The new head of the Illinois GOP says it’s too early to say whether Chicago should host the 2016 Republican National Convention. That could be a tough sell to Chicago’s staunchly Democratic mayor.
IPR'S Alex Keefe reports.
State Republican Party Chairman Jack Dorgan was cautious when asked today about the prospects of a Chicago RNC in 2016.
"Interesting dynamic. Uh, I’ve had some preliminary conversations."
Dorgan suggested it might be be hard for the state party to host a national convention while ALSO gearing up to get Republican U.S. Senator Mark Kirk re-elected.
Then there’s the issue of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former top aide to TWO Democratic presidents.
"Rahm can be, uh, probably an interesting person to, uh, deal with."
A Chicago Sun-Times columnist reported last week Emanuel was interested in hosting the Republican Convention. Dorgan says he hasn’t heard from the mayor, and the mayor’s office says the story isn’t true.