In ad, Rauner says he drives 1990s ‘trashcan van’

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner, under the gun this week for admitting he belongs to an exclusive wine club that costs upward of $100,000 to join after portraying himself as the frugal $18 watch wearer, had a new everyday Joe ad teed up.

In this one, Rauner talks about his “trashcan van,” which he says he’s owned for 20 years — with “almost 200,000 miles.”

“I’ll live in Springfield, sell that state plane and drive my van to work because the Capital needs a good trash can,” Rauner says in the ad, chiding Gov. Pat Quinn for using a state plane to fly to Springfield.

In a response today, the Rauner campaign said it is a 1993 van that the venture capitalist most recently drove to a parade on Monday.

The Sun-Times has previously reported that Rauner, who owns nine homes, spent $100,000 for an additional parking spot and storage space at 340 E. Randolph, where he owns a $4 million penthouse and a $1.2 million condo purchased in 2008 — which already include three parking spots. During his campaign, Rauner has made use of the private jet belonging to his top donor and friend, billionaire Ken Griffin.