Live updates from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee
U.S. Rep. Darin. LaHood, Illinois' National Committeman Richard Porter and Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno converse at the Illinois delegation's Thursday breakfast. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Illinois' new GOP chair speaks to delegation for 1st time
The CNI news team is on the scene at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Check back frequently for the latest developments:
RNC concludes
The Republican National Convention has concluded, and the Capitol News Illinois team is headed back to Illinois. Donald Trump spoke for over an hour last night, to raucous cheers from the Illinois delegation.
A video recap of Day 4 is linked in the post below this one, and you can find our coverage of the Illinois delegation’s activities at the following links.
Day 4: State GOP leaders pass the torch as national convention wraps up
Day 3: On party infighting, Illinois’ new GOP chair says ‘start calling those people out’
Day 2: Illinois Republicans urged to look beyond traditional base as national party courts unions
Day 1: At national convention, Illinois’ beleaguered GOP portrays calm amid internal storm
This post will no longer be updated, but you can check back later today on our site or wherever you get your podcasts for the latest episode of Capitol Cast, in which the CNI convention crew recap’s the week.
The Democratic National Convention, meanwhile, is scheduled for Aug. 18-22 in Chicago, so you can expect similar coverage from the CNI team when that gets underway.
RNC DAY 4: Live updates from Milwaukee
7:10 p.m. – Video recap of Day 4
On the final day of the Republican National Convention, Illinois’ delegation looks to the November elections and beyond. Andrew Adams of Capitol News Illinois has the story.
6:50 p.m. – Video updates from the final day of the RNC.
12:42 p.m. - Pritzker 'supporting the nominee of the Democratic Party'
Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill regulating carbon capture sequestration technology in Illinois on Thursday and took a question about the presidential race.
“I am supporting the nominee of the Democratic Party. That right now is our president, Joe Biden. So I've been campaigning. I went to Ohio and Indiana last weekend to campaign for President Biden, Vice President Harris, and I'm going to continue to do that,” Pritzker said. “He's apparently going to be our nominee, he's chosen to be our nominee. And so, we've got to win, because the alternative is unacceptable for the country and for the future of our nation, you know, forever, really, could be altered as a result of the election of his opponent, Donald Trump.”
11:41 a.m. - LaHood calls for resignation of Secret Service director
In the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump over the weekend, U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, of Peoria, called for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
LaHood, who serves on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, said it was “unacceptable” that the Secret Service failed to secure the rooftop from which the shooter aimed a near-fatal shot at Trump Saturday at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“It's an embarrassment for the United States,” he told reporters after the ILGOP’s breakfast meeting Thursday. “It's a weakness that the United States is viewed around the world when the leading presidential candidate is shot at and almost murdered.”
Both of Illinois’ other Republican members of Congress are also calling for Cheatle to resign. U.S. Rep. Mary Miller did so in a statement Wednesday, where she also perpetuated the falsehood that President Biden diverted Secret Service resources away from Trump, which Secret Service spokesperson has unequivocally said was not true.
And on Thursday, Rep. Mike Bost told reporters Cheatle “needs to go” and praised the House Oversight Committee’s quick action on subpoenaing Cheatle to appear at a hearing next week as part of an investigation into the shooting.
“It's not just about what happened with Donald Trump, though we need know that – what happened at that rally?” Bost said. “We also need to know in future that never happens again. I don't care if it's Democrat, Republican or independent – once you receive your detail from the Secret Service, they do their job.”
9:52 a.m. - LaHood praises GOP energy
The delegation also heard from U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood of Peoria, who marveled at the energy he’s seen from his fellow Republicans at the RNC this week, crediting some of it to the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump over the weekend."
“You never know how almost being assassinated will affect you but I think it’s had a very positive effect on our party and brought us together,” he said.
He also contrasted the Trump of 2024 to his runs in both 2016 and 2020.
“We have a President Trump who’s much more focused, disciplined in terms of what we need to do in the campaign,” LaHood said. “We saw that in the debate prep, we saw it on the vice-presidential pick, and we've seen it with this convention.”
