By Illinois Review
Late on Monday, the Illinois Republican Party State Central Committee – the governing board of the IL GOP, voted overwhelmingly to remove fellow SSC committeeman Mark Shaw as vice chair of the state party – in a stunning move – as the grassroots continue to show their dominance over statewide GOP politics.
On Saturday, Shaw penned an angry, 10-page manifesto where he appeared unhinged as the IL GOP leader attempted to defend himself after it was revealed that he broke party rules and purposefully misrepresented himself as a delegate during the state convention last month, and then threatened to beat up a leader of the party.
As it has been previously reported, Shaw made a fool of himself during the GOP State Convention in Collinsville when he refused to withdraw from his national committeeman race after losing in a series of votes – intent on not backing down despite an overwhelming majority of delegates rejecting his candidacy. And when Aaron Del Mar, a fellow SSC member suggested he withdraw from the race and back his opponent, Shaw threatened Del Mar – a former MMA fighter, and said that he was going to take him outside and beat him up. But that wasn’t all. Just shortly after the convention, it was discovered that Shaw purposefully misrepresented himself as a delegate to the convention as photos emerged of the IL GOP vice chairman wearing an official delegate badge when he was in fact, not a delegate – a direct violation of state party rules.
Several county GOP leaders called for Shaw to resign or be removed from his leadership positions – and late on Monday – that’s exactly what happened during a Zoom meeting where the SSC met to discuss Shaw’s future within the party. Shaw remains a SSC member and a member of the IL GOP finance committee – but those positions are in jeopardy as well following Monday night’s vote.
Over the last few months, the grassroots have dominated local and state party politics – and the influential voter base shows no signs of backing down – a point that threatens the party establishment.
