Since last November's devastating election losses, calls for IL GOP Chairman Tim Schneider to resign have been coming from groups outside the IL GOP, such as Illinois Family Action and the Illinois Conservative Union. To complicate the tense environment, for years, a former state party chairman – who also served as Ohio Gov John Kasich's presidential bid co-chairman in Illinois – has been prominent on the Chicago air waves and on Twitter (@pat_brady), criticizing President Trump.
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider asked the following opinion be shared with Illinois Review readers:
As Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, I have been unequivocal in my support for President Donald J. Trump. As the leader of the Illinois delegation at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, I was proud to cast our delegation’s votes in support of then-candidate Donald Trump’s nomination to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States. And most recently at our previous State Central Committee meeting in Bolingbrook, I reiterated the Illinois Republican Party’s continued support for our president.
In light of reports that a former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party has continued to be vocal in his opposition of President Trump, let me be clear once again – the Illinois Republican Party wholeheartedly supports the re-election of President Donald Trump. Through his unwavering leadership of our country and his America First agenda, President Trump deserves the support of our Party in the 2020 primary, without question. The former chairman does not speak for or represent the views of the Illinois Republican Party. I, along with the eighteen members of the State Central Committee and the National Committeeman and Committeewoman to the RNC, are the duly-elected leaders of the Illinois Republican Party, and we all speak with one voice – the president should be re-elected.
As one pollster recently said, President Trump has more support from Republican voters than any Republican president in the entire history of public opinion polling. As Illinois Republicans, we know we don’t need a poll to tell us that. We talk with and work with the grassroots and Republican voters every day. President Trump’s support among Republicans is near unanimous. As we approach the 2020 election, let’s continue to support President Trump’s agenda and work even harder to keep him in the White House. With another four years of President Trump, our country will continue to be safe, secure, and prosperous.
