Post by Logan on Jun 8, 2016 23:06:21 GMT -6
CHICAGO (AP) — A lifelong Democrat, Bruce Rauner's wife Diana campaigned enthusiastically for the Republican multimillionaire businessman during his 2014 bid for Illinois governor.
Now the child-advocacy group she leads is among 82 social service providers suing her husband's administration for payment of over $130 million locked up in Illinois' unprecedented budget fight with Democratic legislative leaders.
The awkward situation has raised eyebrows and drawn some jabs about her twin roles as first lady to Illinois' first Republican governor in over a decade and as a longtime social services advocate in Democratic-leaning Illinois.
The Pay Now Illinois coalition says its lawsuit is about honoring legally binding contracts. Chairwoman Andrea Durbin said Diana Rauner's involvement — as president of the Chicago-based Ounce of Prevention Fund — increases the awareness of their plight as Illinois has operated for nearly a year without a budget and there's little sign of change. Attorneys this week set a July hearing for the lawsuit, which Diana Rauner's group joined weeks after it was first filed.
Read more: www.pressofatlanticcity.com/politics/wire/awkward-illinois-governor-sued-by-wife-s-nonprofit/article_23a9dfac-ca76-504a-a506-8c629c23f36d.html
Now the child-advocacy group she leads is among 82 social service providers suing her husband's administration for payment of over $130 million locked up in Illinois' unprecedented budget fight with Democratic legislative leaders.
The awkward situation has raised eyebrows and drawn some jabs about her twin roles as first lady to Illinois' first Republican governor in over a decade and as a longtime social services advocate in Democratic-leaning Illinois.
The Pay Now Illinois coalition says its lawsuit is about honoring legally binding contracts. Chairwoman Andrea Durbin said Diana Rauner's involvement — as president of the Chicago-based Ounce of Prevention Fund — increases the awareness of their plight as Illinois has operated for nearly a year without a budget and there's little sign of change. Attorneys this week set a July hearing for the lawsuit, which Diana Rauner's group joined weeks after it was first filed.
Read more: www.pressofatlanticcity.com/politics/wire/awkward-illinois-governor-sued-by-wife-s-nonprofit/article_23a9dfac-ca76-504a-a506-8c629c23f36d.html