Rauners appear together at youth policy panel amid lawsuit

(AP) — Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and his wife, Diana, made a rare joint appearance Thursday at a cabinet discussion about youth policies amid her nonprofit group's involvement in a lawsuit against his administration.

The show of unity came as the Rauner administration is battling a lawsuit by 82 social service providers, including Diana Rauner's Ounce, demanding that the state pay up on $130 million that is locked up in the first-term governor's nearly yearlong budget standoff with Democratic lawmakers.

The awkward situation for the couple has raised eyebrows — and at least one jab at Rauner, by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel — over Diana Rauner's twin roles as first lady and social services advocate in Democratic-leaning Illinois.

In the lawsuit, which targets Rauner and state agencies, the social service providers claim the governor created an "unconstitutional" situation by vetoing appropriations while enforcing contracts for services.