Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner Nixes Bill Connected to His Former Business Life in Debt Collection

According to an article in the Chicago Sun Times today, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill last Friday that would have allowed Cook County and Chicago to use third party debt collectors to pursue delinquent tax debts. Evidently, Rauner felt that this would “penalize property owners who are already facing skyrocketing property taxes.”

The article also noted that the proposal’s backer, Cook County Department of Revenue President Toni Preckwinkle, said that the bill was intended to apply to other revenue, such as taxes on amusement, tobacco, and bounced checks – not to property taxes.

insideARM Perspective

An interesting twist in this story is that the Illinois Governor himself used to be an investor in debt collection and BPO companies. As former Chairman of private equity firm GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC, Rauner was involved in an active series of partnerships and acquisitions in the early 2000’s, including Risk Management Alertnatives, Lason, Zenta and Hilco Receivables. Rauner retired from GTCR in 2012.

Earlier this year, Governor Rauner signed into law Senate Bill 1369, reversing provisions adopted in the Illinois Collection Agency Act (August 2015) that conflicted with the FDCPA.