Later, he said:
9:37 a.m. - Tracy final address: 'Most of you' have helped the party
National Committeeman Richard Porter (right) will reach his term limit and ILGOP Chair Don Tracy (second from right) will step down as GOP chair at the end of this week. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
In a brief final address to the ILGOP, outgoing chair Don Tracy thanked those gathered at the breakfast, saying, “many of you – well, most of you – have helped the party along the way.”
Tracy announced his resignation last month, citing party infighting as a frustrating distraction from the work of fighting Democrats who dominate Illinois politics.
“I just ask that you keep helping the Illinois Republican Party grow bigger – become a bigger tent party,” he said. “And take back Illinois from the crazy, dysfunctional Democrats.”
He was slated to do a media availability after the breakfast.
9:17 a.m. - 'It could be your governor'
U.S. Rep. Darin. LaHood, Illinois' National Committeeman Richard Porter and Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno converse at the Illinois delegation's Thursday breakfast. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Thursday’s ILGOP breakfast got a late start as tired delegates took their time filing into the hotel conference room.
Thursday’s featured speakers included Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, who is running against three-term Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. He recalled the 2016 RNC when Ted Cruz, who’d opposed Donald Trump in the presidential primary, was booed onstage, and contrasted it with the Republican unity of the 2024 convention.
On the other side, Moreno said, Trump and running mate J.D. Vance – the other U.S. senator from Ohio – “don’t even know” who they’ll be running against, referencing President Joe Biden’s faltering re-election campaign.
“It could be your governor,” Moreno said, jokingly apologizing for “ruining” the delegates’ appetite as the room booed at the prospect of Gov. JB Pritzker running for president.
“But I figured you were strong enough to hear that kind of news because you have Tammy Duckworth as your senator,” he continued.
Moreno, who immigrated to the U.S. as a child from Bogotá, Colombia, is a car dealership magnate.
9 a.m. - Illinois delegation urged to fill seats
The Illinois delegation has had trouble keeping its seats filled during RNC programming. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
8:30 a.m. - Peter Hancock’s video recap of Day 3
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, of Peoria, and Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno are the speakers at today’s Illinois delegation breakfast in Milwaukee. Donald Trump is slated to give his keynote speech later this evening.
Below is Peter Hancock’s video recap from Day 3 of the RNC.
RNC DAY 3: Live updates from Milwaukee
9:30 p.m. - 2022 Illinois governor candidates spotted
9:15 p.m. - Catching up with Richard Porter
Capitol News Illinois’ Peter Hancock caught up with GOP National Committeeman Richard Porter on the RNC floor Wednesday night. Despite a viral run-in on the floor with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who had a speaking spot Wednesday night (see update below), Porter told Hancock he thinks the GOP is united under Trump – including in Illinois.
8:30 p.m. - At-large delegate attends first convention since 1984
Jan Weber, an at-large delegate from Henry County, is attending her first convention as a delegate. But she remembers being a guest at the 1984 convention in Dallas, where her husband was a delegate, and watching Ronald Reagan being nominated for a second term.
Weber said she sees parallels between Reagan and Trump.
“President Reagan was an entertainer,” she said. “I actually live in Henry County and President Reagan was born about 15 miles from me in Tampico, Illinois. So he had a lot of roots in Illinois. Illinois delegates were extremely excited to be there with Reagan. And he was he was a master of dealing with the crowd, just as I think Trump is.”
7:30 p.m. - Abbott says he will continue busing migrants to cities like Chicago
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to continue busing migrants from the southern border to Chicago in his speech to RNC delegates. He said the program began as a response to President Joe Biden's border policies.
“We have continued busing migrants to sanctuary cities across the entire country and those buses will continue to roll until we finally secure our border,” Abbott said.
Roughly 45,000 migrants have been bused and flown from Texas to Chicago over the past two years. The state allocated more than $600 million dollars to establish shelters and provide aid to the often-impoverished migrants before approving an additional $182 million for migrant aid in this year's state budget.
