Rauner Fires Staffer on First Day Over Homophobic, Racial Tweets

On Monday, Illinois Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner hired and fired a government staff member on the same day for a history of tweets that include homophobic and racially insensitive insults, according to Politico.

The staff member, Ben Tracy, was hired to be the governor's "body man," a staffer who travels with the governor and handles his schedule.

A parody account that criticized the Illinois governor, @RadicalCandorIL, retweeted the insulting tweets, according to The Chicago Sun-Times. Politico later obtained images of the tweets after Tracy's account was put into a private mode.

He used the word "faggot" frequently, Politico reported. "To the Indian people in the library, SHUT THE **** UP!" said one tweet, according to Politico.

Politico contacted Rauner's office about the tweets and talked to Laurel Patrick, the governor's director of communications. Later, Patrick said Tracy had been fired.

"Those tweets are unacceptable. The individual in question is no longer an employee of our administration," Patrick said, Politico reported.

The governor fired top aides, including his chief of staff and deputies last week. After the firings, a number of staff members have resigned because of Rauner relying on the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative think tank, former staff members told Politico.

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