Welcome
to the Illinois College Republican Federation
The premier
resource for Illinois' College Republicans for the last 114
years. Find all the resources you need to stay informed,
get involved and speak out right here. Connect with a
chapter on your campus or start one at your school. The
Illinois College Republican Federation is dedicated to providing
support and resources to the Republican students across the
state, that from time to time can't help but feel like the
minority on campus.
Please let us know
how we can help your chapter be the best party on campus!
Explore the many resources this site has to offer and check back
frequently.
Latest Headlines
Election Day in the 14th Congressional District
Down to the Wire!
Things are coming down to the wire in the 14th congressional
district and
Jim Oberweis can use all the help we can give him. We have only
a few days
left until the voters of Illinois' 14th Congressional District
choose
their next Congressman. It is
critical that we elect
Republican Jim Oberweis in the Special Election on THIS
SATURDAY - March 8th.
If you have some time this Saturday please come out to one of
the campaign
offices and give us a hand. The times and locations are listed
below and
remember every little bit helps.
For any College Republicans that make it out to one of the
offices and help out for at least four hours the
ICRF will reimburse for travel expenses.
Please fax receipts to 630-344-0920.
THAT'S NOT ALL - For every college
republican that helps from one of the ICRF's member schools the
ICRF will donate $30 per person to that school's chapter.
So if your school get 10 people out the
ICRF will donate $300 to your chapter!
OFC Office
335 N River Road, Batavia
Opens at 8:30a
Aurora Republican Office
22 East Downer, Aurora
Opens at 8:30a
DeKalb Republican HQ
2431 Bethany Rd, Suite A, DeKalb
Opens at 8:30a
Dixon Campaign Office
703 6th St, Dixon
Opens at 8:30a
Geneseo Campaign Office
16665 East 1600 St, Geneseo
Opens at 8:30a
Kendall County Campaign Office
320 E Washington St, Oswego
Opens at 8:30a
All eyes are on the 14th, help Jim win and show the country this
will be a good year for Republicans!
Thank you in advance for your help!
STATE CHAIR MEAGAN
SZYDLOWSKI INTERVIEWED BY MEDILL REPORTS
"Meagan Szydlowski,
president of the NIU
College Republicans, is
also concerned with
awareness of this race.
“It’s been pretty
amazing to me how many
people aren’t aware of
[the special election],”
said Szydlowski, who has
been calling voters on
behalf of Oberweis.
“When I talk to them,
they’re like, ‘No, I
already voted twice on
Feb. 5,’” referring to
the regular and special
primaries held Feb. 5
but unaware of the
March. 8 special general
election."
We have only a
few weeks until the voters of Illinois' 14th Congressional
District will choose who will represent us in Congress.
It is critical that we elect
Jim Oberweis on Saturday, March 8. The extreme
liberal forces of Nancy Pelosi and MoveOn.org are already
mobilizing in our state to send a message.
As former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert said in his
endorsement of Oberweis,
"Jim has
integrity. He's got the right conservative philosophy that
fits our district… He's been instilled with a good dose of
Midwestern common sense – something Washington very much
needs."
So what can you do? Turnout in special elections such as the
one scheduled for March 8th is historically very low. In
addition, this will be the first Saturday election in our
state's history. We cannot leave our future to chance.
We must get the voters of
the 14th Congressional District to the polls on March 8th to
vote for
Jim Oberweis.
How You Can Help!
The other side will have the help of extreme liberal
organizations like MoveOn.org to help get their voters out.
We need YOUR help!
Call from Home
It's easier than ever to be a part of this important
election. You can help from your own home by simply using an
800 # we provide! We need volunteers to make calls from home
to ensure that every Republican voter goes to the polls on
March 8th and casts their vote for Jim Oberweis – the only
candidate in the race who will represent our values. Be part
of this cutting edge program!
The calls you make that connect you to voters could put Jim
over the top on March 8. Please join us during all or some
of the following times by emailing "Get Out the Vote for
Jim" to
sheila.morgan@jimoberweis.com. You will promptly receive
instructions via email on how to help.
Below is a recent story
The Politico ran on the importance of this race.
Race
To Replace Hastert A Proxy For
Presidential Race?
By Josh
Kraushaar
(The
Politico) Two
leading presidential candidates are weighing
in on a competitive special election to
determine the successor to former House
Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) – in what
could be an early proxy battle for a
potential Obama-McCain matchup in the
general election.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is stopping by
the exurban Chicago district on Wednesday at
a fundraiser for the Republican nominee,
dairy owner Jim Oberweis. Oberweis may need
McCain as much for his appeal among
independent voters as he does for his money:
Oberweis has already spent nearly $2 million
of his own funds on the campaign.
Meanwhile, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)
recently cut footage for a television ad for
the Democratic nominee, scientist Bill
Foster. In the ads, which have not yet
aired, Obama argues that Foster he is
best-equipped candidate to deliver change in
Washington.
