BRUCE V. RAUNER

Bruce Rauner served as the 42nd Governor of the State of Illinois from 2015-2019, striving to reform the state’s culture of deficit spending and corruption. Governor Rauner achieved equal funding for charter schools, created an historic tuition scholarship tax credit program, negotiated an 1115 Medicaid waiver making the state a national leader in mental health services, reformed the criminal justice system reducing recidivism rates by 22%, formed the Competitiveness Council to eliminate burdensome regulations, and created the state’s first Department of Information Technology, making Illinois a national leader in streamlining and digitizing government services. At the outset of his term, Governor Rauner sued AFCSME in a case decided by the U.S Supreme Court in 2018, eliminating the forced collection of union dues in the public sector and enabling state and local governments and public schools in the U.S. to become Right-to-Work.

Prior to his public service, Bruce was Chairman of private equity and venture capital firm GTCR, where he and his partners helped form and finance the growth of over 200 companies in diverse industries including business services, technology, and healthcare. Prior to joining GTCR in 1981, Bruce worked in strategic consulting with Bain and Company and in economic analysis with Data Resources, Inc.

Bruce serves as a director of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, the Foundation for Florida’s Future, the Environmental Defense Fund, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Everglades Trust, and the Nature Conservancy of Florida. He works with the Montana Land Reliance to preserve ranch land and wildlife habitat in Montana.

Bruce’s prior service included roles as Chairman of the Chicago Public Education Fund and ACT Charter School, Chairman of the Education Committee of the Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago, and Chairman of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau. He served on the boards of the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, New Schools for Chicago, The Noble Network of Charter Schools, Ravinia Festival, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. Bruce received the Daley Medal from the Illinois Venture Capital Association for extraordinary support to the lllinois economy, and the Murie-Broome Award from The Wilderness Society for outstanding work in wilderness preservation.

Bruce’s wife, Dr. Diana Mendley Rauner, is President of Start Early, an education, research and advocacy public-private partnership which operates innovative early education programs nationwide. A Chicago native, Bruce received a B.A. degree in economics, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. He is an avid fly fisher, bird hunter, backpacker, skier, golfer, and motorcycle and horseback rider. Bruce and Diana have six children and one grandchild.