The Republican Party’s problem in Illinois is traced back to Richard Olgivie by Pearson and Chase.
Errr…sort of, but not really. The article is good overall and it mentions most of the important issues for the Republican’s problems, but I think the focus of the story is too forced into a historical narrative.
The problems isn’t Olgivie losing patronage as much as the interests of city dwellers and suburbanites diverging from the national Republican Party and those groups gaining in relative import. The authors mention this, but it’s far less emphasized than it deserves in comparison to Olgivie.
As Republicans moved rightward on social issues more space opened up between Republican statewide candidates and national candidates. Slowly, the grassroots organizations that mobilized socially conservative voters moved the State Party rightward starting as early at 1990 with challenges to the establishment.
The Republican Party saw an opportunity to attack Democratic majorities through social conservatism and as time went on–the activists spread to all of the states. In a socially moderate state like Illinois, this led to a split within the Party between powerful social moderates and grassroots social conservatives that continues to this day. I put my money on the conservatives. Ultimately, it is hard for moderates like Beth Coulson to run as a Republican and not be tied to an agenda that isn’t right wing in an area that is socially liberal.
The same happens in reverse in rural areas, but there are more people in urban and suburban areas.