He's a Republican. But Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner avoided talking about Donald Trump throughout the presidential campaign. Today, the governor opened up some.
Rauner still didn't actually say Trump's name ... he left it at "President-Elect" and "new administration."
But Rauner did volunteer that he and Trump spoke by phone last Friday.
"I've had some good conversations with the new administration in Washington. Because I want to try to figure out if we can work well together. Because I want Illinois to benefit from the changes that are going to come in D.C. There's going to be big changes coming."
The governor went on to say that he's good friends with two of Trump's "senior folks." Rauner's office refused to say who.
Rauner and Trump have a lot in common: They're both businessmen-turned-politicians who won voters with promises of change, and said their wealth would keep them independent of special interests.
The governor says it's the first time he'd spoken to Trump.