Cruz For President Announces Illinois Leadership Team

TED CRUZ for President ^ | Jan. 7, 2016 | Ted Cruz Campain

[stars & stripes forever]

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz today announced his 46-person Illinois Leadership Team that will help direct his strong grassroots organization and bring his consistent, conservative message to voters throughout the Prairie State...

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

Scan the list, folks.
Be suspicious of THE COMBINE.

[pburgh01]

Yawn....

[stars & stripes forever]

The list is comprised of Conservative legislators and pro-family organizations throughout the state. I am familiar with many of the names.

[stars & stripes forever]

https://www.tedcruz.org/news/cruz-for-president-announces-illinois-leadership-team/

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

So... The Combine?

[lewislynn]

Yesterday I couldn’t spell campain[sic] now I are on one.

[demshateGod]

Thanks for posting. Cruz state by state ground game is really good.

[Isara]

HOUSTON, Texas - Presidential candidate Ted Cruz today announced his 46-person Illinois Leadership Team that will help direct his strong grassroots organization and bring his consistent, conservative message to voters throughout the Prairie State. On Monday January 4, 2016 the Cruz for President campaign filed a full slate of delegates and alternates in all 18 Illinois Congressional Districts.

“I’m honored and grateful to have the support of these strong conservatives across Illinois," said Cruz. “This group of elected officials, Republican chairmen, grassroots activists, Tea Party leaders, evangelicals and pastors represents conservatives in every part of the state, and they are capable of producing one of the best ground games in the country.”

“I’m delighted that such a distinguished group of conservatives from across the state has come together under the leadership of Ted Cruz,” said Illinois Co-Chairman Chris Cleveland. “Senator Cruz is far and away the best choice for conservatives in Illinois.”

The Cruz for President Illinois Leadership Team includes the following:

Co-Chairmen
State Senator Tim Bivins (45th District) - Former Sheriff Lee County
State Senator Chapin Rose (51st District)
Chris Cleveland - Chairman, Chicago Republican Party
Nicholas Kammer - Conservative Activist

Leadership Team
Sharee S. Langenstein, Esq. - Eagle Forum National Issues Chairman for Religious Liberty; Delegate, Republican National Platform Committee
H. Lee Newcom - Former President of URF of Illinois; former McLean County Recorder; former McLean County Board member; former Executive Director of IL Christian Coalition
Blair Garber - IL Republican Party State Central Committeeman
Jan Klaas - Republican State Central Committee; Deputy for 16th Congressional District; Former Chairman Winnebago County Republican Central Committee
Steve Orlando - Federation of Illinois Young Republicans; Chairman, Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois
Gretchen Fritz - Will County Republican Central Committee
Pastor Stephen Nyberg - Pankeyville Baptist Church
Karen Hayes - Illinois Family Institute, Board Member
Kevin McGrane - Palatine Township Republican Organization, President
Raquel Mitchell - Wheatland Township Trustee
C. Steven Tucker - Chicago Tea Party
Don Castella - Former Vernon Township Republican Chairman
Chuck Kern - Supervisor, Wheatland Township, Will County
Bradley Wulfsohn - Northshore Tea Party Leader
Clifford Lindemann - Jefferson County Board Member; Republican Central Committee Member
Jim Fisher - McLean County Tea Party Board Member
Patrick Harlan - President Knox County Tea Party
Sandy Dragoo - Founder and Coordinator of the Springfield, Illinois Tea Party Group
Robert Boharic - Retired Circuit Court Judge
James Kammer - Retired physician a, former Examiner for American Board of Ophthalmology
Pastor Mark Minor - 2012 GOP State Senate Candidate (59th District)
Yvonne Bolton - Hispanic Community Leader & Former GOP State Rep. Candidate
Steve Balich - Will County Board, Co Founder of the Will County Tea Party Alliance and Homer Lockport Tea Party
Doug Scheflow - Kane County Board Member
Sherry Hellmuth - DeKalb County Republican Central Committee; Board Member for the DeKalb County IL Tea Party; Treasurer for the Illinois Conservatives PAC
Michael Hildebrand - Kankakee County Board
Michael Flynn - Conservative Activist
Deborah R. Leininger - State Director, Concerned Women for America of Illinois
Tony Peraica - Former Cook County Commissioner
David Smith - Illinois Family Institute
Jill Dolan - Board of Directors, Republican Women of Park Ridge; Conservative Activist
Audrey Tancos - President of Bremen Township Republican Organization; Past President of United Southland Republican Women
Kathleen Valente - Illinois Family Institute
Steve Coven - LaSalle County Tea Party
Jasmine Velasco Hauser - Republican National Hispanic Assembly, Secretary
Hilary Till - Women's Republican Club of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff, Vice-President
Steve Rooney - McHenry Township Republican Central Committee Chairman
David Hullinger - Grassroots Conservative Activist
Gary Stittgen - Lake Villa Township Republican Club, President
Loren Heal - Grassroots Activist
Linda Dotson - Former Stephenson County Board Member; former Chairman of Stephenson County Tea Party; Upper Northwestern Illinois Republican Women
Pastor Lance Davis - New Zion Covenant Church

