By Illinois Review
The Illinois Republican Party is in DEFCON 1 as calls from influential party leaders from across the state grow for embattled chairman Don Tracy to remove state central committee member Mark Shaw as vice chairman of the state party after it was revealed that he broke party rules and purposefully misrepresented himself as a delegate during the state convention.
Shaw, who is a state party leader and a senior member of the state central committee, made a fool of himself during the GOP State Convention in Collinsville last month when he refused to withdraw from running for national committeeman after losing in a series of votes. After a humiliating third round of defeats, Shaw was approached by fellow state central committee member Aaron Del Mar, who saw the writing on the wall – and told Shaw that it was time to withdraw and support his opponent. Angered by the suggestion and still upset by the election results, Shaw threatened Del Mar – a former MMA fighter, that he was going to take him outside and beat him up.
But that wasn’t all. Just shortly after the convention, it was discovered that Shaw purposefully misrepresented himself as a delegate to the convention as photos emerged of the IL GOP vice chairman wearing an official delegate badge when he was in fact, not a delegate – a direct violation of state party rules.
Since the discovery, party leaders have written letters demanding for Shaw to resign or be removed from his position. On Saturday, State Senator Jason Plummer – and a member of the SSC, posted on Facebook, writing, “I am very disappointed about the various troubling things that have been relayed to me and the party must take appropriate steps to definitively address any wrongdoing. The IL GOP is not a party for a select few, it should be representative of the millions of Illinoisans whose values we champion.”
Early on Monday, Lake County GOP Central Committee Chairman Keith Brin – who replaced Shaw as chairman, wrote a letter calling on all 102 county GOP leaders to do just that, writing, “We have crossed a rubicon.” Brin also called out Tracy and state party leadership, saying, “I gave the State Party every benefit of the doubt that under Chairman Tracy’s leadership that the Party would step up. Chairman Tracy scheduled a silly meeting to do…nothing.” Later on Monday, Cook County GOP Chairman Sean Morrison – a member of the SSC, wrote a letter calling on Shaw either to resign or be removed from his position as vice chairman of the Republican party and calling into question the reputation of the IL GOP and its leaders – calling the events a “significant issue” for the party.
For the first time in Tracy’s tenure, key county leaders and members from within the state central committee – members who have been team players up until this point – are now actively and publicly calling on Tracy to remove Shaw from his leadership position – and openly questioning Tracy’s leadership abilities to lead the state party. For the last two years, this publication has publicly called for Tracy’s removal as chairman – citing his inability to unite the GOP; his lack of respect for the grassroots; and a winning record that rivals the Cleveland Browns football season in 2017 when they went 0-16. Last June, 30 organizations representing over 80,000 conservative grassroots activists from across the state, signed an open letter calling on the Illinois Republican State Central Committee to remove Don Tracy as chair of the state party in a motion of “No Confidence.”
Both Shaw and Tracy remain silent despite widespread calls for the embattled chairman to take swift action. And if Tracy, who’s never won an election despite running for office multiple times – both as a Democrat and as a Republican – can’t make a decision as easy as this one – then it’s time for him to step aside as well. The stakes are too high for Republicans to have such a weak leader running the state party.
And as for Shaw, perhaps he’s proven himself to be better fit as a bouncer at a downtown Chicago nightclub where making threats of beating people up is part of the routine than as a senior leader of the Illinois Republican Party.
Continue to follow Illinois Review for updates as the drama unfolds.
