State GOP picks new leaders to ‘beat the machine,’ including Palatine’s Del Mar

Palatine’s Aaron Del Mar was appointed as an Illinois Republican Party co-chair.
Courtesy of Aaron Del Mar

A northwest suburbanite is taking a leadership role with the Illinois GOP as the party works to rebuild and end what its leader calls the “blue funk.”

State Central Committee member Aaron Del Mar of Palatine has been chosen by Chair Kathy Salvi as an Illinois Republican Party co-chair, along with state Sen. Jason Plummer of Edwardsville and State Central Committee member Judy Diekelman of Thornton.

Salvi also picked Joan McCarthy Lasonde of Wilmette as vice chair.

“Co-Chairs Aaron Del Mar, Sen. Jason Plummer, and Judy Diekelman as well as Vice Chair Joan McCarthy Lasonde and all of our leaders across the state represent the diverse opinions of our party and our state,” Salvi said Wednesday.

“This group will broaden our coalition, expand our footprint, and will beat the machine that Democrats like (former Speaker) Mike Madigan and (Gov.) J.B. Pritzker have built.”

Salvi took office in July vowing to “make Illinois red again,” and end the party’s “blue funk.”

With a woman at the helm of the state GOP and his background as a Filipino- American, “this is a very historic time,” said Del Mar. “This will be the first time the Illinois Republican Party has had a person of color in leadership.

“I’m very excited. Kathy has a different personality than I do, she brings different strengths so I think we very much complement each other.”

Del Mar, a businessman who ran for lieutenant governor in 2022, was a Republican National Convention delegate in July, and has served as Cook County Republican chairman and Palatine village councilman.

The Illinois GOP faces challenges in a heavily Democratic state and recently lost Chair Don Tracy, who blamed party infighting for his resignation.

One key to success is to make sure “grass-roots organizations and grass-roots members of the Republican Party have a voice,” Del Mar said. “They’re the people who show up at the monthly meetings, the people that put lawn signs into the ground, that march in the parades. I think for far too long, they’ve been ignored and they’ve been taken for granted.”

Del Mar, who campaigned statewide in 2022, hopes to bridge divisions between rural conservative and urban moderate Republicans

“If we can create a relationship where there’s a conversation and people have a better understanding — that adds a lot of value,” Del Mar said, adding he’s visiting downstate Illinois soon. “If you want buy-in from those (rural) counties you have to show up.”

Del Mar’s father, a mechanical engineer, immigrated from the Philippines. His mother is a retired nurse of German/Swedish descent who grew up on Chicago’s South Side.

“When they start talking about issues like immigration, those things hit home and I can give a personal story,” Del Mar said.