Illinois Republicans Select Kathy Salvi as New State Party Chair

Erica Demarest | July 12, 2024, 5:44 pm

Kathy Salvi appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Oct. 27, 2022. (WTTW News)

Attorney Kathy Salvi has been selected as chair of the Illinois Republican Party.

Salvi assumes the post July 19, the day after the Republican National Convention wraps in Milwaukee, according to a statement from the party’s State Central Committee.

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“It is an honor to be recognized by my fellow Illinois Republicans,” Salvi said in a statement. “… As we prepare to nominate the next President of the United States, Illinois stands as a testament to what Democrat governance can do: out of control cost of living, rampant crime, and rife with corruption. Illinois Republicans will stand and fight for our conservative ideals and set this state, and nation, back on the right track.”

Outgoing Chair Don Tracy announced his resignation last month. In a statement, he congratulated Salvi for taking on the “challenging yet important position.”

“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.”

Salvi in 2022 ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate, losing to incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth.

In his resignation letter, Tracy cited discomfort with State Central Committee members infatuated with fighting other Republicans.

“When I took on this full-time volunteer job in February, 2021, I thought I would be spending most of my time fighting Democrats, helping elect Republicans, raising money to pay for more Party infrastructure, and advocating for Party unity,” Tracy wrote. “Unfortunately, however, I have had to spend far too much time dealing with intra party power struggles, and local intra party animosities that continued after primaries and County Chair elections.”