Efforts will start this week in Springfield to raise private money to pay for a needed $8.8 million in renovations and repairs to the 160-year-old Illinois Executive Mansion.
The nonprofit Illinois Executive Mansion Association plans a Wednesday cocktail party at the mansion that's expected to be attended by Gov. Bruce Rauner and former governors Jim Edgar and Jim Thompson.
A chairman of the mansion association board says that the statewide campaign will seek both large and small donations. He says it even could include a "pennies for the mansion" effort in the schools.
Problems with the mansion include roof leaks, water damage, wood decay and outdated heating and cooling systems.
Last year, $2.4 million in emergency repairs for the mansion was approved but never spent.
