When Illinois voters head to the polls a year from now for the Illinois governor’s primary, multi-millionaire Bruce Rauner, who’s never run for political office before, could be on the ticket.
Rauner announced Tuesday he’s forming an exploratory committee and beginning a two-month listening tour to look into a possible Republican candidacy for governor.
“I’m not a politician,” he said. "I've never run for office in my life."
Rauner says he loves Illinois and "just can’t sit back and wait and watch” as the state continues to be poorly managed.
Rauner filed papers Tuesday with the Illinois State Board of Elections. He’s already perceived as a big money candidate a la New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and some estimate Rauner’s wealth at $350 million.
On his exploratory committee are Ken Griffin, the CEO of Citadel; Jack Roeser, founder of Otto Engineering; and John Rowe, former CEO of Exelon. He also tapped several former educators.
Rauner has been an adviser to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and has been quite critical of Karen Lewis and the Chicago Teachers Union.
"I've lost my confidence in the politicians," he said. "They're not delivering results, and I believe I can rely deliver results."
Rauner says his main goals are transforming the state's government so it's run more efficiently, changing the business climate and focusing on education.
