After spending the past several days at a Springfield hotel, Governor Bruce Rauner and his wife planned to spend their first night at the governor's mansion in Springfield Tuesday night. Staying in the executive mansion may sound luxurious, but maybe not.
Rauner is no stranger to mansion life; the wealthy former private equity investor owns some nine homes. This one, though, is in such disrepair, that Rauner compared it to a step above his college fraternity house.
"It's really tragic what's happened. That's the people's house. The floors are buckled, can't even come in the front - the main, the real entrance. Furniture's been damaged. There's plaster falling out of the ceiling."
Illinois has set aside millions of taxpayer dollars to do some repairs, but spending that type of money has become somewhat of a political liability in tough times. Rauner says it may not be necessary. The Republican says he'll pitch in to pay, and he hopes other philanthropists will too. But he noted that even that is political, given the various entities involved with supporting the mansion and its upkeep.
Rauner says he and his wife, Diana, are committed to living in Springfield; Illinois' past two governors lived in Chicago, only using the mansion when they came to the capitol for meetings.
