By Mark Weyermuller –
While five out of six Republican gubernatorial candidates showed up at the Sangamon County Republicans' annual Lincoln Day Dinner last Tuesday, the over 1000 in attendance heard only from the sixth candidate's running mate.
The program choice was uncomfortable for those of us that attended. It appeared that the Sangamon County Republicans snubbed Senator Darren Bailey, Gary Rabine, Max Solomon, Jesse Sullivan and Paul Schimpf – the candidates that came in person – to give full endorsement and attention to Richard Irvin's running mate local State Rep Avery Bourne.
Candidate Richard Irvin has been under fire for not attending forums or doing meet and greets. I’ve only heard of one appearance that he’s had, but that was by invitation only. Irvin's supporters claim he is campaigning, yet I’ve only seen him once which was at the Southside Irish parade last month.
There was a candidate forum sponsored a couple months ago by Freedom Initiative Now where they left an empty chair for Irvin on the stage. Much of the talk around town is about the millions Chicago businessman Ken Griffin is donating to the Irvin campaign.
Also in attendance at the Sangamon County event were Lieutenant Governor candidates Stephanie Trussell (running with Bailey) and Aaron Del Mar (running with Rabine). It’s often difficult in primary season, but highlighting one candidate in a six-way race sent a message to the dinner attendees.
While it might just have been an error by a printer, Darren Bailey’s name was misspelled on his large table decoration. The table was purchased for over $1000, so you might think they would spell the candidate's name correctly.
Despite the controversy, Charlie Kirk from Turning Point USA gave a great address. He spoke about the “Woke” culture and how America is waking up. Charlie has a daily radio show syndicated in many markets.
There were two well-attended after parties at separate locations for Gary Rabine and Darren Bailey. The following day I attended my first state board meeting and gave 3 minutes of public comment. It was the Illinois State Board of Education’s monthly board meeting. I spoke about cutting the size of government, less taxes, and doing 401ks for new hire teachers to stop the state pension crisis. Several others spoke including people from Awake Illinois. They did not respond to my 3 minutes of public comment. Watch for my future article on this meeting.
Another large gathering of Republicans will be the Northwest Suburban Lincoln Day Dinner on Thursday, June 2, 2022. The keynote speaker will be Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn. They expect over 1200 people to attend. It will be held at the White Eagles Banquet Hall in Niles. Illinois. Tickets are available here and are expected to sell out. https://www.lincolndd.org/
The Illinois primary is Tuesday, June 28, 2022 with the general election on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Watch Illinoisreview.com for real news & opinion much of it you won’t see anywhere else.
