Bruce Rauner
Bruce Rauner

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — No Illinois governor has lived full time at the Executive Mansion in Springfield in more than a decade. But Bruce Rauner’s promise to live there is reviving the question of its importance forIllinois.

The wealthy Republican says he will be honored to live in Springfield if he defeats Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn in November. Quinn says he would continue to split time between Springfield and Chicago if re-elected.

Former governors Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar say it makes a difference managing the state. Not living in Springfield brings criticism that a governor doesn’t pay enough attention to the rest of Illinois.

Yet state business is done from Chicago, technology makes it easier to be away from Springfield and living in a public residence brings scrutiny and less privacy.
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