By State Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) -
Where does the Illinois Republican Party go from here? Up, because it is an opportunity to rebuild.
The revelations from Governor Rauner regarding his total disregard for the Party and the people of Illinois have laid waste to what was left of his kind of Illinois GOP — where one man and his money is all that matters. One that only blames others, only attacks Speaker Madigan, buys supporters, bypasses the base, disparages the Party’s President, and cannot govern because “I’m not in charge.”
It is now in this new year that we, the Republicans of Illinois, must move forward from the deep disappointment and betrayal we experienced, and take back our party. We must set aside our differences and commit ourselves anew to the principles that made our Party and this Nation one of the greatest in human history. Principles articulated in our Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the Republican National Platform and the Illinois GOP Platform.
We must build on the basic belief that all people are created equal in their dignity and value, they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights which government was formed to protect. That everyone deserves access to economic opportunity, liberty, property and self-determination, to name a few.
That includes renewing and reinvigorating our once great State and stemming the tide of those rushing to escape by:
- giving parents back their rightful power in choosing their child’s education regardless of zip code,
- reinvigorating business through stability and predictability with the least taxation and regulation necessary,
- reforming pensions to ensure we can fulfill our commitments, and
- offering the citizens of Illinois a positive choice for their future in a Party that can and will deliver on its promises.
Republicans' opposition cannot be one another, but we must join together to resist the devastating policies and direction that Governor-elect Pritzker, 30-year Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, and the super-majority of Democrats at the state level. In addition, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer at the national level, will hurl us down a path to an inevitable economic abyss.
It’s going to take IL GOP leadership and I vow to be a part of it. We must find the courage and resolve to overcome what few disagreements we really have, focus our energy and efforts on being the change that senior citizens, college students, young families, veterans, and those most vulnerable can believe in.
The alternative is unthinkable.
