Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner says he spent his nearly two-week holiday vacation in Spain and Morocco with his family.
Rauner said Monday he didn't publicly disclose where he was traveling because of concern for his six children.
"I don't want it around the Internet where my kids are," Rauner said.
Rauner left the country the weekend of Dec. 19, but his staff wouldn’t disclose where the governor went. Groups including the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform raised concerns about the lack of detail, following Rauner’s campaign pledges of transparency.
The governor previously said the reason for the secrecy is that two of his kids are currently living overseas.
“And we wanted to spend some of the Christmas holiday time with them. When they return, and they’ll be back soon, we’ll discuss where they are," Rauner said. "Our children are private -- they are not public officials -- and their safety and their privacy is important to my wife and me. So while they’re there, we’re not discussing where they are; when they come back, I’ll talk about it."
The governor returned early from his trip last week to survey flood damage in central and southern Illinois.
Rauner spoke Sunday in the Douglas County town of Villa Grove, the last stop on a 3-day tour of flood-affected areas.
- The Associated Press and Illinois Public Radio's Jim Meadows contributed to this report.
