With Tim Schneider leaving as chairman of the Illinois GOP, Don Tracy was nominated to take over. | Submitted Photo
With Tim Schneider leaving as chairman of the Illinois GOP, Don Tracy was nominated to take over. | Submitted Photo
An Illinois businessman and lawyer has been nominated as the next chairman to the Illinois GOP following Tim Schneider's immediately, the Illinois Republican Party said in a release.
Don Tracy will be the first person nominated to the chairman position since 1988 and will serve as acting chairman for the remainder of Schneider's term, which expires in May 2022, the party said.
The Illinois businessman was nominated after debate and interviews with three finalists and a final vote by the ILGOP Central State Committee, the party said.
"I am truly honored and excited to have been chosen by the State Central Committee to serve as chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. I want to thank each member for the opportunity to serve," Tracy said in the release. "I promise to lead with honesty, integrity, and the vigor we need to turn Illinois around. I also want to thank the other two finalists — Mark Shaw and Scott Gryder — for their tireless work on behalf of the Republican Party. I look forward to working with them to elect more Republicans."
Tracy has said his primary goal is to bring disparate voices within the Republican Party to form a coalition to fight corruption and guarantee that Illinois has a strong economic foundation heading into 2022.
"So, whatever your political leanings, wherever you live — if you want to fight corruption, restore fiscal sanity, grow our economy, and stand for law and order — you're on our team," he said. "It's time to suit up, work together, and bring home some wins for the people of Illinois."
Tracy was born and raised in Illinois, growing up in the rural area of Mt. Sterling. He owns a food business with his siblings, Dot Foods, Inc., a national distributor of food products and services.
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