By Illinois Review
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (IL-6) – a progressive liberal Democrat and pro-transgender rights activist, made an extraordinary visit to downstate Illinois on Saturday for a series of town hall events in heavily Republican districts – in a move that sent shockwaves across the state.
But while the visit was unexpected, the real headliner was Illinois Republican leader and Republican National Committeewoman Rhonda Belford, who, according to posts on social media – denied pro-Trump Republicans from attending the event who were organizing and planning to peacefully protest the controversial Democratic congressman’s appearance in the ruby red congressional district.
In a Facebook post by Tom DeVore, he wrote that once Belford learned that an anti-Casten group was organizing, she “started making phone calls to thwart the event. It was her position that Republicans should not oppose Sean Casten’s event in such a manner.” In other words, she was denying fellow Republicans their First Amendment rights to “protest” and “peaceably assemble.”
The state GOP leader is no stranger to controversy. Just five weeks before the November 2023 midterm election, Belford was in Washington, DC to attend the 109th First Lady’s Luncheon featuring First Lady Jill Biden. Second Gentlemen Douglas Emhoff, husband to Vice President Kamala Harris was also a featured guest.
During the December 2022 State Central Committee meeting in Bolingbrook, Belford spoke for 20 minutes about the “Red Wave” of Republican victories in Illinois during the November midterm election, highlighting local victories in downstate counties that no one’s heard of before, including many of her fellow state central committee members.
“Don’t tell me there wasn’t a red wave,” was a phrase she constantly repeated when rattling off local Republican victories. A point that made many of the grassroot conservatives in attendance laugh because of the absurdity of the suggestion that Illinois Republicans had a good day on November 8, 2022.
But in reality, there wasn’t a red wave in Illinois, and as the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board pointed out in a Nov. 11 editorial,
“Republicans lost every state constitutional office – governor, attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller and treasurer – and 14 of 17 congressional seats. In the General Assembly, not only did the GOP fail to gain any ground on Democrats’ supermajority, Democrats notched a record number of seats in the Illinois House. And in the Illinois Supreme Court, where Republicans had an opportunity to gain two seats…they came up short. Democrats now have a comfortable 5-2 edge in the state’s high court.”
Rep. Casten remains one of the most liberal Members of Congress and he regularly champions to expand transgender rights in America. Casten supports boys playing in girls sports – and he even voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025.
Belford remains a close ally of the Illinois Republican establishment.
