Governor Bruce Rauner during a campaign appearance in Livingston County/Photo by WJEZ staff
By John Gregory/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner is criticizing state employees for making too much money, yet his own staff members are getting paid more than their predecessors.
The salaries of 10 top staff members under Rauner are higher than those for the same positions under Gov. Pat Quinn. At the same time, Rauner has been blaming the salaries of state employees for being too generous and adding to the state’s financial problems, but he doesn’t think offering higher pay to those within his administration is hypocritical.
“Compare salaries inside the government vs. salaries for the exact same job outside the government. Inside the government it’s often 50 percent higher, 70 percent higher,” Rauner said. “The people we’re bringing into our administration, most of them are taking significant cuts compared to what they were making on the outside.”
Rauner is defending those salaries, saying these staffers were making more in the private sector, but many people in his administration came from other jobs in government.
For example, Rauner’s budget director, Tim Nuding, made $124,000 last year as chief of staff for Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno. He’ll be making $150,000 per year in his new job under Rauner. Quinn’s budget director, Jerry Stermer, made $125,000 per year.
