© 2024 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Things are quieter for GOP at the fair

Members of the Illinois GOP are rallying their supporters for Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair one day after demonstrators booed Gov. Pat Quinn at Democratic events. But Republicans are not talking much about the presidential election just a few months away.

Democrats filled a banquet hall yesterday in a raucus event -- frequently evoking the name Barack Obama and getting the crowd riled up.

Republicans organized a much smaller event today with about 100 attendees, mostly county party chairmen.

GOP leaders are urging voters who are angry about the state's budget crisis and pension gridlock to toss out Democrats who control the governor's mansion and the Legislature.

State Sen. Pat Brady, Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, helped host a breakfast today for Republican politicians. He says the message of the event was the unity of the Republican Party:

"It's the most unified I've seen folks in the time I've been doing this probably in the last 12 years," the Bloomington Republican said. "People are fed up with single-party Democrat rule ... and we want something different and Republicans have the candidates that are providing the solutions."

Brady says criticism of the Democratic party from unions is opening doors for Republicans to gain more power in the state.

They also hardly mentioned Mitt Romney; instead they’re focusing on state politics.

“We have an opportunity to change the direction of this state,” said State Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine.

“We’ve been able to save money for the state,” noted Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.

“We need to make sure that Springfield is the capital of Illinois, not Chicago,” added State Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale.

Brady did mention Romney’s name, saying his polling numbers are “solid” in the president’s home state.