The Marion County Republican Women organization hosted the annual Ronald Reagan Tribute Dinner at Salem Elks on Saturday, where prominent regional Republicans spoke about the state of the party both within Illinois and the United States as a whole.
Congressman Mike Bost was scheduled to speak at the dinner but was unable to attend due to the ongoing dispute among US House Republicans over who will be the next Speaker of the house. Those who were able to attend and speak at the dinner described the situation in Washington as “embarrassing” for Republicans and stressed the importance of unity within the party. State Senator Jason Plummer said Republicans in Congress need to get their act together:
“I think it makes a mockery of the system. I think it’s embarrassing… We have two major wars going on right now, we have real economic issues, we have a lot of problems, and we look pretty foolish. We look foolish to Americans, we look foolish to our enemies, we look foolish to our allies, and we have to do better.”
Plummer stressed the importance for Illinois Republicans to show voters serious and actionable solutions to problems facing the state. Plummer told guests that when he returns to Springfield for the upcoming veto session, his major focus will be on gun law. He criticized the assault weapons ban passed by Illinois Democrats earlier this year and says that he will seek to advocate for affected gun owners and clarify the legal situation for those now required to register their guns with the state, particularly those who purchased affected guns while the law was under dispute in state courts:
“I filed legislation… right now I have a few Republicans supporting it, and I think a couple Democrats… which would legalize those transactions that took place during the gun ban freeze… there’s a lot of law-abiding hard-working Illinoisans who’ve never done anything wrong watching that calendar, knowing that when January first comes, they’ll possibly become a felon for exercising their constitutional right.”
State Representative Blaine Wilhour addresses the crowd at the Reagan Dinner. Photo by Austin Williams.
State Representative Blaine Wilhour said that his focus in the next session will be on education. He criticized the current state of education in Illinois, claiming that high state spending has not improved students’ quality of education. He framed education in Illinois as a conflict between families and teachers’ unions. He views school choice programs as a potential remedy, and says he’ll seek to renew Illinois’ Invest in Kids school choice program, which is set to expire at the end of 2023:
“I am laser-focused on education in Springfield right now, that’s my passion. Public education, the government schools in this state are a disaster… Some of them are good, and if you like your public school you can stay in your public school, but we need choice… we’ve got a scholarship program that is privately funded… that program expires in December, and if we don’t do anything about it there’s going to be over 9,000 kids just left in the lurch. That’s completely unacceptable.”
Fourth Circuit Judge Doug Gruenke spoke at the dinner about his personal history, detailing his career path from practicing attorney to Clinton County State’s Attorney to his current position as judge. While he claimed to be limited in the kinds of political speech he is supposed to make as a sitting judge, Gruenke made a point to talk at length about his history of advocating and fundraising for conservative candidates and organizations, letting his conservative values be implied rather than stated outright.
Darren Bailey, former state senator and current congressional candidate set to primary against Mike Bost, was the last to speak. He criticized a variety of political adversaries, including Governor J.B. Pritzker, the “radical left,” and “career politicians” (including his opponent, Bost) who he claims do not represent the interests of their electorate. The former senator claimed that, unlike these career politicians, he would represent the interests of the average American. He named increased border security, combatting inflation, and supporting the reelection of Donald Trump as issues of particular interest to him.
Marion County Republican Women President Janet Carter Sullens called the event a success and said that she hoped for those in attendance to take away a message of unity within the Republican party:
“I’m hoping that they can see unison with the Republican Party in Marion County. We’ve had a tremendous crowd tonight, a lot of good speakers, and we just want everybody to band together and bring our country back together.”
The Placemat from the Ronald Reagan Tribute Dinner. Photo by Austin WIlliams.
