Bruce Rauner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bruce Rauner
Rauner in 2016
42nd Governor of Illinois
In office January 12, 2015 – January 14, 2019
Lieutenant	Evelyn Sanguinetti
Preceded by	Pat Quinn
Succeeded by	J. B. Pritzker
Personal details
Born	Bruce Vincent Rauner (1956-02-18) February 18, 1956 (age 69) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Elizabeth Wessel ​ ​ (m. 1980; div. 1993)​ Diana Mendley ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	6
Education	Dartmouth College (BA) Harvard University (MBA)
Signature

Bruce Vincent Rauner (born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman and politician. He served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party. Before becoming governor, he was a successful businessman. He chaired a company called R8 Capital Partners. He also led GTCR, a private equity firm based in Chicago.

Rauner announced he would run for governor in June 2013. He won the Republican nomination in March 2014. Then, he beat the Democratic governor, Pat Quinn, in the election. During his time as governor, he faced challenges. He could not achieve many goals because the state legislature was controlled by Democrats. A disagreement over budget cuts led to a two-year budget crisis in Illinois. In the 2018 election, Rauner lost to Democratic challenger J. B. Pritzker.

Early Life and Education

Bruce Rauner was born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a lawyer. His father also worked as a senior vice president for Motorola. Bruce has three siblings. His family has Swedish and German roots. His very first job was delivering newspapers as a paperboy.

Rauner went to Dartmouth College. He graduated with high honors in economics. Later, he earned an MBA degree from Harvard University.

Business Career and Investments

Rauner worked for over 30 years at GTCR. This is a private equity firm where he was chairman. He started there in 1981 after finishing Harvard. He retired from GTCR in October 2012. Many state pension funds, including Illinois', invested in GTCR.

In 2013, Rauner started his own company, R8 Capital Partners. This firm aimed to invest up to $15 million in smaller companies in Illinois.

Rauner also served as Chairman of Choose Chicago. This is a non-profit group for the city's tourism. He also chaired the Chicago Public Education Fund. He was an advisor to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel before running for governor. In 2015, Rauner reported earning over $180 million.

Giving Back to the Community

Rauner has been recognized for his generous giving. In 2008, he received an award for being a distinguished philanthropist. In 2003, he got an award for supporting the Illinois economy.

Rauner has given money to many important projects. These include the Red Cross headquarters in Chicago. He also supported the YMCA in the Little Village neighborhood. He helped fund new charter high schools and scholarship programs. These scholarships were for students in public schools who needed help. He also supported programs for teachers and principals in Chicago Public Schools.

He helped build the Rauner Special Collections Library at Dartmouth College. He also funded professor positions at several universities. These include Dartmouth College, Morehouse College, and the University of Chicago. He was a main donor for a center at the University of Illinois.

As of 2013, Rauner was on the board of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Running for Governor in 2014

Margin of victory or loss per county for Rauner and his opponent, the incumbent Governor Pat Quinn.

Rauner's 2014 campaign logo

In March 2013, Rauner started exploring a run for Governor of Illinois. He wanted to run as a Republican. His main goals were to make government more efficient and improve education. He also wanted to make Illinois a better place for businesses. He supported term limits, meaning he would serve no more than eight years as governor.

On June 5, 2013, Rauner officially announced his candidacy. He said he would focus on changing tax policies and freezing property taxes. In October 2013, he announced that Evelyn Sanguinetti would be his running mate. She was a city councilwoman from Wheaton.

Rauner won the Republican primary election on March 18, 2014. He received about 40% of the votes. He beat three other candidates in the primary. For the general election, many Illinois newspapers supported Rauner. These included the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times.

During the election, there was a discussion about how his daughter was admitted to a special school in Chicago. The family had several homes, including one in downtown Chicago. This allowed her to apply to the Chicago school.

On November 4, 2014, Rauner was elected Governor of Illinois. He received 50.27% of the votes. His opponent, Pat Quinn, received 46.35%. Rauner won almost every county in the state except for Cook County, where Chicago is located. Rauner spent a lot of his own money on his election, a record $26 million.

Governor of Illinois

Bruce Rauner became the 42nd governor of Illinois on January 12, 2015. When he started, about 52% of people approved of his job performance. However, this approval rating went down during his term. By January 2019, when he left office, it was only 25%.

State Budget Challenges

One of Rauner's first actions was to stop state hiring. He also called for state agencies to sell extra property. A big challenge during his term was the Illinois Budget Impasse. This was a long disagreement between Rauner and the state legislature. Rauner wanted to cut the budget, but the Democratic legislature wanted to increase taxes. This led to major credit agencies lowering the state's debt rating.

In February 2015, Rauner proposed cutting $4.1 billion from the budget. These cuts would affect higher education, Medicaid, and state employee pensions. He also suspended funding for programs helping victims of domestic violence and homeless youth. Critics said these cuts were harmful.

