By Illinois Review
Illinois Republican Party chair Don Tracy’s fate was sealed last Spring when over 30 organizations representing more than 80,000 grassroots activists from across the state signed a letter of “No Confidence” – in a major rebuke to his tenure as party chair, as Republicans racked up losses and the Democrats increased their supermajority control on local and statewide matters last November during the midterm elections.
And this publication has not stopped making the case, since last November, why Tracy should be removed as chair. The numbers don’t lie – and under Tracy’s leadership, Illinois Republicans maintain their status as the party in the super minority.
Since late Winter, many members of the IL GOP State Central Committee have privately communicated with this publication that the writing is on the wall and that Tracy must go.
And the question that has the entire State Central Committee paralyzed with fear despite their convictions telling them it’s the right thing to do, is one simple question:
“Who will be the next Chair?”
The fear of who would be the next chair has consistently overshadowed the bigger issue that Tracy cannot remain as chair if the IL GOP wants to win races.
And the consequence of accepting mediocrity has borne its fruit.
Last April 4th, Illinois Republicans witnessed a bloodbath at the polls, where Republicans lost 80 percent of the school board races.
This fear derailed an attempted ouster at last May’s State Central Committee quarterly meeting, when some members of the State Central Committee sought to bring a motion of no confidence against Tracy.
Although not offering himself to be the Chair, State Central Committeeman and Illinois Republican Senator Jason Plummer’s involvement in the motion of no confidence led some State Central Committee members to believe that Plummer was seeking the chairmanship himself. And when the vote was finally called, the fear of who would be the next chair prevailed and Tracy held onto his job.
It’s human nature to fear change.
Fear holds people back from seeking better employment or from leaving lackluster or even abusive relationships.
And here, fear has held the IL GOP back from winning and becoming an equal force to the Democratic Party of Illinois.
On Tuesday afternoon, Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) set forth the road map for removing incompetent leadership: First remove the Chair.
In a surprise move that has left Establishment Republicans angry, Gaetz led the conservative effort to remove Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker of the House of Representatives. The move was made with no Speaker replacement in mind – an act that Establishment Republicans called “chaos.”
Gaetz, standing on his convictions, responded to the opposition in his party:
“I don’t think voting against @SpeakerMcCarthy is chaos. I think $33 Trillion in debt is chaos. I think not passing single-subject spending bills is chaos. I think being governed by continuing resolutions and omnibus bills is chaos. Chaos is somebody we cannot trust with their word. That’s why I’ve moved to vacate the chair.”
And now that the Speaker has been vacated and McCarthy is no longer part of the conversation, House Republicans are able to approach the issue of a new Speaker with a clear mind.
Already, House Freedom Caucus founder Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) have signaled that they are campaigning to be the next Speaker.
That Scalise is running would have been unthinkable just days ago, as Scalise had stated repeatedly back in January that he was not interested in being Speaker. But the reality is that Scalise was not interested in running against McCarthy for Speaker, and with McCarthy out, the calculus has changed.
The parallels between McCarthy and Tracy are not lost on this publication. Both have been accused of working a little too closely with the other side—McCarthy with former Speaker and Democrat Nancy Pelosi, and Tracy with Illinois Governor and Democrat JB Pritzker.
As Illinois Review has previously reported, Don Tracy’s family business, Dot Foods – where he is an owner, has embraced woke culture and owners have contributed to Democrat politicians, even including donations to President Joe Biden.
And Gov. JB Pritzker has signaled his approval. On August 30th, Gov. Pritzker posted a message on X congratulating Dot Foods for being “committed to our state.” The message sent by Gov. Pritzker is clear: play the game by my rules, and your business will succeed.
And Don Tracy has every reason to fear Democrat retaliation against his family’s business should he actually challenge the status quo. After all, a Democrat judge in New York has ordered President Donald Trump’s business operations in New York to cease and his assets, including the iconic Trump Tower, to be transferred to new owners.
That is exactly why Don Tracy must be removed as Chair from the IL GOP, because the IL GOP will never be anything more than a superminority so long as the business interests of a few prevail over the best interests of the people.
Matt Gaetz set the road map for the IL GOP. Get over your fear and remove Don Tracy.
