GOP State Central Committee member Jeanne Ives undermines Illinois Republican Campaigns
Ives' role with Breakthrough Ideas may be incentivizing her to subvert Illinois Republican chances
A recurring theme among Illinois Republicans when discussing state central Committeeperson and Breakthrough Ideas founder Jeanne Ives is "vindictive."
Facebook / Jeanne Ives (left), Joe Ptak (right)
Although often viewed as a negative trait, vindictiveness can sometimes be justified and yield positive societal effects.
In an email to Illinois Republican state central committee, Ives writes that Former adult entertainment proprietor and current Illinois GOP leader Aaron Del Mar “is a traitor, a liar and must resign.”
There is substance in Ives' email, but the motivation for sending it may be payback. Del Mar betrayed Ives on three crucial occasions.
The first instance occurred during the infamous 2018 Palatine GOP gubernatorial endorsement session. During the endorsement vote, Del Mar, then president of the Palatine GOP, rewrote the rules to ensure Rauner secured the Palatine GOP’s support, stifling Ives' momentum.
Illinois Review/ Photo of the infamous 2018 Palatine GOP endorsement session
The second betrayal involved Ives' controversial "Thank you, Bruce Rauner" advertisement.
Wikipedia page for the controversial ad
While Del Mar privately told Ives he found the ad hysterical, he publicly told the Daily Herald, a newspaper often critical of Republicans, that it was "the most offensive ad I've ever seen."
By reinforcing Democratic accusations of transphobia and racism, Del Mar added credibility to the attacks against Ives. This public disapproval from within her own party significantly tarnished Ives' image among the moderate suburban voters she had been courting.
“Thank you Bruce, Rauner” screen grab
And third, Del Mar's mentor, former Illinois GOP chair Pat Brady, appeared in a campaign commercial endorsing Ives' Democratic opponent, Sean Casten. Brady then appeared in another ad, further painting Ives as an extremist and homophobe. These attacks from fellow Republicans further damaged Ives' reputation.
Ives would lose the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary and the 2020 6th Congressional District race. Despite close races, the negative attacks from Republicans and Democrats have ruined her political aspirations.
Ives had worked hard to build a reputation as a policy expert who addressed issues like nuclear power and pension reform alongside more polarizing social topics. Her appeal to wealthy, educated suburban Republicans, who generally avoid controversy, suffered under the weight of the “racist” and “transphobe” labels.
These accusations, amplified by fellow Republicans, made it difficult for Ives to recover politically. To this day, Ives remains a polarizing figure, often invoked by Democrats in the western Illinois suburbs as a villain on social and racial issues.
Despite these challenges, Ives rebounded as the 3rd District representative on the Illinois Republican State Central Committee and starting Breakthrough Ideas, a 501c4 that reportedly brings in $1 million annually, including her $132,000 salary.
Some believed Ives might move past Del Mar’s perceived betrayals, citing her recent support for his efforts to elevate Dean White to RNC Chair as evidence. However, Ives released a scathing blog last week on the Breakthrough Ideas website and her mass email calling for Del Mar's resignation. The blog accused Del Mar of making a deal with the local democratic party to maintain his position as Palatine Highway Commissioner.
Facebook/ Controversial Lawyer Tom Devore (left) Aaron Del Mar (right)
While Del Mar making a deal with the democratic party is concerning, the appearance of this story on the Breakthrough Ideas website was odd. Breakthrough Ideas has often been criticized for needing a consistent agenda or candidate endorsements. Instead, it appears to capitalize on trending conservative issues to generate donations.
For example, Breakthrough Ideas will take stances on issues as diverse as Chinese land acquisitions, the border, and diversity programs in higher education. Critics argue that this approach does not change Illinois voters' opinions but prioritizes personal promotion and organizational gains over broader Republican objectives.
In a heavily Democratic state like Illinois, the donor pool for conservative causes is limited. Contrary to conventional thinking, a victorious or revitalized Republican Party could threaten Ives’ newfound stronghold at Breakthrough Ideas.
At the national level, Ives supported Ron DeSantis over Donald Trump in the 2024 primary, frequently taking passive-aggressive jabs at Trump whenever possible
Facebook/ Dan Crenshaw (left) Jeanne Ives (right).
However, Ives’ alleged and proven subversive acts against Illinois candidates are prolific. Some claims are more sensational than substantiated.
For instance, Scott Kaspar of the Illinois Review accused Ives of “manufacturing” a police investigation to derail Tom McCullagh’s State Senate campaign. While there is no direct evidence that Ives coerced McCullagh into texting an adolescent girl, suspicions linger due to the case's sudden dismissal.
Text Message From Illinois Review Owner Scott Kaspar
Other allegations are more concrete. AM560 host Michael Alfaro claimed that Ives pressured the station to banish a Republican congressional candidate from its influential platform, a decision that seriously impacted the candidate's ability to fundraise, promote, and spread their campaign message.
