Is the collapse of the Illinois GOP (in the suburbs and exurbs) due only to outward immigration from Chicago proper?
Or has the in-fighting within the Illinois GOP contributed mightily to what you're seeing now?
***Is the collapse of the Illinois GOP (in the suburbs and exurbs) due only to outward immigration from Chicago proper?***
I'd say it is a big part of. Also the nationwide trend of the inner suburbans to the RATS (due to social issues). Gun control is popular in the Chicagoland area.
The GOP controlled the Governorship of IL from 1976-2002. The Governors were "Moderates" from Downstate IL. They campaigned on a platform of honest government. People in the suburbs and Downstate, wary of Chicago corruption infecting the whole state, supported Moderate Republicans for Governor. However when it was revealed that GOP Governor George Ryan was involved in a driver license scandal, the IL GOP lost the wedge issue, it enjoyed for so long.