Press Release:  Ahead of ILGOP Chair Elections, DPI Reminds Illinois of Republicans’ Failures

Ahead of the Illinois’ Republican Party’s Chair election next week and with reporting that Party Chair Kathy Salvi faces two challengers, the Democratic Party of Illinois shared the following:

“We can easily share a condensed list of why the ILGOP struggles to be taken seriously: there are no successful coordinated campaigns, no notable candidate recruitment efforts, and no impressive fundraising. It’s to no one’s surprise that some Illinois Republicans are eager to give Kathy Salvi the boot, although, we believe any person willing to chair a state party that won’t call out the anti-working family agenda of this presidency, will be someone Illinoisans shouldn’t trust.”

Under Salvi’s leadership, the ILGOP has yet to find success and relevance. The party struggles electorally, with party infrastructure, and suffers from significant internal turmoil:

• By November’s primary petition filing deadline, Illinois Republicans only managed to file a handful of petitions for statewide offices. With no filings for Illinois State Treasurer, the ILGOP marked the first time in nearly a century that a major party lacked a statewide candidate for a primary.

• With lack of electoral success and struggles to raise money—essential duties of a state party—the ILGOP is the weakest it’s been in decades.

• Salvi said herself that candidate recruitment isn’t her Party’s job.

Salvi’s Republican Party refuses to stand up for working families, denounce racism, and disagree with Donald Trump:

• Illinois is bearing the brunt of the rising costs with families paying an average of $5.08 a gallon and $5.43 a gallon in Chicago because of Trump’s Iran War. The ILGOP has not denounced this war that has cost lives, even after Trump said he doesn’t care how the war affects working families here at home.

• In February, Illini Republicans posted on Instagram that they “stand with ICE” while sharing a graphic image celebrating violence, prompting condemnation from elected officials, school leadership, and students across Illinois. DPI Chair Lisa Hernandez demanded that the Illinois Republican Party and every Republican candidate in our state denounce the post. ILGOP leadership has refused.

• Last April, in spite of his plunging approval ratings and destructive economic policies, Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi did not admit Trump’s destabilizing trade war, mass firings, and deportation agenda are harming Illinois residents and businesses.

• The ILGOP has stood behind the Big, Ugly Budget—legislation that is a war on poverty, health care and basic quality of life.

• Last year, Illinois soybean farmers lost $100 to $200 per acre because Trump’s tariffs have kept the market’s biggest buyer–China–from buying soybeans. The ILGOP has not spoken out against Trump on this.

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