Gov. JB Pritzker family-owned firm linked to bourbon company suit alleging CEO called female executive pushy bitch

A private equity firm owned by members of Illinois Gov.JB Pritzker’s family has been named in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging a Kentucky bourbon CEO called a female executive a “pushy bitch” as he pushed out a half dozen women from senior jobs at the company.Sylvia E.

Sanders, 62, alleged in a lawsuit filed Feb.14 in Nelson County state court that Mark Erwin, chief executive at Bardstown Bourbon Co., engaged in “widespread discriminatory animus and slurs,” “improper protected classification jokes and commentary,” and “blatant racism, ageism and sexist/gender bias.”Bardstown Bourbon Company is a Kentucky-based distillery that in 2022 was acquired by Pritzker Private Capital, the Chicago private equity firm co-founded and chaired by Tony Pritzker, the cousin of JB Pritzker.Sanders’s attorney, James Morris, told The Post that when his client escalated her complaints to Pritzker leadership, the firm responded by flying down to the bourbon distillery’s offices in Kentucky and physically escorting her from the premises.“They flew in within … 36 hours and walked her out,” Morris said.While the governor is not involved in Pritzker Private Capital’s day-to-day operations, the company is part of the broader Pritzker family business empire, which includes the Hyatt hotel chain.The firm acquired Bardstown Bourbon in 2022 and oversees it through its holding company, Lofted Spirits.Bardstown Bourbon said the claims have no merit, while Pritzker Private Capital didn’t respond for comment.According to the complaint, the alleged misconduct included Erwin referring to marketing director Laurel Altman as a “pushy bitc…” before correcting himself to say “pushy woman,” and later describing other senior women in similar terms.The complaint alleges that a company photo shoot featuring country music star Brad Paisley became a flashpoint in Altman’s firing.During a promotional event for Paisley’s bourbon brand, American Highway Reserve, which...