This month, the state opened two additional shelters in Chicago.
2:30 p.m. - Illinois delegation video updates
Videographer Andrew Campbell has been following the RNC action with the Capitol News Illinois team. Below are a few of his clips from the Illinois delegation breakfast.
2 p.m. - Man confronting Gaetz in video is Illinois’ committeeman
The man confronting U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz in a viral video from the convention floor is Illinois' National Committeeman Richard Porter, who sat for an interview with Capitol News Illinois last week.
Gaetz is seen in the video telling former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy he would be “booed off the stage” if invited to speak. Gaetz is then confronted by Porter who tells him “don’t be an a**hole” in a colorful exchange that Gaetz quickly exited. Read Peter Hancock’s interview with Porter from last week by clicking here, and listen to the interview on our latest episode of Capitol Cast wherever you get your podcasts. The video – which contains coarse language – is embedded below.
CNI’s Hannah Meisel was part of an interview with Porter that was shared by Lee Enterprises’ Brenden Moore and is linked below.
1:30 p.m. - Photos of the Illinois delegation
While the state’s delegation to the RNC thinned out toward the end of last night’s speaking lineup, the mood was festive throughout the day. Pictured below, are a few photos by Andrew Adams of the Illinois delegation on the convention floor from Tuesday night.
Susan Sweeney of Park Ridge, an Illinois delegate to the RNC, wears a stovepipe hat featuring Abraham Lincoln and a Superman inspired portrait of Trump. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
An Illinois delegate holds up a Trump 2024 sign. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Members of the Illinois delegation are pictured on the convention floor. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Illinois House Republican Leader Tony McCombie is pictured on the convention floor. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
12 p.m. - Fioretti makes his case
Cook County State’s Attorney candidate Bob Fioretti, center, is pictured with Pastor David Lowery, left, of the Universal Baptist Church in Harvey, Illinois, and Bob Israel, right, of Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
Bob Fioretti, the GOP candidate for Cook County State's Attorney, addresses reporters with Black Chicago-area community activists who say they've grown frustrated with Democrats and are now willing to give Republicans a try. Fioretti faces an uphill battle to become state’s attorney in predominantly blue Cook County against Democrat Eileen O’Neill Burke.
Shortly after the Milwaukee news conference Fioretti sent a news release accusing Democratic leadership of “coddling” violent criminals and noting that Chicago’s suburbs are the key to turning Illinois red, as they’ve become increasingly Democratic in recent years.
11:15 a.m. – Andrew Adams’ video recap of Day 2
While we wait for the afternoon and evening events to begin, here’s a video recap of Day 2 from Capitol News Illinois reporter Andrew Adams.
10:45 a.m. - Illinois breakfast concludes
There's a break in the action for the Illinois delegation before this evening's activities. Below is some video of from last night's events with Illinois ties.
10:15 a.m. – Salvi, McCombie meet the press
Incoming ILGOP Chair Kathy Salvi takes questions from reporters on Wednesday. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Speaking to reporters after the speeches, Salvi wouldn’t directly state her position on a national abortion ban, a hot topic among Republicans going into this week.
Instead, she said she would focus her energy as state chair on supporting every GOP candidate on the ballot “in winning their election.”
McCombie, speaking about some of those elections, said that House Districts 76 and House District 45, two open seats being vacated by incumbent Democrats, are “very important” to the party.
When asked about funding – a major issue for Illinois Republicans in recent years after megadonors Ken Griffin and former Gov. Bruce Rauner left the state – McCombie said the party’s plan was to “outwork” Democrats.
“After we win some of those elections, some of those donors will come back. It’s about measurables,” she said. “We’re gonna outwork. We may not be able to outspend. As a matter of fact, we won’t be able to outspend.”
9:45 a.m. - Salvi gives first address to GOP crowd
Incoming Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi receives applause at the Illinois delegation's breakfast. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
McCombie was followed by Kathy Salvi, who will take over as party chair after the convention, succeeding Don Tracy, who resigned amid intraparty squabbling.
