would not confirm that the photos are of his property. […]

“My wife Sheila and I have a house here in Illinois, near her parents and her brothers and sisters, and then we have a house up in Cape Cod near the Kennedy compound, close to all of my brothers and sisters,” Kennedy said

Photos here.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:03 pm

Comments

I didn’t care about Rauner’s multiple houses and I don’t care now.

Comment by Nuke the Whales Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:06 pm
So Daniel Biss owns two homes? I’m guessing most middle class folks don’t own two homes?

Comment by DuPage Bard Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:06 pm
I feel horrible for the Cape Cod property tax assessor whenever Chris Kennedy comes to visit.

Comment by Almost the Weekend Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:07 pm
I realize he’s a middle class guy and all, but can’t Biss find a neighborhood kid to mow his lawn and trim the hedges? I’m surprised one of his neighbors hasn’t done it for him already.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:09 pm
That Pritzker dude must be rich.

Is it really possible that neither Biss nor Kennedy will do a TV spot about the billionaire ripping out toilets at his buffer mansion to reduce his property taxes?

That’s a negative spot producer’s fantasy.
That’s a beach ball down Broadway you go yard on.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:11 pm
I still don’t get why people are upset about the toilets. If you aren’t going to use the mansion as a home, making the assessors assess it as not a home, not habitable, kinda makes sense. You’re upset he did the bare minimum instead of tearing it down and just building a wall?

Comment by Perrid Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:26 pm
Ahern’s “story” is more voyeurism than journalism. There’s no need for this.

Comment by George Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:28 pm
Anybody know who the person is on the porch of Kennedy’s Cape Cod house? Is that Max yelling at the tourists to keep off the lawn? Lol.

Also, maybe it’s been fixed by now, but it looks like the Kennedy house in Kenilworth needs a new flag.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:30 pm
I have never been in favor of showing photographs of the homes of public officials.

It does allow the angry types of this planet the opportunity to cause public officials and their families physical harm. A federal judge had her home attacked and if I recall lost a family member a few years ago from someone whose case she ruled upon.

This also includes the recent episodes of inflatable rafts or billboard trucks cruising past homes or schools of their kids or protesters on the actual private driveway of one home pictured.

With Biss showing his house on television ads, it shows some poor judgment on his part. Everyone is entitled to some semblance of privacy.

Just my own person opinion.

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:30 pm
First, I think showing candidate’s homes is a little too personal. Second, I think its a little one-sided to show all of Pritzker’s homes, including one in the Bahamas which may be his, but they only show a picture of one of Rauner’s houses.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:39 pm
===neither Biss nor Kennedy will do a TV spot===

Gotta have cash to do that. And Rauner’s probably saving it for the fall.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:39 pm
Leave it to Rauner to attack Pritzker for his “plumbing” issue in the General election campaign as Rich suggests and ignore his own Quincy Plumbing issue.

Perhaps he should ask the good Cardinal about the passage “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Comment by don the legend Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:49 pm
I thought Biss’ 2nd home was in Champaign, not Urbana.

Comment by City Zen Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 2:58 pm
A “small home in Urbana” can be worth $25k or $200k, depending on where it is. Details?

Comment by Arthur Andersen Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 3:20 pm
Really

This should not be happening

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 3:33 pm
Zen, you are correct. Biss’ rental house is in a decent area northwest of downtown Champaign. Rents for $700/month. Ballpark market value at $80-100k. (Source-Biss tax returns via Evanston newspaper)

FWIW, Middle Class Dan also holds a nice chunk of Treasury Bonds (>$50k?) judging from the interest income reported on his 2016 1040.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 3:34 pm
I am guessing no one would travel to Madison County to take a picture of the “Daiber Mansion”.

And what about the Dr. Marshall home?

Comment by illini Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 3:58 pm
Illini, don’t forget chez Tio. Remember, he’s polling 18 percent.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 4:06 pm
@AA - absolutely correct. My mistake.

Comment by illini Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 4:07 pm
== I’m guessing most middle class folks don’t own two homes? ==

That’s more common than you might think. Second marriages often end up with 2 homes for a period of time. Or you end up with a parents home in addition to your own. I currently own 2.5 homes for those reasons.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 4:16 pm
Seemed like lots of people were all fired up in these comments regarding Rauner’s home in 2014.

I guess it’s just different when it’s “our out of touch billionaire” vs theirs.

Comment by m Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 4:56 pm
Sorry should have been an S as in “Rauner’s homeS”

Comment by m Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 4:57 pm
I despise class warfare and I’m not at all wild about this type of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” piece especially one narrated by the NBC political reporter. Unfortunately, something like it was wholly inevitable and fair now, after the earlier heavy focus on Bruce and Diana Rauner’s homes.

Comment by Responsa Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 5:22 pm
==Gotta have cash to do that. And Rauner’s probably saving it for the fall.==

Maybe if he is smart, he’ll spend less money on a campaign that he is likely to lose.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 5:56 pm
Response, I don’t disagree with you, but a candidate will tend to open himself to further scrutiny if he shows off his “middle class” house and ironing board in the kitchen while soft pedaling his six-figure investment portfolio, including rental property.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 7:30 pm
Agreed, AA @ 7:30 pm:. The Champaign rental, BTW, sounds like a nice return on investment deal and they can always use it if he wants/needs to go back to teaching after the election.

Comment by Responsa Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 10:11 pm
Can we talk about how Ives has the ugliest house, in a badly-built McMansion style? (I mean, Biss’s duplex isn’t pretty, but it’s straightforward. Ives’s house is … bleh.)

Comment by Suburban Mom Thursday, Mar 1, 18 @ 11:36 pm
Am I the only one wondering what happened to the second floor of Biss’s home that clearly shows must exist in his campaign ad (ironing board next to steps going to second floor)? Surely the step aren’t going nowhere?

Comment by Cindy Lou Friday, Mar 2, 18 @ 8:26 am