That the establishment backed incumbent Ford in '76 is no big deal. Thompson was running to recover the governorship that Ogilvie lost by giving us the income tax and needed "unity". 1980 is a better case. All Party officials supported Conally because Conally spent millions hiring their whiz kids as campaign staff. Except John Anderson supported himself. And Schaumburg Township Committeeman Don Totten ran Reagan's campaign on volunteers and no money which again proves money does not buy elections. Even though Totten was the closest Illinois man to Reagan in the 80's, Totten was never accepted by the establishment. They wanted his ability to organize volunteers, but not his advice to cut patronage, spending and taxes.
In '92 Bob Michel, Peoria's Republican House minority leader (who told Newt pubs couldn't win the House) was close friend of Democrat Senator Al the Pal Dixon. They cooperated on pork and corruption for each other. Bob Michel convinced the Republican establishment that they should purposely take a dive for US Senate and let Al the Pal win. For that reason, the establishment scared off both honest RINO Lynn Martin and Conservative McDougal and ran Larry Williamson, who didn't have a clue what to do in politics and proved it by getting the consolation prize of State Chairman which he totally botched. Of course the March 92 primary occurred at the point when Ross Perot and term limits were at their peak. Talk radio and the term limits people were outraged that the Republicans would take a dive for Al the Pal. Republicans and Independents voted en masse in the Democrat primary to term limit Al the Pal. The left clueless Williamson facing Braun in November. (Hey Dan, Illinois has its own term limits, sometimes.)
Crook county Township committeemen are not appointed , but elected (in the primary by anyone who claims to be Republican). Reappointment is the wrong implication. In 4 adjacent townships it was throw the corrupt party officials out. The split was not so much a 3 way ideological split as a split over corruption. RINO Corrine Wood felt the rich country club set were superior and more ethical than us mere mortals. Conservative Pat O'Malley thought reform lay with the ideological base who were not in the party for the money. By default, Jim Ryan won with a coalition of the establishment who wanted to protect their pork, and cautious conservatives who were told to not change horses in this time of crisis for the party.
A good example of this is Gary Skoien, a moderate who ran and won for Palatine Committeeman with the support of the Pat O'Malley conservatives because he opposed corruption.
The County and State Chairs are not appointed. They are elected by party officials elected by the people, similar to the electoral college system. For Crook County Chair, there were 4 candidates: the George Ryan corrupt one; the country club set is superior one; Pro-life, low-tax Conservative Maureen Murphy and Paul Froehlich on her right. (It was the Froehlich influence that caused the turnover of 4 townships adjacent to his Schaumburg township.)
State Chair was similar. Trial balloons were sent up. Conservatives on the State Central Committee, especially experienced Steve McGlynn and new ones like Marilyn Froehlich, shot down a lot of trial balloons. Candidates gave excuses for not taking the job when the truth was, they didn't have the votes. (Edgar was the exception. Everyone agreed he was the best for November. But he was not the best to build the party for the future.)
When Larry Williamson resigned his consolation prize as State Chair last year, McDougal was suggested as a person who could pull the party factions together and knew how to build the party. He was strongly opposed by the crooks and cronies who put in Lee Daniels. The same incumbent State Central Committeemen who went for Daniels last year admitted that the McDougal people were right about Daniels. His corruption is not some new revelation. It has been known among Republicans for years. And for years they have been saying "Someday it's going to catch up with him."
BTW Conservative McDougal is a good friend of Jim Ryan, Jack Roeser and Jim Edgar and many from all ideological factions, but not a friend of the pork and corruption wing. The Republicans in it for the money want Departments like Public Aid to be the source of money for consultant contracts that are a form of welfare themselves. McDougal took Welfare to Work seriously and really believed that work is better for a persons dignity than welfare. That was an insult to the Republican consultants who wanted their own form of welfare.
ps Pork comes from the HOG.