Diana Rauner is gearing up for initiatives that could range from children's advocacy to restoring the capital city's Executive Mansion.
The 53-year-old first lady's interest in children comes from her full-time job as unpaid president of the not-for-profit group Ounce of Prevention. It promotes early childhood education and receives state funding. But Rauner tells The Associated Press she can sidestep any potential conflict of interest.
Rauner is a Democrat married to a Republican governor. She has a doctoral degree and associates say she is dynamic and respectful.
She has hired the prominent Springfield political aide Sara Wojcicki Jimenez as her $100,000 chief of staff.
