An Illinois delegate holds up a Trump campaign sign at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]  

Chicago and Illinois politics are often mentioned at the Republican National Convention (RNC), but not usually in a positive light as Republicans try to draw contrasts with Democratic policies.

With the convention happening less than an hour north of the Illinois border in Milwaukee, there were several references on stage and at other events to the Land of Lincoln.

Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

Kathy Salvi took over the Illinois Republican Party on Friday with Republicans in a good mood. After Illinois Republicans entered Republican National Convention (RNC) week facing questions about internal divisions, members put on a united face in Milwaukee behind nominee Donald Trump with aspirations of moving past their own differences in Illinois.  

An Illinois delegate holds up a Trump campaign sign at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Members of Illinois’ Republican National Convention (RNC) delegation liked what they heard from Republican nominee Donald Trump as he accepted their nomination for president of the United States for a third consecutive convention.  

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. [CSPAN/YouTube] 

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said during the Republican National Convention he will not be backing off the buses of migrants he has sent to Chicago and other sanctuary cities.  

Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy holds a news conference in Oak Creek, Wisconsin on Thursday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

When the balloons dropped at the end of the Republican National Committee in Milwaukee on Thursday night, Don Tracy’s three-and-a-half-years as chair of the Illinois Republican Party also came to an end. 

Gov. JB Pritzker signs a bill into law in Decatur on Thursday. [Gov. JB Pritzker/Facebook] 

Illinois now has a pathway to regulate carbon capture and sequestration starting with a temporary moratorium on controversial carbon pipelines.  

New Illinois Republican Party Chair Katy Salvi speaks at the Illinois delegation breakfast in Milwaukee on Wednesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Mundelein attorney Kathy Salvi will take the helm of the Illinois Republican Party on Friday and is imploring party members to put aside their differences to focus on winning races this fall.  

Former New York Republican member of Congress Lee Zeldin speaks to the Illinois RNC delegation on Tuesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Illinois Republicans haven’t made a gubernatorial race close since former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner won in 2014. On Tuesday they took some advice from a different candidate in another dark blue state who made headlines by narrowing the gap against an incumbent Republican governor. 

Former U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) speaks at a Harvard Institute of Politics panel in Milwaukee on Tuesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Former U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, a Taylorville Republican, knows what it is like to be the target of political violence. Though not injured, Davis was present when a gunman opened fire on a group of Republican members of Congress in 2017 during a baseball practice before the annual congressional baseball game.  

Davis, who lost a 2022 primary to U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Hindsboro), said he still thinks about that shooting every day, which injured now-House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Speaking at an event in Milwaukee with the Harvard Institute of Politics where he is a fellow, Davis said he hopes the national feeling of the need to turn down the temperature in politics will last longer than it did in 2017. 

Illinois Republicans tell The Daily Line they are happy with former President Donald Trump’s running mate selection. And Cook County state’s attorney candidate Bob Fioretti is in Milwaukee to attend the Republican National Convention.