South Cook News

Gov. Bruce Rauner has fired his Chief of Staff Richard Goldberg and replaced him with Illinois Policy Institute President Kristina Rasmussen.

Dan Proft, principal of Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes this publication, first reported the story on his morning radio show on Chicago's AM 560.

Rasmussen, 34, of Springfield, has been with the institute since 2009. She was elevated to President and COO in 2015.

Rich Goldberg

Goldberg, 33, of Skokie, joined Rauner's staff in Jan. 2015. He became Chief of Staff in Jan 2016.

"This is a substantial move by the governor and I think it signals how he thought the last two and one-half years have gone (and) how he felt this last session went," Proft said. "(Kristina) is very bright, very policy-oriented, very principled when it comes to advancing the economic liberty policy agenda."

Proft, a fellow at the Illinois Policy Institute, said that this move doesn't mean Rauner will be "advancing their white papers." 

"Kristina is going over there to implement (the governor's) vision as articulated in the campaign but that has not been consummated in public policy successes," Proft said.

Chicago Tribune Editorial Board Member Kristin McQueary, co-hosting with Proft, opined that Goldberg was "very confrontational."

"I don't know if that worked very well in that environment," McQueary said. "Maybe (Kristina) will be more respected."

Goldberg started his political career working on the campaign of U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) in 2004. He worked for Kirk until joining Rauner's campaign for governor in summer 2014.