Illinois Republican Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman | Kathy Salvi |
| Senate Leader | John Curran |
| House Leader | Tony McCombie |
| Founded | 1856 |
| Headquarters | Springfield, Illinois |
| Ideology | Conservatism |
| National affiliation | Republican Party |
| Colors | Red |
| Seats in theU.S. Senate | 0 / 2 |
| Seats in theU.S. House of Representatives | 3 / 17 |
| Seats in theIllinois Senate | 19 / 59 |
| Seats in theIllinois House of Representatives | 40 / 118 |
| Statewide Offices | 0 / 6 |
| Seats in theSupreme Court | 2 / 7 |
| Cook County Board of Commissioners | 1 / 17 |
| Election symbol | |
.svg) | |
| Website | |
| illinois | |
TheIllinois Republican Party is the affiliate of theRepublican Party in theU.S. state ofIllinois founded on May 29, 1856. It is run by the Illinois Republican State Central Committee, which consists of 17 members, one representing each of the state's congressional districts. Once the dominant party in Illinois, the state GOP has become a minority party within the last few decades, holding little power in the state.[1] The current chairman isKathy Salvi, who has served since 2024.
The Illinois Republican Party was organized at theBloomington Convention inMajor's Hall inBloomington on May 29, 1856. Its founding members came from the former Whig Party in Illinois after its members joined with several powerful local political factions including, notably, theIndependent Democrat movement of Chicago that helped electJames Hutchinson Woodworth Mayor in 1848. According to The Cook County Album of Genealogy, Francis Schweinfurth Sr., who had emigrated with his family from Germany, was a factor in creating the Illinois Republican Party. he was known as devout Lutheran and a businessman in Chicago. He fought as an officer in the Civil War on the Union side. As a first lieutenant, he was captured and held prisoner of war at Chickamauga. He, with his brother, operated a bread baking business in Chicago. He is buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.
The early Illinois Republican Party enjoyed many members from commerce who shared the vision of Illinois generally, and Chicago in particular, as a gateway to the Western frontier of the United States. The early party members quickly identified their shared anti-slavery sentiment which further differentiated them from the older parties based on the East Coast. Many early members of the party failed to gain statewide office or election to the United States Congress due to this anti-slavery view, although this early position of the party in Illinois would later propel several candidates to prominent office, including the Governorship of Illinois won byRichard Yates, and in the mid-1850s, the election of former Chicago MayorJames Hutchinson Woodworth to one term in the United States House of Representatives.
On May 9–10, 1860 the Illinois Republican State Convention was held inDecatur. At this conventionAbraham Lincoln received his first endorsement for president of the United States. Frank Schweinfurth, according to the Cook County Album of Genealogy, was a major force in nominating Abraham Lincoln. Until 1932, Republicans had virtually complete control over Illinois politics.
From 1932 to 1994, Republicans still usually had more control over Illinois politics, although Democrats still had a presence in the state and many noted Democratic politicians, most notablyAdlai Stevenson II (lost to RepublicanDwight Eisenhower twice), came from Illinois. PresidentRonald Reagan also came from Illinois, despite living in and serving two terms asGovernor of California. The last time a Republican carried in presidential elections was1988, whenGeorge H. W. Bush won Illinois by 2.1% marginal points.
By the late 1990s, though, Illinois had started to become more Democratic in presidential elections, partly because the Republican's social conservatism in other states had started to alienated many Northeastern and some Midwestern Republican voters. Illinois rapidly became more Democratic in the second half of the 1990s and early 2000s. In contrast, most GOP candidates in Illinois gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races in recent years have been almost indistinguishable from Democrats on both social and fiscal issues, with the notable exception ofPeter Fitzgerald who won the Senate race in 1998. While this tendency has helped Illinois GOP candidates in theChicago andSt. Louis Metro East suburbs, it has alienated many conservative voters downstate.
Other than a brief majority from 1995 to 1997 as a result of theRepublican Revolution, the Republicans have been in the minority in the state House of Representatives since 1982. In 2002, while the Republicans did well in2002 midterm elections nationwide, the Illinois Republicans lost their majority when a Democrat became Illinois governor for the first time in 26 years and Democrats gained control of the Illinois Senate, putting the party in the minority for the first time in state history.
