Asian American Caucus Backs Olickal For Democratic Central Committee

SKOKIE, IL — The Asian American Caucus has endorsed State Rep. Kevin Olickal (D-Skokie) for appointment to a vacant seat on the state central committee of Democratic Party.

For the past five years, one of the two members of the Democratic State Central Committee for the 9th Congressional District has been Mike Cabonargi, a former U.S. Senate staffer who spent the last decade as a commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review, which hears tax appeals.

Last year, he lost his seat on the Board of Review after being defeated by Samantha Steele in the primary. And this week, Cabonargi announced he has accepted an appointment from President Joe Biden as the regional director of Health and Human Services and stepped down from the state central committee.

That means 15 Democratic elected officials from across the 9th District have until the end of the month to appoint his replacement, although the party officials in charge of the process appear poised to complete the appointment as quickly as is legally permitted.

Represented by Evanston Democrat U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, the recently redrawn congressional district snakes from the Chicago lakefront through northern Cook County and northwest through Buffalo Grove to Cary and Algonquin.

In an open letter to the 9th District committeepeople, the Asian American Caucus said they should give "utmost consideration" to picking a person of Asian descent to succeed Cabonargi on the committee.

State Sen. Ram Vilivalam (D-Skokie), chair of the caucus and Illinois' first Asian American state senator, backed Olickal in last year's primary and encouraged committeepeople to support him for the role on the central committee.

"With more than 800,000 Asian Americans residing in our state who are grappling with issues from small business to immigration and an unprecedented wave of anti-Asian American hate, it could not be more important for the Democratic Party of Illinois to have an Asian American representative on the State Central Committee," Vilivalam told Patch in a statement.

"With the 9th Congressional District having the highest concentration of Asian Americans out of any Congressional District, the Democratic Committeepersons of the 9th Congressional District have an opportunity to make history by appointing a qualified candidate in Kevin Olickal," he said.

The caucus' letter points out that Asian Americans are the fastest growing demographic in the state and the 9th District has the most Asian American elected officials of any area of the state.

And since the 2016 election of Rep. Theresa Mah (D-Chicago), the state's first-ever Asian American state lawmaker, the caucus has grown to 17 members, including eight state representatives.

"We have helped win races in swing districts, for both Asian American candidates and non-Asian American candidates, across the state. And we have taken on races no one else would, and have won," the caucus' letter said. "We flipped three Illinois General Assembly seats from Republican to Democrat in the last two cycles."

Representative Theresa Mah @theresamah4rep was the first Asian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 2016. And now, we have 8 in the House! Huge shoutout to Rep Mah for being a trailblazer and Chair of the Asian American Caucus! #Springfield #Illinois pic.twitter.com/iRbGjdFhXs
— Hoan Huynh (Hahn Win) (@HoanDHuynh) December 1, 2022

The caucus is pulling for Olickal, who last year defeated Rep. Denise Wang Stoneback in last year's 16th Illinois House District primary, to become the first Asian American state central committeeperson.

The letter touts Olickal's track record as a campaigner for House Democrats who represents a diverse district with a mix of urban and suburban areas mirroring that of the district as a whole.

According to the caucus, he will represent the suburbs in a majority suburban district and balance out the sitting committeeperson, Carol Ronen, who served in the General Assembly from 1993 to 2008.

Ronen notified Democratic officials of the vacancy on Tuesday afternoon and scheduled a remote meeting for Sunday to vote on his replacement — the soonest permitted by state law, which requires at least five days written notice for such a meeting.

Party officials are allowed up to 30 days to select a replacement on the state central committee.

Ronen did not respond Thursday to requests for more information about the appointment process she is overseeing and its level of transparency. Any information received will be added here.

Leo Smith is also among the people under consideration for the appointment, according to Politico Illinois, which first reported Cabonargi's departure.

Smith is the husband of former state Sen. Heather Steans, a trustee at her family's foundation, policy director of the nonprofit Chicago Creating Real Economic Destiny and a resident of the Edgewater neighborhood on Chicago's North Side.