Exclusive: Illinois Record obtains leaked list of GOP State Central Committee Candidates.

An eighty-year-old asking “stolen valor” Val Ojeda to secretly check the DNA of his much younger opponent’s underwear sums up the absurdity of the secretive election to be held on April 15th

The Illinois Record has begun writing film scripts, yet the GOP state central committee elections coming up on April 15th present narratives more gross than fiction. The fact that a self-proclaimed “anti communist” party would have a layer of government named after the unit of government in the communist manifesto is enough comedy fodder in itself. There are many reasons why the Illinois GOP, still led by Kathy Salvi, would not want to release the full list of SCC candidates to the public.

Good thing the Illinois Record exists, as we have the leaked list if you want to skip to the bottom.

In theory, GOP state central committee members have a say in the state party’s rules, but they lack any real mechanisms to enforce them. The grand prize for these self-proclaimed individuals is at most discounted tickets to steak and mashed potato dinners that you probably would not want to go to anyway, unless you were interested in sexually harassing someone, getting sexually harassed yourself, or trying to take financial advantage of a hopeless candidate that likely is well intended.

Fb/ Former Dennis Hastert employee Mark Vargas left, and the sponsor of his blog Jim Economous, who we are not accusing of any crimes but are simply fixtures at ILGOP events.

Although the Democratic Party is often criticized for undemocratic tactics such as gerrymandering and super delegates, they at least let their voters have a say in electing their Democratic State Central Committee In contrast, Illinois Republican voters lack this privilege, as they are excluded from voting for state central committee members.

The only people who can vote for the Illinois Republican State Central Committee representatives are precinct captains and county committee persons. And the best way to describe those groups within the Illinois GOP is to call them flaccid Harkonnens. The gluttonous tribe of ingrates who are the villains in the book series Dune (referenced above).

Facebook/ Beth Findley Smith

Please see the full leaked email listing all the candidates from ILGOP employee Matt Janes. Expect a full analysis later. Have an amazing and memorable Passover. Remember, up to 80% of the Jews in slavery wanted to stay in Egypt.

From: Matt Janes <Mxxx@xxxxxx.xxx>
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2026 2:14 PM
Cc: Tommy Choi <txxx@xxxxxx.xxx>; John Fogarty <fxxx@xxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: Illinois Republican Party State Central Committee Candidate Information

Hello,

Candidates applying for the Illinois Republican Party State Central Committee were required to submit their Notice of Candidacy, Ethics Disclosure, Letter of Recommendation, and Biography and/or Professional Résumé between March 18 and March 24. Additionally, candidates had until March 31 to submit their certified voter history.

The election for State Central Committee members will take place on April 15 during county conventions. These elections will be conducted through a weighted vote of Precinct Committeemen (PCs) within each Congressional District. A packet including instructions and outlines for the conventions has been distributed to County Chairs and will be sent again. The ILGOP will distribute the weighted vote ahead of the convention.

Candidates are responsible for distributing materials—such as endorsements, letters of recommendation, and biographies—to each county and/or Precinct Committeemen (PCs) within their jurisdiction.

Please find below the certified list of State Central Committee candidates by Congressional District, presented in alphabetical order by last name:

Congressional District 1:
Patrick Sheehan

Congressional District 2:
Jason Bunting
Wayland Johnson

Congressional District 3:
Mike Flynn

Congressional District 4:
Katie Justak
Robert “Bob” Kelsey

Congressional District 5:
Aaron Del Mar
Ken Jochum
David Prichard

Congressional District 6:
Victoria Finegan
Bob Grogan
Shaun Murphy
Ken Yerkes

Congressional District 7:
Steve Bolton
Caroline Cronin

Congressional District 8:
Peter Dombrowski
Debbie Kanarowski

Congressional District 9:
Julie Cho
Joan LaSonde

Congressional District 10:
Keith Brin
Jennifer Neubauer
Cornelius Shanahan
Erik Sivertsen

Congressional District 11:
Dan Ugaste
Chris Yaeger

Congressional District 12:
Rhonda Belford
Douglas Levi Slater

Congressional District 13:
Cindy Lamar

Congressional District 14:
Beth Findley Smith
Larry Smith

Congressional District 15:
Tom DeVore
Zach Emberton

Congressional District 16:
John Ackerman
Jim Rule

Congressional District 17:
Bradley Hix
Lana Soldat

Please let me know if you have any questions or require additional information.

Sincerely,

--

Matt Janes

Executive Director

Illinois Republican Party

Three Dog Night Joy to the World/ Because politics should always be joyful even when dark or gross.