Salvi tried to put party divisions aside, declaring that Republicans will be unified in 2024 despite her predecessor’s resignation letter lamenting that too many Illinois Republicans would prefer to fight other Republicans than work to defeat Democrats.
Salvi and McCombie both focused on electing more Republicans in the deeply blue Illinois, with Salvi returning to her speech’s chorus: “Republican unity wins in 2024.”
Although Salvi doesn’t officially step into her new position until the end of the week, she was elected by the state central committee last Friday. She said she had a “single-minded dedication to winning elections,” and remarked that “everyone who is willing to take the Republican ballot is our friend.” She was slated to participate in her first media availability afterward.
9:30 a.m. - McCombie vows to flip five seats
House Minority Leader Tony McCombie speaks at the Illinois delegation's Wednesday breakfast, flanked by a cheese statue of Donald Trump. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, of Savanna, said Republicans face an uphill battle in General Assembly elections due to the “worst partisan gerrymandered map” in the nation. But if they can succeed in getting voters to the polls, she vowed the GOP will “flip five seats in the Illinois House.”
Democrats hold 78 of the 118 seats in the Illinois House, so flipping five would still keep the GOP in the superminority.
9:12 a.m. - House Ag Chair GT Thompson is first speaker
U.S. Rep. GT Thompson speaks to the Illinois delegation. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Illinois delegates began the third day of the Republican National Convention Wednesday a little tired after a long night on the convention floor Tuesday that was marked by emotional speeches from family members of crime victims and calls to “Make America Safe Once Again,” the convention’s theme of the day.
U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pennsylvania, kicked off the morning breakfast Wednesday, reminding Illinois delegates that more than 90 percent of all farm acres in the United States are represented in Congress by Republicans.
Thompson also echoed a sentiment heard over and over since the assassination attempt Saturday on the party’s nominee, former President Donald J. Trump, that he was saved by a kind of “divine intervention” to serve a “higher purpose” for America.
He underscored a pessimistic view of regulation under President Joe Biden’s administration, calling the Environmental Protection Agency the “excessive punishment agency.” He said the EPA, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture are issuing “punitive” regulations.
“They make their arguments with political science, not real science,” he said. “Despite the lies of the left, there is no greater climate champion in the world than the American farmer.”
Thompson also pointed out that Illinois is number one in both pumpkin and horseradish production.
Wednesday’s convention theme will be “Make America Strong Once Again.” Speeches are expected to focus on national security and foreign policy.
Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate, will also speak tonight. Trump is expected to give his main address to the convention on Thursday.
8:55 a.m. - LaHood makes brief appearance
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood speaks to Illinois House Republican leader Tony McCombie at the Illinois delegation's breakfast prior to RNC activities on Wednesday. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Hannah Meisel)
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood of Peoria briefly made an appearance at this morning’s ILGOP breakfast, but staff said he couldn’t stay. The breakfast is a bit behind schedule.
8:51 a.m. - Salvi arrives with Illinois House Republican leader McCombie
8:30 a.m. - Cheese sculpture greets Illinois delegation
A Donald Trump cheese sculpture greets attendees of the Illinois delegation's morning breakfast on Day 3 of the Republican National Convention. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
Day 3 of the Republican National Convention is set to begin for the Illinois delegation, which was greeted by a cheese sculpture of Donald Trump at its daily breakfast.
The state’s Republican leaders of the General Assembly are scheduled to attend the convention today, and incoming ILGOP Chair Kathy Salvi is slated to speak at the breakfast.
RNC DAY 2: Live updates from Milwaukee
1:15 p.m. - In Illinois, Dems criticize Vance, Trump
Back in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Sen Dick Durbin were asked about Trump and his vice president pick at an unrelated news conference in Chicago. Pritzker was slated to speak in Milwaukee on Monday as part of Democrats’ RNC counterprogramming, but those events were canceled following the Saturday assassination attempt on Trump.
Pritzker said political violence shouldn’t happen and he has never and would never call for it. But he resumed his condemnations of Trump’s candidacy.
