Rauner's Communications Staff Ousted After 'White Male' Comment

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Gov. Bruce Rauner's brand-new communications team — hired just last month — is reportedly already out after issuing a controversial statement about a political cartoon. On Tuesday, Rauner's team issued a press release saying that "as a white male," the governor would not be commenting on a political cartoon some were calling racist. Sources told the Chicago Sun-Times that the staffers were asked to resign, and one was asked to stay but instead quit.

The controversy began last week after conservative think tank Illinois Policy Institute released a political cartoon about state funding depicting a black child from Chicago begging for money from a suit-clad white man smoking a cigar. Legislators from both sides of the aisle blasted the cartoon as racist, and it was taken down several hours later.

Rauner's new communications staffers were hired in July after a round of firings and resignations, according to the Sun-Times. On Tuesday, sources told the outlet that the new employees — former Illinois Policy Institute staffer Diana Rickert, who served as the governor’s deputy chief of staff for communications, Communications Director Laurel Patrick, and communications specialists Brittany Carl and Meghan Keenan — are already out.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Patrick said, "The cartoon was removed days ago. And the governor — as a white male — does not have anything more to add to the discussion."

Hours after the "white male" statement was released, Rauner walked back the comment, saying it "did not accurately reflect" his views. The governor added that he understood why some people found the cartoon offensive. "I believe we should do more as a society and a nation to bring us together, rather than divide us," he said.

Rep. Christian Mitchell (D-Chicago), who was one of the first to criticize the cartoon, issued a scathing response calling the "white male" remark a "display of cowardice," and adding, "Is Governor Rauner’s identity as a white male more important to him than his job as Governor? Will he no longer comment on issues affecting non-white Illinoisans? Will he no longer stand against reproductive rights for women, since he’s a male? These are just a few of the questions now facing Bruce Rauner.”

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Rauner is seeking re-election in 2018. He faces opposition from multiple Democrats and at least one Libertarian candidate.

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Photo: AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File