It’s Time for the Direct Election of State Central Committeeman in Illinois, Eliminating Appointments and Favoritism

By Illinois Review

The Republican State Central Committee (SSC) is the governing board of the Republican Party of Illinois. It’s also an unelected position in the traditional sense, leaving SSC members beholden to the chosen few that elect them, rather than to the people they will serve.

The Bylaws of the Illinois Republican Party state that state central committee members are elected in an internal election by an “elected precinct committeeman who is present at a county convention, and shall cast their vote for State Central Committeeman.”

The precinct committeemen electing SSC members are elected by the people they serve, but SSC members, who are the governing board of the Republican Party of Illinois, are elected in an internal process and voted in by party insiders – leaving SSC members accountable to no one.

There are 17 SSC members representing the 17 congressional districts in Illinois, who can serve no more than eight years.

Illinois Review believes this “selection” process needs to change.

In 2011, a bipartisan group of legislators in the 94th Illinois General Assembly proposed legislation to change the method by which SSC members are elected, and instead require them to run in a Primary Election – allowing the people they will serve in a congressional district to elect them instead of an election of political insiders during a county convention.

The bill had fourteen bipartisan sponsors in the Senate and four bipartisan sponsors in the House. The legislation was referred to the House Rules Committee, but it didn’t go any further – indicating an apparent block by then Democrat House Speaker Michael Madigan at former GOP leader and State Rep. Jim Durkin’s behest, despite bipartisan support.

But with Speaker Madigan and Durkin now gone, it’s time for the Illinois General Assembly to re-introduce this legislation – and if history is any indication, this too should have bipartisan support.

With a position as important as a State Central Committeeman, it’s not only appropriate, but necessary to ensure that their values reflect the people they serve, instead of the party insiders who elect them.

Sunlight is always the best disinfectant in politics, and this will certainly represent a good start.