More top aides to Gov. Bruce Rauner are ousted: reports

One day after Gov. Bruce Rauner replaced his chief of staff, two other staffers in the governor’s administration have been ousted, according to published reports.

NBC5 reported Tuesday that Brad Hahn, who served as Rauner’s communications director, was fired. Both Hahn and the governor’s office did not return messages seeking comment. It was unclear if a replacement had been named.

Hahn joined the Rauner administration in December 2016 after serving as chief of staff to former Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger, who is now Rauner’s deputy governor.

Catherine Kelly, a spokeswoman for Rauner’s administration, also was fired Tuesday, though she was expected to resign as early as next month, according to the Capitolfax.com website, which covers Illinois state politics.

The shake-ups came a day after Rauner tapped Kristina Rasmussen to replace Richard Goldberg as his chief of staff. Rasmussen had previously served as president of the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank.

Last week Rauner vetoed a state budget that includes an income-tax increase, but his veto was overridden with the help of several Republicans.