By Illinois Review
With the Republican National Convention just days away, the Illinois Republican State Central Committee is moving at warp speed to appoint a new state party chairman as Republicans across the state raise concerns about the vetting process and the need for transparency as candidates jockey to be the next leader of the Illinois Republican Party.
On Wednesday evening, three candidates submitted their applications for party chairman: Aaron Del Mar, John Cabello and Kathy Salvi – but it’s Salvi – the former GOP nominee for U.S. Senate that’s creating the most buzz amongst grassroots circles. For the last two years, Salvi has defended outgoing chairman Don Tracy, co-hosted state party fundraisers with Tracy, and was endorsed by gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin during the 2022 election cycle. Irvin was the state party’s favorite candidate – and Tracy’s too, although he won’t admit it – during the 2022 primary, but lost in a landslide to the conservative grassroots-backed candidate by 43 points. And during the primary campaign, it was reported by WTTW’s Paris Schutz that in 2018, Irvin sent text messages calling Trump an “idiot” and a “bigoted racist.” Irvin also texted the friend, “I hate Trump too!”
Prior to running for governor, Irvin spent years praising Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker, referring to him as a, “great friend and a great leader.” And in 2020, Irvin spoke at a Black Lives Matter rally yelling, “I can’t breathe!” In exclusive audio obtained by Illinois Review, Tracy admitted during a July 2022 meeting with conservative leaders that the Irvin campaign for governor was allowed to use the IL GOP postage discount for mailers – a perk not afforded to other candidates for governor during the primary. Tracy acknowledged use of the postage discount in the recording, but said the IL GOP was taking its “direction from the House Caucus and the Senate Caucus.”
In conservative circles across the state, many believe that Tracy is propping up Salvi to be his heir apparent, and multiple party insiders have shared with this publication that a backroom deal has been struck that gives Salvi the chairmanship and Jason Plummer – a downstate Republican state senator, the vice chair position. Plummer works closely with Tracy’s sister-in-law, State Sen. Jill Tracy, who serves alongside Plummer in the state senate and is the Senate Republican Whip.
On Wednesday, retiring State. Sen. Dan Caulkins, a conservative from Decatur and member of the Illinois Freedom Caucus, released a statement urging the delay of Tracy’s resignation as state party chair, arguing that, “My concern is that the selection process is rushed and ill timed.”
Applications were due on Wednesday, June 10, and the SSC meets two days later on June 12 to elect a new leader.
