WurfWhile

DuPage County GOP Chair and State Senator Kirk Dillard has been around a while, serving in both the Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar administrations. While I’ve followed him only relatively recently, I’ve been impressed over the last few years with his political instincts and savvy - even if I have often (but not always) disagreed with him on the issues. Lately the times have not been kind to Senator Dillard, who has passed up ‘opportunities’ to run against Barack Obama for U.S. Senate after Jack Ryan dropped out, run for State Senate Minority Leader after Democrats gained a super-majority in the senate, and today, according to the Daily Herald, Kirk Dillard has advertised that he is willing to give up his post as DuPage County Republican Chair.

The meaning of this ‘offer’ has not been lost on local Democrats - three of which (all from different DuPage townships) emailed me independently to let me know of this development. What it means is that Kirk Dillard, after presiding for years over a GOP lock on elective office in the county, now sees that the years ahead suggest GOP losses (one of which was narrowly avoided this past election in Addison Township - see below). Politically Dillard would do better to leave with his remarkable record intact instead of staying and risking it getting tarnished.

Another remarkable part of the article was what Patrick Durante, Addison Township GOP Chair and formerly an aide to Congressman Henry Hyde, had to say:

“Dillard is party chairman at a time when Republicans are ‘fighting the uphill battle,’ Durante said.

‘It makes raising money harder,’ he said. ‘It makes getting workers harder. It’s all hard.’

With Philip, Daniels and former U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde all retiring, Durante said Dillard has done ‘a good job at a very bad time.’

….

‘There’s going to be fights with the Democrats like we’ve never had before.’”

Patrick Durante is a guy that doesn’t ‘give up ground’ in the newspapers normally. If this is Durante’s assessment, then the DuPage GOP thinks things are pretty bad.