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Pritzker Family Legacy Helps Build New Hospital

Penny Pritzker, Tom Pritzker, Cindy Pritzker and Gigi Pritzker Pucker at the future location of the Pritzker Foundation Lobby in Lurie Children’s.

The Pritzker family was one of the first of Chicago’s leading philanthropic families to join Heroes for Life: Campaign for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

Their $10 million leadership campaign gift through their family foundation allowed construction of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago to begin on time in April 2008 for its projected opening in the summer of 2012.

The Pritzker Foundation supports educational, scientific, medical and cultural activities. The foundation has helped fund such diverse enterprises as the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park and the A.N. Pritzker Elementary School, a fine arts magnet school. Now, the first floor lobby of Lurie Children’s will bear the Pritzker name.

Creative interior spaces in Lurie Children’s, such as the Pritzker Foundation Lobby, are a result of a unique collaboration with Chicago’s premier arts, cultural and civic institutions. The lobby will feature two life-size model whales donated by the Shedd Aquarium and a boat-shaped coffee bar, among other amenities.

Members of the Pritzker family have lived and worked in Chicago since 1881. Their foundation honors their family’s roots by supporting the city’s vitality and growth. The family has never forgotten the legacy that inspires their philanthropy.

“Many years ago, my great-grandfather was a Russian immigrant child with pneumonia,” says Gigi Pritzker Pucker. “A newly opened hospital in Chicago gave him care. When they discharged him, they gave him a warm winter coat. From our earliest days, our family has believed in this city and tried to help make it a better place for all.”

Rendering of the Pritzker Foundation Lobby.

While honoring their history, the Pritzkers clearly see their gift to Lurie Children’s as an investment in the future.

“As a businesswoman, I appreciate that Lurie Children’s will be a regional economic engine,” says Gigi’s cousin, Penny Pritzker, Chairman of TransUnion. She is serving as an honorary chair of the Heroes for Life campaign. “It will create 10,000 jobs, and nearly 10 percent will be new jobs. It is generating hundreds of construction jobs now, with an estimated 20 percent increase in annual business volume when the hospital opens in 2012.”

The Pritzkers also see great value in the hospital’s downtown location.

“Located in the heart of the Northwestern University medical campus, it will provide upgraded services for families as well as a richer research environment that will encourage the sharing of ideas,” says Gigi. “To maintain Children’s Memorial as a first-class hospital, it really needed a new facility with upgraded equipment and amenities that reflect family-centered medicine in the 21st century.”

Like many Chicago parents, the Pritzkers have had personal experiences with Children’s Memorial.

“Once our son had trouble breathing and was admitted to the hospital,” says Penny. “I can remember staying with him through the night and feeling reassured that we were in the best place we could be, with the most wonderful doctors and nurses.”

The Pritzkers are proud to have a personal stake in the future of an institution that has meant so much to children and their families in the Chicago area.

“Children’s Memorial has long served as an important safety net for families, especially those who are disadvantaged and in need,” says Penny. “Children are our future, and ensuring their well-being should be a priority for us all.”