Similarly, her decision to partner with the local group Three-Headed Eagle Alliance and divert volunteers to campaign in Wisconsin during the Illinois midterms has drawn criticism. While the strategy may have broader merit, it contradicts her role as the 3rd District state central committeeperson, whose responsibility is explicitly Illinois races.
One of the most contentious examples involves the 2024 Congressional race for Illinois’ 3rd District. After the primary, John Booras emerged as the Republican candidate for the district that Ives is responsible for representing on the Republican State Central Committee
When a right-leaning independent candidate started making their intentions known, the challenger found unexpected allies in the form of 7-time world champion drum coach and Chicago GOP executive director Jeff Fiedler. His warm reception was not the only surprise.
Jeanne Ives, who is supposed to represent the third congressional District for Republicans, would also receive the independent candidate warmly, allowing the competitor to speak at a Breakthrough Ideas meeting despite the direct threat to the Republican Canndidate she was obligated to support.
While the independent candidate had issues collecting enough signatures to appear on the ballot, neither Ives nor the Republican party attempted to remove the challenger from the ballot.
Booras's team, recognizing the impact of a right-leaning independent on the ballot, spent his campaign's limited resources to successfully remove the candidate from the ballot where Ives failed him.
Facebook / Mark “man on the street” Weyermuller (left) Jeanne Ives (right)
When pressed for comment, Ives said this reporter was “full of shit”.
The Bible teaches us that every emotion has a time and place. Sometimes, vindictiveness and retribution are positive, necessary reactions to injustice. And the Illinois Record is undoubtedly supportive of criticizing Republicans. However, we fail to see how Ives' many subversive actions towards local candidates can co-align with her position on the Illinois republican state central committee.
If Ives were to resign, her criticism and subversive actions would be more appropriate. However, in her current status as state central committee, she acts as a hurdle in the way for aspiring Republicans and not a help.
One can not deny Jeanne Ives's significant influence within the Republican Party. Her decisions carry a weight that many support or are afraid to speak out against. However, one quote in my interviews for this article really stuck out. A Westpoint graduate with familiarity of Illinois Political events said the following:
“She (Jeanne Ives) is a West Point graduate.where the motto is duty, honor, country. Seems to be 3 things she lacks and or dismisses regularly as a submissive GOP establishment puppet. We also had a saying ‘one shall not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those that do. Something she (Jeanne Ives) does regularly”.
I’m the one who brought this to Jeanne and asked for her help to let people know what was going on in my Township.
Aaron was contacted by Chairman Salvi while there was still time to call for a caucus. He refused, hence the article. Per statute, he is the only one - as the elected leader of Palatine township Republicans - who CAN call for a caucus.
The level of deception the Republicans of Palatine Township have experienced would be atrocious behavior for any elected Republican, let alone THE person elected to lead the party in our area, a State Central Committeeman, and a Co-Chair of the ILGOP!
He started a whole new party with people who hate our President-elect! How is that in itself not DISQUALIFYING to serve in leadership in the ILGOP?
I can't explain the shock I and others felt when we discovered we had been completely deceived into signing petitions for Dems who oppose everything we believe in.
At least one circulator outright lied and answered "Republican" when asked which party the petitions were for.
His excuse for this self-serving deal is a lie.
His excuse is also an indictment on his own lack of effort over the years to bring people into the Republican tent. Over the years, many volunteers have left his PTRO organization due to mistreatment. If they wanted to grow the party, but not promote him specifically, they were not welcome.
It's a toxic environment at PTRO for anyone outside his core circle and he has done next to nothing to spread Republican values.
The township positions are paid positions and the board just recently passed through a salary increase for next term knowing they had eliminated all competition.
His lies make no sense because:
- This had to be in the works with the Dems way before the November Presidential election.
- Both Democrats have 3 Dem Primary votes in the voter histories.
- What kind of Republican leader goes out of his way to PREVENT Republicans from running as Republicans? Any Republican who wanted to run would have had to do so as an Independent with a much higher signature threshold.
- The Palatine Township board has been in Republican hands for at least 40 years and won 4 years ago in a difficult climate by 54%.
- Only 5 have voting power on the board and he willingly/secretly gave away 2 of the 5! It is not a supermajority in Republican control at all.
- Why wouldn't his excuse apply to every race, then? If he thinks races are not winnable and has NO interest in lifting a finger for wins, why is he in leadership?
- We do not have elected precinct committeemen in Cook County. Those precinct-level positions are appointed and Aaron never took building out a precinct captain program seriously. Candidates were left to fend for themselves.
- In 2018, he made a huge mockery of endorsement sessions:
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2018/02/palatine-township-gop-upheaval-continues-rep-morrison-responds-to-aaron-del-mar.html
We need people in leadership with vision and motivation, not someone who deceives and demoralizes voters and volunteers.
For him to collude with the Dems on the same slate, hide all of this from PTRO members, and trick people into signing petitions for Dems should automatically disqualify him from any leadership in the ILGOP.
Vicki Wilson
Palatine