With regard to your April 11, article "New GOP leader in the thick of things," you cited newly elected Oak Park Republican Committeeman Marlene Lynch as the probable swing vote in the then-upcoming 7th District Republican State Central Committeeman election held on April 19. I have not seen a followup article on that election.

In your article, a source reported that former River Forest resident Carol Donovan won a closely contested election to the 7th District State Central Committee seat in November, 2005. There was a special election to fill the vacancy of the late Steve Meyer. The election was not close as Carol Donovan prevailed over Chicago Republican Party Chairman Clark Pellett with a sizable margin in a three-candidate race.

While your article last month cited statements by Chairman Pellett that Oak Park and River Forest township vote totals were boosted by ballot issues, that statement rings half-true. Oak Park Township saw a decline in voter turnout this past March. This statistic is found in the certified vote which was released subsequent to the publication of the subject article.

Chairman Pellett was correct that River Forest Township had a much larger voter turnout in March. He attributed this turnout to the District 90 school referendum. That observation rings half-true.

Those who wished to vote only for the school referendum and not for candidates running for public office generally used a touch screen to vote on that single issue. The certified vote canvass shows the inventory of scanned paper ballots had a 20 percent increase in Republican ballots taken. The Republican votes remained at that increase overall. That figure is due in large part to River Forest Republican Committeeman Tom Cronin, who himself was elected to a full term in a landslide. Mr. Cronin and the River Forest committeewoman made an early "get out the vote" effort in River Forest.

The April 19 meeting to elect a 7th District Republican State Central Committeeman turned out not to be as competitive as the newspaper’s source foretold. Committeeman Lynch was not the swing vote as was also forecast.

Led by Committeeman Cronin’s proxy, prepared prior to the meeting, Carol Donovan won handily in a four-candidate race that had Chairman Pellett coming in second with 30 percent of the vote.

The Cook County Republican Party is on the ascent. The Illinois Republican Party is stronger than ever. On May 13, it was anticipated that Andy McKenna would be elected to a four-year term as party chairman. It all began at the grassroots.

Bill Hogan
River Forest