“It's still true: Donald Trump is a convicted felon, an adjudicated rapist, has been a congenital liar and is unfit for the office of President of the United States,” Pritzker said. “Having said that, I am very pleased that he remains relatively unharmed … and, of course, saddened and I find it extremely tragic that someone with, apparently, an assault weapon, killed people at that rally.”
Durbin, the Senate’s Judiciary Committee chair, noted Trump VP pick J.D. Vance blocked an appointment of a U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois to oversee federal prosecutions in Chicago, leaving the post vacant.
“Three times or more, I went to the floor and asked him, confronted him with this decision, saying, ‘How can you be for law and order and talk about stopping the scourge of fentanyl and other terrible things, human trafficking ...’” Durbin said. “He said and repeated himself over and over: his goal was to grind the Department of Justice to a halt.”
Vance has said the move was retaliation for what he believes is the Justice Department’s unfair prosecutions of Trump in several federal court cases, including the case a judge threw out Monday over Trump illegally keeping classified documents after leaving office.
12:15 p.m. - State GOP members insist it’s a “big tent” party
Unlike at many past Republican conventions, Illinois’ GOP delegation is made up of mostly non-elected officials. And those elected officials who did make the trip to Milwaukee are among the most conservative Illinois has to offer – including far-right U.S. Rep. Mary Miller of Oakland.
Miller, who is married to State Rep. Chris Miller, told the crowd she was “proud of my husband and the work that the Illinois Freedom Caucus is doing to fight back against the Democrats in Springfield.”
“I think I've heard my husband call (the General Assembly) the Bad Idea Factory,” she said.
She blamed the media for Republicans’ losses in deep blue Illinois. When asked why she thought more moderate Republicans weren’t at the RNC, Miller offered no answer.
“Well, I don't know why those people aren't here,” she said. “But President Trump is our leader, and we're here to support President Trump.”
State Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, said while he wasn’t a member of the Freedom Caucus, the fact that he gathered signatures for Trump shows the ILGOP is a “big tent” party.
When asked if the party has room for “anti-Trumpers,” Meier said, “I believe so.”
“Because look at it: The man stands for opportunity for everybody,” Meier said. “I talked to a lot of people saying, ‘I don't like the man, but I love his policies and I'm going to vote for him.’ We need those people to vote for this platform...But yes, the infighting amongst us has cost us seats and that is a problem that we are working to correct."
12:01 p.m. - Illinois delegation video updates
11:30 a.m. - State senator talks significance of union speech
State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, speaks to reporters after the Illinois delegation’s breakfast prior to the day’s RNC events in Milwaukee. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Hannah Meisel)
State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, said a speech by International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien at the RNC Monday should serve as a reminder to Republicans about voters the party may have taken for granted in recent years.
“I think for a long time we have needed to get our message out better that we are pro-labor,” Bryant said.
Bryant – a retired employee of the Illinois Department of Corrections, former member of AFSCME Council 31 and retiree member of Laborers Local 773 – said her southern Illinois region is home to a high percentage of state workers.
“To have (O’Brien) stand up there and say some of the things that I think Republicans need to hear was really refreshing last night,” she said. “Some things made me a little uncomfortable, though, because maybe I haven't been doing the best job that I could even as a union member.”
Republicans’ relations with organized labor suffered during one-term GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration, where his focus on weakening public employee unions – chiefly AFSCME – led to a two-year budget impasse that decimated state services.
10:06 a.m. - Crime a major focus for state GOP
A major theme at the RNC today for the Illinois delegation has been crime and safety. Chicago is often held up as the Republican exemplar of a big city with a major crime problem – South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott name dropped the city in his speech last night.
Democrat-turned-Republican Bob Fioretti, who’s running for Cook County state’s attorney, said that the city is fairly criticized for its approach to criminal justice.
“When you look at numbers, it becomes a war zone,” he told CNI. “Not a place that you want to visit and until we dampen crime, we won't have economic development. We won't have tourism coming to our city.”
