By Illinois Review
The South Side Republican Organization welcomed SiriusXM conservative radio host Sonnie Johnson, who hosted her show live in front of a packed house, as the group celebrated the grand opening of their new headquarters in Chicago named the Booker T. Washington and Ida B. Wells Renaissance Center on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, the South Side Republican group hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by a live broadcast with Johnson, a panel discussion and then a party hosted at a local restaurant to cap off the historic day.
South Side GOP chair and 18th Ward Committeeman Devin Jones went viral on X earlier this month when he posted, ”My grandmother wanted to see the new office. She requested a mail-in ballot and for the first time in her 86-years voted #Republican & is the first person to vote in Chicago’s Southside Republican office!” The post has over 141,000 views, 1,200 reposts and nearly 7,000 likes.
SiriusXM radio host Sonnie Johnson energized the jam packed headquarters and held nothing back, noting that equity is not a “dispersal of government favor onto a select group of people, it is about those people having the kind of control over their government to move and shake when it is necessary. And for far too long, in urban areas, Black Americans have not had that equity.”
The historic day drew many familiar faces, including evangelist and educator Latasha Fields, journalist and national political commentator Whitley Yates, former Illinois attorney general candidate and author David Shestokas, IL GOP state central committee members Dean White and Larry Smith, Will County Board Republican Leader and Homer Township Republican Organization chairman Steve Balich and Homer Township Republican Organization vice chair Jay Roti.
The new south side GOP headquarters is named in honor of two historic figures – Booker T. Washington, an educator, founder and first president of what’s now known as Tuskegee University, and Ida B. Wells, a prominent journalist, activist and researcher.
The prominent GOP group, who likes to use the phrase, “fix where we live,” is gaining in popularity and will play a critical role in the upcoming November election. To follow the group, or get involved, visit https://www.southsidegop.org/.