The 2010 elections saw the election of Illinois RepublicanMark Kirk to theUS Senate as well as a Republican sweep of IllinoisUS House seats. Republicans came within 5 seats of a majority in theIllinois House of Representatives and gained seats in theSenate. Republican nomineeBill Brady narrowly lost thegubernatorial election toPat Quinn, leaving Democrats in full control of the redistricting process. This resulted ingerrymandering heavily in favor of Democrats. As a result of the redistricting process, Illinois Republicans suffered huge losses in the 2012 elections.
In 2013, the state party attempted to oust ChairmanPat Brady after he came out in favor of same-sex marriage.[2] Brady would ultimately resign and was briefly replaced by Jack Dorgan. In 2014,Tim Schneider, who was a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, was named the chairman of the state party.
In the2014 gubernatorial election, Republican nomineeBruce Rauner defeated incumbent GovernorPat Quinn to become the first GOP Governor sinceGeorge Ryan left office in 2003. Republicans alsopicked up two Illinois congressional seats and a seat in theIllinois Senate.
During the2018 Illinois Elections, Rauner lost toJ. B. Pritzker in a landslide with the party also losing two congressional seats (Roskam and Hultgren) and becoming a superminority in the state legislature.
By 2021, the Illinois Republican Party was a minority party wielding little power within the state. With a decline that goes back over two decades, the state GOP's shrinking influence is attributed to Illinois becoming a solid blue state, the loss of voters in suburban areas, and the divisive embrace of Donald Trump andTrumpism.[1]
The2020 Elections saw a moderate swing back to the party in terms of votes, however this did not lead to major seat gains. The party lost one seat in the State Senate and gained one in the State House. However State Supreme Court JusticeThomas L. Kilbride was defeated in his bid for retention with the intention of flipping the seat to the Republicans in 2022.[3]
Schneider stepped down as chairman in December 2020 and was replaced byDon Tracy, who was the chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board, in February 2021.[4]
The Illinois Republican Party is run by the Illinois Republican State Central Committee, which consists of 17 members, one representing each of the state's congressional districts.
| Chairman | Term |
|---|---|
| Rebecca Paul | Co-Chairman: 1985 |
| Victor L. Smith | 1960–1973[5] |
| Donald "Doc" Adams | 1973–1988[5] |
| Al Jourdan | 1988–1993[6] |
| Harold Byron Smith | 1993–1999[7] |
| Richard S. Williamson | 1999–2001[8] |
| Lee A. Daniels | 2001–2002[9] |
| Dallas Ingemunson | 2002 (Interim)[10] |
| Gary MacDougal | 2002–2002[11] |
| Judy Baar Topinka | 2002–2005[12] |
| Andrew McKenna | 2005–2009[13] |
| Pat Brady | 2009–2013 |
| Jack Dorgan | 2013–2014 |
| Tim Schneider | 2014–2021; and Mark L. Shaw, ILGOP Co-Chairman and RCCA President: 2018--2022 |
| Don Tracy | 2021–2024;[14] and Mark L. Shaw, ILGOP Co-Chairman and RCCA President: 2021--2022 and ILGOP Vice Chairman: 2022--2024 |
After the 2022 elections, Republicans hold 3 of the state's 17 U.S. House seats and none of the statewide offices. The Republicans are also the minority in both chambers of thestate legislature.
Both of Illinois'sU.S. Senate seats have held byDemocrats since2017.Mark Kirk was the last Republican to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate. First elected in2010, Kirk lost re-election in2016 toTammy Duckworth.
Out of the 17 seats Illinois is apportioned in theU.S. House of Representatives, 3 are held by Republicans:
| District | Member | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 12th | Mike Bost | .jpg) |
| 15th | Mary Miller | .jpg) |
| 16th | Darin LaHood | .jpg) |
Republicans have not held a statewide elected office in Illinois since 2019, nor have they won a statewide election in the state since the 2014 gubernatorial and comptroller elections. No Illinois Republican has been elected to the office of Attorney General since 1998, the office of Secretary of State since 1994, or the office of State Treasurer since 2010.
Some of the state's major cities have Republican mayors. As of 2025, Republicans control the mayor's offices in three of Illinois's ten largest cities:[citation needed]
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