###

[chicagolady]

“YAWN”

And what have these LEADERS done in Illinois? NOT A DAMN THING!!

That’s Illinois Leadership!! Whether it’s Democrats or Republicans, in Illinois It’s a JOKE!

[BillyBoy]

The ONLY people on that list I’d argue fit the “combiners” category would possibility be Chicago GOP Chairman Chris Cleveland and Lee Newcom. As someone else noted, most of the Cruz delegates are very conservative legislators and pro-family organizations that despised and marginalized by the powers that be in this state. I’m surprised to see Tony Peraica on the list. I’d question some of his conservative credentials but I can’t call him a combiner since the establishment in Cook County hates him and couldn’t wait to be rid of him on the county board. David Smith of the Illinois Family Institute is also dead to me since he started pimping LaThug’s kid, but unfortunately most conservatives still love him and won’t agree with me that he sold out.

In short, the combine has its fingers over every facet of Illinois politics, but I’d trust 95% of Cruz’s leadership team on that list.

You want to see TONS of combiners, check out Jeb Bush and John Kasish’s delegate list.

[PhilCollins]

I think that Blair Garber (the Evanston Township GOP committeeman) is a RINO. In Dec. 2013, he voted to endorse Bruce Rauner. In March 2015, he co-hosted Sen. Mark Kirk’s fundraiser.

[editor-surveyor]

.
Be suspicious of Clueless.D.Yokel

[BillyBoy]

Valid point, I’m not familiar with Blair but the track record you described certainly sounds RINOish.

[stars & stripes forever]

[David Smith of the Illinois Family Institute]

The Illinois Family Institute is on the forefront defending Family Values. Their strong stances have garnered political enemies. You must be one of them.

[Maudeen]

I believe David Smith is a true patriot. The Illinois Family Institute is on the forefront for helping keep the issues in front of Illinois citizens. I only wish more would take a stand like they have for the cause of family values. David Smith in my opinion is the real deal.

[BillyBoy]

Do you agree with David Smith that Darin LaHood is a “good Christian man” who was absolutely right to stand by and say nothing while his dear ol’ daddy Ray LaHood relentlessly went to bat for Obama and trashed conservatives? Is this the kind of behavior that “good Christian” display? Would you do the same thing if your dad was trashing everything you held dear?

[BillyBoy]

>> Their strong stances have garnered political enemies. You must be one of them. <<

Indeed, the Obama administration is the one the avowed enemies of Illinois conservatives, and their BIGGEST cheerleader/enforcer for years has been "Republican" Ray LaHood.

Why the IFI chairman would HAPPILY support the Rauner and Kirk wing of the GOP (both of whom are also avowed enemies of social conservatives, and whom he claims to despise) in trying to install his son to a cushy "safe" GOP seat in Washington is beyond me. I have never supported any candidate endorsed by Mark Kirk in a GOP primary.

Smith's argument is that LaHood's kid had a "solid conservative" record in the state legislature. So did George Ryan. In fact, so did Ray LaHood. If previous "sold conservative records" in the state legislature didn't demonstrate the person could be trusted, why does it now?

[stars & stripes forever]

[Why the IFI chairman would HAPPILY support the Rauner and Kirk wing of the GOP]

Are you referring to the IFI voter guides? They are tabulated by anonymous conservative throughout the state and follow strict guidelines to keep it unbiased?

[BillyBoy]

Nope. I am referring to David Smith, PERSONALLY (he put his OWN name on LaHood endorsement list and noted it reflected his OWN views and was NOT a statement from his organization as a whole), supporting the handpicked Bruce Rauner/Mark Kirk/combiner candidate LaHood in the primary, over a conservative challenge.

Smith's endorsement can be found here:

http://www.lahoodforcongress.com/endorsements/

There are MANY good people who work for the IFI. Their chairman, sadly, is NOT one of them, in my opinion.