Former Candidate For Senate, Congress Picked As New Chair Of Illinois Republican Party

CHICAGO — Illinois Republicans picked Kathy Salvi to become the next party chairman after she emerged as the top pick among three candidates.

Following the closure of the application window on Wednesday, the state GOP announced that Salvi, State Rep. John Cabello, former lieutenant governor nominee Aaron Del Mar were the three finalists running for the position.

A closed-door remove meeting of party officials took place Friday, where the applicants had a chance to present their cases days before delegates head to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention.

Former Chairman Don Tracy resigned last month and called for his successor to be named before the convention. He released a statement after Salvi was elected:

“Congratulations to Kathy Salvi for taking on this challenging yet important position to build a brighter future for Illinois," Tracy said.

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"Republicans in this state are united behind President Trump and understand that the Biden/Pritzker agenda is wrong for our families," Tracy said.

"We will show in Milwaukee this week that we are unified in purpose — to make this state and this country great once again with a message of hope and prosperity for the future," the former party chair added.

Salvi, wife of former State Rep. Al Salvi, ran unsuccessfully in 2022 against Democratic incumbent junior Sen. Tammy Duckworth. A Mundelein attorney, Salvi also ran unsuccessfully in a 2006 Republican congressional primary.

Of the other two finalists, Cabello, of Machesney Park, said he only wanted the job on an interim basis until the November election. A Rockford Police Department detective, he sued Gov. J.B. Pritzker over his executive actions during the coronavirus pandemic and co-chaired the Illinois delegation to the national GOP convention in Cleveland in 2016.

Del Mar, the Palatine Township Republican Committeeman and 5th Congressional District State Central Committeeman, was previously the chairman of the Cook County Republican Party from 2012 to 2016.

The election of a new party chair comes amid ongoing intraparty tensions in the Illinois GOP. In his resignation letter, Tracy, the former chairman who departed after three years, cited animosity among party leaders and recent allegations of misconduct against former vice-chair Mark Shaw at the state GOP convention.

Several top party leaders decided against seeking the position. Sen. Jason Plummer of Edwardsville told the Chicago Tribune he was not interested in the chairmanship. And Lake County GOP chair Keith Brin, of Highland Park, told Patch he was asked to throw his hat in the ring but declined.

Salvi officially begins her new job on July 19.