Both candidates are already competing on the
airwaves over the Iraq war – Oberweis’
latest ad accuses Foster of “wanting to cut
off funding for the troops” in Iraq, while
Foster’s ad accuses Oberweis of wanting to
keep troops in Iraq for over a decade.
And both committees have kept a close eye on
the seat; the NRCC just commissioned a
$13,250 poll in the district.
The fast-growing district has been solidly
Republican, but an influx of new voters who
are not tied to the Republican Party has
increased Democrats’ optimism that they can
score an upset. The district gave President
Bush 55 percent of the vote in the 2004
presidential election.
The special election is scheduled for March
8.
Illinois College Republican Federation Releases Statement About
the Incident at Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL - February 14th, 2008 -The incident at Northern
Illinois University today struck close to home for everyone
involved with the Illinois College Republican Federation.
This evening all of
our thoughts and prayers are with the faculty, staff, and
students of NIU.
Illinois
College Republican Federation State Chairman Meagan Szydlowski,
a Northern Illinois University student, had the following
statement about today's events.
"Everyone
is still in shock, this is one of the things in life that we
always say to ourselves will never happen here, but the events
of today show that it can happen anywhere. As we saw after the
tragedy at Virginia Tech, students across the country will pull
together and offer their support to the victims, their
families, and their campus; today is no exception. The
outpouring of support from students across the state has been
truly uplifting."
This
evening Northern Illinois University will be in our thoughts.
Video and photos
from this year's state convention are now posted. Please
take a look by clicking the links above or visiting out website.
If you have any additional photos from the convention or any
other ICRF events please upload them to our
flickr
account.
Jeremy Rose - ICRF
Executive Director
ICRF
STATE BOARD SETS DATE OF CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
The ICRF State
Board has set the date of the constitutional convention.
It will be held Saturday, March 29th at Illinois State
University. Stay tuned for additional details and what you
can do to attend and participate.
Jeremy Rose -
ICRF Executive Director
CONGRESSMAN MARK KIRK VISITS LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
Congressman
Mark Kirk visited Loyola University Chicago on Monday, February
18th at the Water Tower Campus. Loyola College
Republicans were in attendance to hear the four term Congressman
from Illinois' 10th district deliver a speech titled:
"Cleaning up the Congress-- Ethics and Earmarks." Highlights of
the address included Kirk's efforts to curtail congressional
earmarks, the future of the Republican party in Illinois, and
the importance that each consistent plays in holding their
representatives accountable. An open question-and-answer
dialogue took place after the address.
Justine Perry -
ICRF Second Vice-Chair
PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY VISITS DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
Eagle
Forum President Phyllis Schlafly addressed a large crowd of
college republicans at DePaul University in Chicago on Feb. 19.
She was brought to campus in order to counteract the performance
on campus of the vulgar show “The Vagina Monologues.” Phyllis’s
topic was Feminist Follies, and campus feminists showed up to
participate in the lively question period. They are still
whining about the oppression of women because women didn’t used
to have the right to vote.
FRED
BARNES VISITS LAKE FOREST COLLEGE
Fred
Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, addressed the
College Republicans of Lake Forest College on Thursday night.
Barnes focused on the current election cycle and emphasized that
Republicans have a fighting chance in '08 as well as the
continuing progress in Iraq. Barnes also addressed the
tremendous voter turnout among Democrat primary voters and
discussed how Republicans have to build a stronger voter turnout
apparatus in order to be competitive in '08.
Jeremy Rose -
ICRF Executive Director
Representing College Republicans for the last 114
years!
Congressman
Mark Kirk visited Loyola University Chicago on Monday, February
18th at the Water Tower Campus. Loyola College
Republicans were in attendance to hear the four term Congressman
from Illinois' 10th district deliver a speech titled:
"Cleaning up the Congress-- Ethics and Earmarks." Highlights of
the address included Kirk's efforts to curtail congressional
earmarks, the future of the Republican party in Illinois, and
the importance that each consistent plays in holding their
representatives accountable. An open question-and-answer
dialogue took place after the address. 
Eagle
Forum President Phyllis Schlafly addressed a large crowd of
college republicans at DePaul University in Chicago on Feb. 19.
She was brought to campus in order to counteract the performance
on campus of the vulgar show “The Vagina Monologues.” Phyllis’s
topic was Feminist Follies, and campus feminists showed up to
participate in the lively question period. They are still
whining about the oppression of women because women didn’t used
to have the right to vote. 
Fred
Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, addressed the
College Republicans of Lake Forest College on Thursday night.
Barnes focused on the current election cycle and emphasized that
Republicans have a fighting chance in '08 as well as the
continuing progress in Iraq. Barnes also addressed the
tremendous voter turnout among Democrat primary voters and
discussed how Republicans have to build a stronger voter turnout
apparatus in order to be competitive in '08.
