Prairie State Wire

A coalition of 30 organizations representing over 80,000 conservative grassroots activists in Illinois has penned an open letter calling for the removal of Don Tracy as chairman of the state's Republican Party. 

The letter expresses a "no confidence" motion against Tracy and highlights the significant gains made by Democrats under his leadership.

“The state of the Illinois Republican Party is not good,” the letter reads, according to Illinois Review. “Under chairman Don Tracy's leadership, fundraising is a struggle, party infighting has made its way into the pages of the Chicago Tribune, Politico and Crain's Chicago Business - and more importantly, the conservative grassroots base - the heart, soul and backbone of the Illinois Republican Party, feels ignored - and their volunteer efforts minimized.” 

The letter also highlighted how the state's Democratic Party holds majorities in The Illinois House and Senate

“Under chairman Tracy's leadership, the Democratic Party of Illinois has made significant gains,” the group stated in the letter. “In November, Republicans lost every statewide office; Democrats increased their supermajority control in the Illinois legislature; Republicans lost 14 of 17 congressional races; and in the Illinois Supreme Court, Republicans lost winnable races giving the Democrats a 5-2 majority in the state's highest court.”

The coalition also noted that "during the 2022 Primary, conservative grassroots candidates were frequent targets of establishment-supported candidates, as dozens of mailers 'Paid for by the Illinois Republican Party' were sent to Republican Primary voters that viciously attacked their conservative opponents with lies - branding them as 'liberals' and friends of Gov. JB Pritzker and disgraced former House Speaker Michael Madigan.”

“The gubernatorial race was another embarrassment for chairman Tracy and the state party, as nearly 100 Illinois Republican Party leaders, officials and candidates endorsed the anti-grassroots candidate Richard Irvin - a man who pulled Democratic Primary ballots in 2014, 2016 and 2020," the letter further read. "Irvin also spent years referring to Gov. Pritzker as, a 'great friend and a great leader.' But in the end, Irvin would lose to the grassroots candidate by a shocking 43 points - in one of the biggest election defeats of an establishment-backed primary candidate in modern history.”

The activists accuse the Illinois Republican Party of attacking grassroots candidates during the primary by falsely labeling them as "fake" Republicans and using deceptive tactics in campaign mailers. The letter also criticizes Tracy and the party for failing to support conservative candidates during school board races while Democrats spent substantial funds on "far-left" candidates. The signatories expressed frustration with the party's departure from core principles and values and advocate for a new leader who will prioritize winning without compromising conservative values.

The state GOP has been criticized for not adequately representing conservative voters. The Illinois Review released a bombshell report on Illinois GOP chairman Don Tracy right before the April 4 elections, and accused the state GOP of largely being inactive during the April elections. 

“Tracy and the Republican Party of Illinois are an embarrassment to every Republican in Illinois and they are guilty of political malpractice for abandoning candidates in the upcoming school board elections,” Illinois Review wrote. “It’s no wonder why Republicans always lose in Illinois – and like Tracy, some are actually Democrats pretending to be Republicans.” 

In the report, Illinois Review revealed Tracy’s Democratic background. In 2002, Tracy ran as a Democrat for the 50th State Senate District. 

“I thought I could be more independent as a Democrat in a county where the Democrat Party was weak,” Tracy told The State Journal-Register’s Bernard Schoenburg. Tracy has also provided campaign donations to Democrats in recent cycles. Dot Foods, owned by the Tracy family, donated to President Joe Biden. In 2020, Tracy donated personally to Democratic Judge Emily Sutton in her run for Circuit Court Judge in the 9th Judicial Circuit of Illinois.

Val Ojeda, a GOP campaigner and supporter of former President Donald Trump, criticized the Illinois GOP for its lack of support for local candidates in the April 4 election, DuPage Policy Journal reported. Ojeda expressed frustration with Tracy and the State Central Committeeman for their role in the party's losses and accused them of political malpractice. 

“So the Democrats spent one million dollars to get Dems elected into a School and library Boards in Illinois.” Ojeda said on Facebook. “The Illinois GOP spent nothing. Zero to help candidates or play defense and we are left with this!” 

Commentator and radio host Dan Proft also criticized the GOP's failure and lack of participation.

“Should the response be what it was this cycle? Which is abdication by the Republican Party such that it exists, no participation really” Proft said on the April 5 edition of Chicago’s Morning Answer.