Fioretti faces long odds in the general election against former Judge Eileen O’Neill Burke, who won March’s primary against former Cook County prosecutor Clayton Harris by less than 2,000 votes.
While murders in Chicago were higher in 2021 than at any point since a nationwide crime wave in the mid-1990s, they’ve since fallen.
9:26 a.m. - Miller: ‘treasonous’ for Biden to open the border
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, does a rare media availability at the Illinois delegation’s breakfast prior to Republican National Convention activities. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Hannah Meisel)
Rep. Mary Miller takes the stage and rails on Democrats’ border policies, inflation and “parental rights.”
Miller, one of the most conservative members of Congress, strongly supports Trump’s vice president pick, J.D. Vance.
“I’m so excited that he chose Senator Vance as his running mate,” Miller said.
Miller also took aim at state-level Democrats, accusing Gov. JB Pritzker of working to “shut down the state’s energy production.” In 2021, Pritzker signed a law that set Illinois on a course to shut down greenhouse gas emitting electricity generation by 2045, something that Miller and her husband, state Rep. Chris Miller, have often criticized.
Miller later told reporters during a rare media availability that she finds it “treasonous for Joe Biden to open our borders,” and said she’s “happy to talk to people” but claims she doesn’t do media because she believes “the media has demonized President Trump.”
9 a.m. - Former New York rep. makes Illinois comparison
Former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-New York, speaks to the Illinois delegation to the RNC on Tuesday. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Zeldin, who served in the U.S. House from 2015 until 2023, compared Illinois to his home state.
“I come from New York. We have a lot in common. It’s like a race to the bottom of blue state governance,” he said.
Zeldin made the case for taking advantage of early voting and mail-in ballot programs, which Democrats have utilized and many Republicans have viewed with skepticism. He said Republicans who “boycotted” in Nevada in reaction to a ramp-up in early voting caused the narrow reelection of U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in 2022, when Democrats barely kept control of the chamber with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote for the 50-50 partisan split.
“If we, as a party, decide that we want to boycott universal mail-in balloting because we disagree with it, we will wake up – guaranteed – on November 5 having already lost the state of Pennsylvania,” Zeldin said.
Outgoing ILGOP chair Don Tracy has pushed for mail-in ballot programs and early voting, though some of his fellow Republicans have objected to that strategy.
He also shared an anecdote that surprised him about the Illinois Statehouse: that members let staffers push their vote buttons.
8:45 a.m. - Incoming GOP chair makes first appearance at delegation’s breakfast
Delegates are still trickling into a breakfast program where U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, and former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York are expected to speak. Miller is already at the podium as things are getting started.
Incoming Illinois Republican Chair is making her first appearance at the Illinois delegation’s breakfast and she was seen speaking with outgoing Chair Don Tracy. She is scheduled to speak at the breakfast on Wednesday.
RNC Day 1: Live updates from Milwaukee
3:45 p.m. - Cabello praises running mate pick
After news broke of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance being tapped as Trump's vice-presidential running mate, Rep. John Cabello told Capitol News Illinois he supports the choice.
“He's got a great story, he came from nothing. You know, he's self-made. The man worked his tail off,” Cabello said. “Yeah, I think that's a good fit for the story. It's the same thing that Trump did you know, work your tail off, build yourself and you know he's very knowledgeable. I think it's a great pick.”
Cabello, a longtime feature of conservative Illinois politics, was one of the first elected officials to back Trump in 2016, going to that year's convention in Cleveland and delivering the speech casting Illinois' votes for Trump.
2:45 p.m. - U.S. Rep. Miller announces Illinois delegation’s vote
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller was the Illinois Republican Party’s choice to announce that the state was giving its 64 delegate votes to Donald Trump. At each convention, a representative of each state’s party announces who their delegates will be supporting.
Miller, of Oakland, said she was announcing the votes on behalf of “parents who are horrified by Joe Biden's attack on parental rights” … “farmers who are being crushed by the Biden economy” … “our daughters who Biden is forcing to compete against men in sports,” and “victims of the Kamala Harris border crisis.”
