Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, considered one of the most vulnerable incumbent governors in the country, has been beset by negative headlines and missteps since his staffing overhaul last month. | G-Jun Yam/AP Rauner reshuffles, again, after botched response to racial cartoon

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has shaken up his staff yet again, clearing out his communications team less than six weeks after they were hired.

Last month, Rauner abruptly fired several longtime staffers, saying he wanted to build “the best team in America.” On Wednesday evening, the new hires in the communications office were let go.


The latest turnover comes just days after staffers on the communications team said that, “as a white male,” the governor had nothing more to add to a debate over a political cartoon that critics had called racist. The cartoon, which showed a black Chicago public school student begging for money from a portly white man with a cigar, was created by a conservative think tank — the Illinois Policy Institute — that has deep ties to the administration. Two of the four staffers who tendered resignations had come to the administration from that same think tank.

One source close to the governor, said Rauner, who was out of town when the response was released, “blew a gasket” when he found out about his staff's response.

“That email was sent — I did not have knowledge of it. I did not approve it,” Rauner said Thursday of the “white male” statement.

The cartoon was a commentary on the state's tax-financing system for schools, and the staff upheaval comes as the legislature is set to take up a critical vote next week in an attempt to override the governor’s amendatory veto of a massive education funding bill.

Rauner, considered one of the most vulnerable incumbent governors in the country, has been beset by negative headlines and missteps since his staffing overhaul last month.

Those mistakes have ranged from initially fumbling his response to severe flooding in the state, to hiring a body man — and firing him on the same day — after it was revealed he had a history of homophobic and sexist Tweets. Rauner also misstated the number of lawmakers needed to override his education funding veto, before the delayed and scattered response to the political cartoon.

“Diana Rickert, Laurel Patrick, Meghan Keenan and Brittany Carl have submitted their resignations to the Office of the Governor,” the administration announced on Thursday. “We are grateful for their hard work on behalf of the people of Illinois and wish them all the best going forward.” Rickert, Keenan and Carl had come from the Illinois Policy Institute. Patrick was a former spokeswoman for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

The governor’s office has been a revolving door in recent months. In July, after the Legislature voted to override his veto of a tax increase, Rauner fired a series of top staffers, including his chief of staff and key communications people. A slew of other employees resigned in protest, with 21 people in all departing from the administration. At a news event on Thursday, Rauner rejected a reporter’s description that his office was in turmoil.

“I disagree with the characterization of ‘turmoil,'" Rauner said. "Change comes as part of any organization. We've had some folks with us since before I became governor ... other folks have moved back to the private sector. ... That’s part of a process."

But longtime Illinois Republicans, including elected officials and operatives, increasingly see Rauner’s latest moves as a sign of the governor's weakness. Each week, Republican state lawmakers who had previously stood by the governor instead announce they intend to step down at the end of their terms.

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One Republican operative said members of the General Assembly are now asking "what the hell is going on" with Rauner's office.

At the same time, Rauner, who is a multi-millionaire, faces formidable opposition from Democrats in his reelection campaign next year, including from billionaire J.B. Pritzker, who has already spent millions of dollars on TV advertising.

“As the governor of this state, Bruce Rauner has an obligation to use his platform to fight racism in Illinois,” said a spokesman for Pritzker, in a press release. “Rauner’s refusal to denounce the racist cartoon from the Illinois Policy Institute is what Illinoisans should now expect after the failed governor staffed his administration from their ranks.”

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the number of staffers who resigned from the governor's office after once working at the Illinois Policy Institute.

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