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Diana Rauner Distances Herself From Budget Requests

Amanda Vinicky/WUIS

  Gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner is a Republican, but his wife says she is not. As Rauner's campaign continues to criticize Governor Quinn's stance on taxes, Rauner's wife has a stake in the cause.

Just after the March primary election, Illinois was introduced to Diana Rauner, Bruce Rauner's wife. She introduced herself as "a lifelong Democrat."

She's also the CEO of Ounce of Prevention, a Chicago-based non-profit that uses state grant money to help promote early childhood education.

Ounce of Prevention is seeking increased funding, stemming from keeping tax revenues where they are ... something Bruce Rauner is against. He wants rates rolled back.

Recent Ounce of Prevention statements applauding Governor Quinn's budget proposals have left off Diana's name. Instead, they quote policy analyst Eliot Regenstein.

But Megan Meyer, spokeswoman for Ounce, says that's got less to do with the campaign, and more to do with policy focus.

"We tap into the different areas based on the expertise needed," she said. "So, Diana will play a role, Eliot Regenstein plays a role. So everyone in the Ounce plays a role and we focus them in their expertise."

Bruce Rauner's campaign has yet to explain how how he'd increase education funding if the state is taking in less in taxes.

Hannah covers state government and politics for Capitol News Illinois. She's been dedicated to the statehouse beat since interning at NPR Illinois in 2014, with subsequent stops at WILL-AM/FM, Law360, Capitol Fax and The Daily Line before returning to NPR Illinois in 2020 and moving to CNI in 2023.
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