“Illinois proudly casts all 64 votes for President Donald J. Trump,” she said, flanked by her husband, state Rep. Chris Miller.
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, speaks to people prior to addressing Illinois’ delegation to the Republican National Convention on Monday. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
2:30 p.m. - State rep. details brief campaign for ILGOP chair
In his recent bid to become Illinois Republican Party chairman, state Rep. John Cabello, of Machesney Park, said he made as many as 86 phone calls in one day.
But the Republican State Central Committee ultimately chose chairwoman-elect Kathy Salvi to take over as party chair when Don Tracy steps down as of Friday. Former candidate for lieutenant governor Aaron Del Mar, of Palatine, also threw his hat in the ring.
Cabello, who said he offered to be an interim chair because he’d heard concerns that the replacement process was moving too fast, said he does not want to dwell on the past.
He echoed Tracy in saying the state party became too reliant on Rauner’s money and needs to be better at fundraising.
“The pitch right now, I believe, is that we need to win a few races here to grow our numbers,” Cabello told the Capitol News Illinois team. “The more we grow our numbers, the more influence we have on the process in Springfield. And what we wish to do once we get into a situation where we can stop things in Springfield is, in my opinion, come up with a contract with Illinois – sit there and lay out what our exact pitch is and disseminate that throughout the voters.”
State Rep. John Cabello, of Machesney Park, speaks at the Illinois delegation’s party breakfast in Milwaukee before the Republican National Convention. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
12:30 p.m. - Outgoing ILGOP chairman talks party playbook
Outgoing Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy said if the party wants to grow in the state, more conservatives need to get involved.
“We have too many really good conservatives and Republicans that are not involved,” Tracy said in an interview with the Capitol News Illinois team after the GOP’s Monday breakfast. “There are many of them that are not even voting. And there are many more that are voting, but that's all they do.”
In a resignation letter last month, Tracy criticized “Republicans who would rather fight other Republicans than engage in the harder work of defeating incumbent Democrats.”
Read more: Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation
Tracy also said Monday the party grew too reliant on former Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Winnetka Republican and multi-millionaire who largely self-funded his 2014 and 2018 gubernatorial campaigns.
“People became reliant on Rauner funding, not just the state party, not just his own campaign, not just other statewides, but also local parties,” Tracy said. “And so our donor list atrophied. So when I came in as a state chairman, I had a very weak donor list that I've been working hard to rebuild.”
Tracy said he wondered if Illinois Democrats might face the same issue once Gov. JB Pritzker – a multi-billionaire who is halfway through his second term – leaves politics.
“Turning around a blue state like Illinois is like turning around an aircraft carrier, you know, it doesn't happen overnight,” Tracy said.
Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy speaks to members of the Illinois delegation at a breakfast Monday morning on the first day of the Republican National Convention. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock).
10:45 a.m. - Former primary rivals say they’re united to elect Trump
The Republican National Convention is underway in Milwaukee, and Illinois’ delegation kicked of its week with a breakfast that largely focused on party unity in electing Donald Trump.
Breakfast speakers included state Rep. John Cabello, state Sen. Andrew Chesney, U.S. Reps. Mary Miller and Mike Bost, and outgoing state party chair Don Tracy.
Read more: Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation | National Committeeman Richard Porter looks ahead to GOP convention as party names new state chair
Bost – a five-term incumbent – acknowledged the “tough” primary fight with his challenger, former state lawmaker and unsuccessful GOP candidate for Illinois governor in 2022 Darren Bailey. Bost won the race by about 2,700 votes. He said the pair would stand united in working to elect Trump in November.
“I believe in accountability and I expressed that when I ran, you know, challenged him in the primary,” Bailey later told Capitol News Illinois. “I reached out to him last week and said, ‘Mike, I'm here to help and we have got to work together to get President Trump elected.’”
Party members now head to the convention center to begin their day of programming.
Former state lawmaker and unsuccessful 2022 candidate for governor Darren Bailey (second from left) and his wife Cindy (right of Bailey) are among members of the Illinois delegation to the Republican National Convention. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
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