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State Week: The divide within the Republican Party

State Week logo (capitol dome)
Brian Mackey
/
NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS

Coming off a statewide drubbing in the November election, the Illinois Republican State Central Committee met this month.

While party leadership — including state chair Don Tracy — remain in place, the divisions within the GOP were evident.

While some Republicans say the party needs to become more inclusive, and possibly move toward the middle, others call for a more conservative approach.

We also discuss Illinois Democrats' failed effort to become more of a player in determining the presidential nominee. A push was on to move Illinois' primary to the forefront. That didn't happen. We discuss some reasons why.

Our panel discussion features host Sean Crawford, Professor Emeritus Charlie Wheeler and Chicago Tribune Political Reporter Rick Pearson.

The former director of the Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) graduate program is Professor Charles N. Wheeler III, a veteran newsman who came to the University of Illinois at Springfield following a 24-year career at the Chicago Sun-Times.