On June 25, 2015, Rauner rejected the state budget passed by the legislature. He said he would not sign a budget until the legislature passed his "Turnaround Agenda." This agenda aimed to reduce the power of trade unions and freeze property taxes. Without a state budget, many social services had to cut back. State universities laid off staff, and public transit services stopped in some areas.

In July 2017, Rauner vetoed a budget that would increase state income taxes. However, the Illinois legislature voted to override his veto. This was seen as a political setback for Rauner. After this, he made big changes to his staff.

Education Funding

Rauner made education a top priority. He worked to fully fund education for the first time in many years. He increased funding for K-12 education by almost $1 billion. He also increased funding for early childhood education to very high levels.

In 2017, Rauner signed a new law about education funding. This law changed how state money was given to schools. It looked at each school district's specific needs and local money. It aimed to give more money to districts that needed it most. The new law also created a scholarship plan. This plan set aside money for scholarships for low- and middle-income students. These scholarships would help about 6,000 private school students.

Views on Unions and Wages

Rauner believed that local governments should be able to pass "right to work laws." These laws allow employees to choose whether or not to join a union. He also thought that public unions should not be allowed to give money to political campaigns. He said this was because unions negotiate with public officials.

Rauner's position on the minimum wage changed during his campaign. At one point, he suggested lowering Illinois' minimum wage. Later, he favored raising the national minimum wage. He also said he would raise Illinois' minimum wage if it came with other business-friendly changes.

Tax Policies

Rauner was against making a temporary income tax increase permanent. He wanted the income tax rate to go down to 3 percent. On January 1, 2015, the income tax rate automatically decreased. The personal income tax rate went from 5 percent to 3.75 percent.

In July 2014, Rauner suggested expanding Illinois' sales tax. He wanted to add sales tax to many services, like legal and accounting services. He thought this would bring in an extra $600 million a year. Rauner was also against a graduated income tax. This is a tax where people with higher incomes pay a higher percentage in taxes.

Term Limits

Rauner strongly supported term limits. He promised to serve no more than eight years as governor. He worked to get a constitutional amendment for term limits on the November 2014 ballot. He gathered many signatures for this. However, a court ruled that the amendment was unconstitutional.

Infrastructure and Transportation

During his 2014 campaign, Rauner talked about spending "billions" of dollars on infrastructure. This includes roads, bridges, and other public works. However, he did not say how he would pay for it. After becoming governor, he stopped a project called the Illiana Expressway. He wanted to review its costs and benefits first.

Gun Control and Death Penalty

Rauner said he wanted laws to keep guns away from criminals and people with mental illness. But he did not want to go further than that due to constitutional concerns. In 2018, Rauner suggested bringing back the death penalty. He wanted it for people convicted of killing police officers.

Voting and Immigration Laws

In August 2016, Rauner vetoed a bill for automatic voter registration. This bill would have automatically registered people to vote when they got a driver's license. Rauner said he supported automatic voter registration. But he was worried the bill might lead to voter fraud. In August 2017, he signed a revised version of the bill.

In August 2017, Rauner signed a bill about immigration enforcement. This law stopped state and local police from arresting people only because of their immigration status. Some Republicans criticized this, saying it made Illinois a "sanctuary state."

LGBT Rights

Rauner supports same-sex marriage. In 2015, he signed a law that banned "conversion therapy" for minors. This therapy tries to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. He also signed a bill that made it easier for transgender people to change their birth certificates. He also participated in LGBT pride parades in Aurora and Chicago. In 2018, Rauner performed a wedding ceremony for a same-sex couple.

2018 Re-election Campaign

On June 20, 2016, Rauner confirmed he would run for a second term. He officially announced his re-election campaign in October 2017. In the Republican primary, he faced State Representative Jeanne Ives. Rauner won the primary election by a small margin. He received 51.4% of the votes.

In the November general election, Rauner lost to Democratic candidate J. B. Pritzker. Pritzker received 54% of the votes, while Rauner received 39%. This was a significant loss for Rauner.

Personal Life

Rauner and his wife in January 2015

Before becoming governor, Rauner lived in Winnetka, Illinois. He lived there with his wife, Diana Mendley Rauner, and their three children. He also has three children from his first marriage.

During his time as governor, he and his family lived in the Illinois Governor's Mansion in Springfield. They also own ranches in Montana and Wyoming. Rauner is a member of the Episcopal Church.

Rauner's exact wealth is not clear, but it is estimated to be very high. During his campaign, he promised to only accept $1 in salary as governor. He also said he would not take any benefits, including a pension.

After losing the 2018 election, Rauner moved to Florida. By August 2020, he was registered to vote in Florida.

Electoral History

Images for kids

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  Governor Rauner's proposed budget cuts to higher education

See also

In Spanish: Bruce Rauner para niños