Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday named former state Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger as a deputy governor, putting one of his allies through the state’s long budget war in his administration.
Munger served two years as the Republican governor’s appointed comptroller before losing to Democrat Susana Mendoza in the November election. According to the Rauner administration, Munger will "add her voice to the state’s budget discussions" and also deal with nonprofit groups affected by the 19-month budget standoff between the governor and Democrats, who run the General Assembly.
Her hire comes as the Rauner administration has moved to scoop up some former employees of Munger’s previous office. Also on Rauner’s staff is Brad Hahn, Munger’s former chief of staff and now Rauner’s director of communications, and Phillip Rodriguez, Munger’s former deputy chief of staff and campaign manager, now Rauner’s deputy chief of staff for public engagement.
Munger was appointed comptroller in January 2015 to succeed the late Judy Baar Topinka, who had won re-election months earlier but hadn’t yet been sworn in to office. As the person responsible for cutting the government’s checks during the state’s financial meltdown, Munger had to prioritize which bills would be paid with limited resources to pay them.
As an appointee, she entered the office with an immediate campaign on the horizon. She spent time in office making visits to nonprofit organizations that were struggling with the delay in state payments and having news conferences to raise the alarm about the state’s growing backlog of unpaid bills.
Munger also pushed populist ideas. She advocated for continuing pay state workers during the budget stalemate, and she put state lawmakers’ salaries in the same waiting list as the rest of the state’s unpaid bills, making officials wait months for their paychecks. Her campaign cut an ad that touted the decision.
Rauner says final budget package must have sufficient ‘structural change’ to gain his support Rick Pearson, Kim Geiger and Monique Garcia
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner said Wednesday that he will offer state lawmakers this month a budget proposal in the same format that the Democratic-led General Assembly rejected last year — either work with him on crafting a balanced spending plan or give him more power to make cuts on his own.
…
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner said Wednesday that he will offer state lawmakers this month a budget proposal in the same format that the Democratic-led General Assembly rejected last year — either work with him on crafting a balanced spending plan or give him more power to make cuts on his own.
… (Rick Pearson, Kim Geiger and Monique Garcia)
Mendoza’s challenge to Munger was seen as a proxy war in the larger battle between Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. It turned into an unusually expensive campaign for an office that’s often overlooked in state government. Rauner personally gave $1 million to Munger’s campaign. Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin gave $5 million and conservative businessman Richard Uihlein gave $2 million. Mendoza, meanwhile, raked in $1.3 million from organized labor and $400,000 from Madigan’s Democratic Party of Illinois fund.
Prior to serving as comptroller, Munger lost a bid for a north suburban state House seat. She is a former Helene Curtis executive from Lincolnshire.
Munger will not replace the current deputy governor, Trey Childress. Instead, she will be a second deputy governor, paid a yearly salary of $138,000, according to the governor’s office.
Rauner’s education panel calls for $3.5B increase in school money over next decade Monique Garcia
A state panel charged with suggesting changes to how Illinois distributes money to local school districts agrees that more money should be spent on education but left questions about how it should be doled out in a report it issued Wednesday.
The Illinois School Funding Reform Commission called…
A state panel charged with suggesting changes to how Illinois distributes money to local school districts agrees that more money should be spent on education but left questions about how it should be doled out in a report it issued Wednesday.
The Illinois School Funding Reform Commission called…
(Monique Garcia)
Childress has been serving as both deputy governor and chief operating officer since July, when Linda Lingle, the former governor of Hawaii, resigned her position as Illinois COO. Childress took over the COO duties in addition to his role as deputy governor. Lingle’s departure left the administration with an open executive-level position, which Munger will fill, according to the governor’s office.
Chicago Tribune’s Monique Garcia contributed.
kgeiger@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kimgeiger
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
