Ives addresses Northwest Side GOP (Photos by Mark Weyermuller)
Editor's NOTE: At the request of Matt Podgorski, chairman of the Northwest Side GOP Club, we have removed the photo of him and Jeanne Ives that was originally posted and at his insistence, we have changed the headline to read "Northwest Side GOP Club picks Ives over Governor Rauner, 2 to 1"
Originally, the story posted earlier today had a photo captioned "Republicans from NW Cook Co endorsed Jeanne Ives (l) w NW Side GOP Chmn Matt Podgorski (r)" and the headline was "NW Cook County GOP picks Ives over Governor Rauner, 2 to 1"
CHICAGO - Republicans from northwest Cook County sent a strong message of disapproval to incumbent GOP Bruce Rauner Saturday. Those attending a candidate forum endorsed challenger State Rep. Jeanne Ives as the preferred GOP gubernatorial nominee in the upcoming March party primary.
The candidate forum and endorsement session allowed statewide and legislative candidates five minutes to highlight their platforms, issues and ideas for reforming Illinois, their press statement said.
UPDATE 2:49 PM 1/22/2018 : The Ives campaign lists the following GOP organization endorsements in addition to the NW Side GOP Club: Wheatland Township Republican Organization, Fremont Township Republican Organization, Republican Organization of Wheeling Township, Batavia Township Republican Organization, Wauconda Township Republican Organization, Republican Assembly of Lake County, and Tax Accountability (Taxpayers United of America).
Precinct Committeemen from the represented GOP organizations exercised a weighted vote of ten, while general dues-paying members had one vote. The weighted vote results were:
Jeanne Ives - 442 - 66.2%
Bruce Rauner - 226 - 33.8%
92 of the 135 members in good standing of the Northwest Side GOP Club cast their votes.
"Endorsing in the Governor's race was an especially difficult decision for the club, as we have tremendous respect for both candidates," the club statement said. "Both Governor Rauner and candidate Ives met with members at our club headquarters multiple times to discuss their ideas for reforming Illinois."
The Northwest Cook County GOP Candidate Forum was open to representatives from the Niles Township GOP, Evanston GOP, Republican Women of Park Ridge, Republicans of Elk Grove Township, Chicago Republican Party, New Trier Republican Organization, Republicans of Maine Township and the Northwest Side GOP Club.
GOP Committeemen from affiliated township organizations were recognized
The group said they pledged to support the winner of the primary, without reservation. Every member of the Northwest Side GOP Club was required to sign a pledge to support the winner of the March primary in order to cast their vote.
The group endorsed Republican candidate for attorney general Erika Harold with 93.5% of the vote over Gary Grasso at 6.5%.
The also endorsed all uncontested Republican candidates.
"Once the March primary is over, the Club will be ready to tackle the biggest problems that vex Chicago's Northwest Side by working to remove Mike Madigan, Robert Martwick, John Arena and John D’Amico from their respective offices," they said.
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UPDATE: It is our understanding that those not happy with the way this report was written are attempting to discredit the information provided by Illinois Review. Because of that, the press release in its entirety will be provided below. The image is from the group's Facebook page:
The Northwest Cook County 2018 GOP Candidate Forum and Endorsement Session was held on Saturday, January 20, 2018 at the Copernicus Center in Chicago.
Statewide and legislative candidates were each given five minutes to highlight their platforms, issues and ideas for reforming Illinois.
92 of the 135 members in good standing of the Northwest Side GOP Club cast their votes on Saturday.
Endorsing in the Governor's race was an especially difficult decision for the club, as we have tremendous respect for both candidates. Both Governor Rauner and candidate Ives met with members at our club headquarters multiple times to discuss their ideas for reforming Illinois.
We pledge our support 100% for the winner of the primary, without reservation. In fact, every member of the Northwest Side GOP Club was required to sign a pledge to support the winner of the March primary in order to cast their vote.
Precinct Committeemen exercised a weighted vote of ten, while general dues-paying members had one vote. The weighted vote results
are as follows:
Jeanne Ives - 442 - 66.2%
Bruce Rauner - 226 - 33.8%
Erika Harold - 604 - 93.5%
Gary Grasso - 42 - 6.5%
The Club endorses Jeanne Ives for Governor and Erika Harold for Attorney General. We also endorse all the uncontested Republican candidates.
Once the March primary is over, the Club will be ready to tackle the biggest problems that vex Chicago's Northwest Side by working to remove Mike Madigan, Robert Martwick, John Arena and John D’Amico from their respective offices.
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About the Northwest Side GOP Club: The Northwest Side GOP Club is a grass roots organization of politically active individuals primarily from the Northwest Side of Chicago and neighboring suburbs. The club provides a united and powerful voice and force for change that believes that Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness are superior to increased regulation, waste and corruption, which they believe have become the norm at every level of government. The Northwest Side GOP Club inspires both thought and action to set things right in Chicago — politically, fiscally, socially, and culturally.
