Share and Follow
In a dramatic turn of events, Governor JB Pritzker’s campaign office released a letter on Friday calling for an $8.6 billion refund to Illinois families. This comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn President Donald Trump’s extensive global tariffs.
President Trump, clearly dismayed by the court’s ruling, has vowed to introduce a new global 10% tariff as a workaround. However, this measure would be limited to a 150-day duration, according to existing legal frameworks.
Governor Pritzker, along with other Illinois officials, expressed their disapproval of Trump’s actions following the court’s ruling. The verdict represents a significant win for a Chicago-area business that was part of the lawsuit challenging the tariffs.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
Highlighting the financial implications, Governor Pritzker asserted that the Supreme Court’s decision implies that the U.S. government should reimburse American households approximately $2,000 each—a figure slightly higher than the $1,600 estimated by the Yale budget lab. However, the logistics and legality of such reimbursements remain contentious and are expected to face further judicial scrutiny.
“President Trump is now suggesting he has some undisclosed plan to reinstate tariffs or something similar, which he hasn’t shared with anyone. It appears he’s trying to maintain these tariffs in some form,” Pritzker remarked. “This seems unlawful, given the Supreme Court’s ruling that his tariff actions were unconstitutional.”
A letter shared by Governor JB Pritzker’s campaign office asked for the return of the $8.6 billion dollars, the governor says the president stole from Illinois families.
The Supreme Court did not speculate on how the president could move forward, only saying definitively in its verdict, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, that tariffs are a tax on the American people, and only Congress can impose taxes.
Last year’s huge tariffs on China put Learning Resources’ ability to operate in jeopardy. So, the local company decided to take the Trump administration to court, and a year later, they won.
Learning Resources is a family-owned business that has been selling educational toys for decades. Most come from China. When President Trump imposed sweeping tariffs last year, the Vernon Hills based company decided to fight back.
“Our company was threatened,” said Stephen Woldenberg, Learning Resources VP Sales. “Our 500 employees were threatened by this. And we’re not a company to stand by idly. So we wanted to take action.”
The company took action by filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration. While many tariff cases were filed, Learning Resources became the plaintiff in the case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Because the Constitution gives Congress the right to impose tariffs, not the president, the Woldenberg family, who owns the company, knew the law was on their side and the high court would rule in their favor.
“We’d like our money back,” Woldenberg said. “They didn’t have any issue taking it. They shouldn’t have any issue giving it back. We know they didn’t comment on it today, but, we trust the process will play out.”
The SCOTUS ruling did not lay out plan for refunds. Constitutional law experts say the issue will likely be settled in lower courts and it may make a take a long time.
“There have been plenty of cases in the past where the Court has said that some action was unlawful or even unconstitutional, but for various reasons, for reasons of Reliance or settlement, people just don’t get back the money that they’ve paid in those cases,” University of Chicago Law School Professor Jonathon Masur said.
President Trump is looking at plan B, using a different statute, he says he will impose a flat 10% levy on all foreign goods. In an angry press conference following the SCOTUS decision, he also took aim at Learning Resources.
“I know the people that brought the lawsuit, and sleezebags, major sleezebags,” Trump said.
Woldenberg says his family does not know President Trump.
“We are really focused on how we can move forward after the ruling,” Woldenberg said.
Besides being called “sleezebags” by the president, ABC7 asked Stephen Woldenberg if he is worried about any retribution from Trump. Woldenberg says the cost of tariffs is much higher than any cost associated with the case.
North suburban Congressman Brad Schneider announced the CEO of Learning Resources will be his guest for the State of the Union address this Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.