Steve Rauschenberger

Steve Rauschenberger (born August 29, 1956, Elgin, Illinois) served as a Republican member of the Illinois State Senate from 1993 to 2007. He was first elected to the state Senate in 1992 as part of the famed Fab Five (a conservative class of Freshman all elected to the State Senate). In 2003 he was appointed to the Senate Republican Leadership team in 2003 as Assistant Republican Leader.

In 2004 Rauschenberger ran for U.S. Senate but lost in the Republican primary to Jack Ryan. In 2006 Senator Rauchenberger ran for Lieutenant Governor as the running mate of Ron Gidwitz but lost to DuPage County States Attorney Joe Birkett. Although Senator Rauschenberger originally entered the 2006 elections as a candidate for the Illinois Republican Party nomination for Governor, the high cost of campaigning for a statewide office led him to team with Gidwitz as a candidate for the nomination for Lieutenant Governor. Though the two positions are nominated in the primary independently, candidates for both often run together during the primary campaign, promoting a single "ticket."

Rauschenberger served as chief budget negotiator for the Senate Republicans and was active in the state budget process, serving on both Appropriations Committees and also the Environment & Energy Committee. He also served on the Economic and Fiscal Commission, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, the Illinois Sports Authority Facilities Advisory Board, and the McCormick Place Advisory Board.

He attended Elgin School District U-46 public schools, was a National Merit Finalist, and is a graduate of the College of William and Mary.

Senator Rauschenberger is a native of Elgin, IL where he currently resides with his wife, Betty and their two children, Michael and Henry.

Currently, the retired senator serves as the President of the United Republican Fund. He was a candidate for Republican National Committeeman at the 2008 State Convention of the Illinois Republican Party, but lost to Patrick Brady.

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