Here’s a snapshot of news and activities from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
A hand-carved Trump cheesehead was unveiled Tuesday at a reception for the Illinois delegation at On Tap at the Brewhouse Inn & Suites in Milwaukee
Courtesy of On Tap at the Brewhouse Inn & Suites
Pledge of Allegiance lightning rod
Suburbanite Deb Kraulidis was front and center Monday leading the Pledge of Allegiance at the RNC opening session. The former Will County Board member and vice president of conservative group Moms for America faced criticism after attending former President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 rally.
Kraulidis said on a Facebook video that “the rally was amazing,” but told the Joliet Herald News in 2021 she posted that before knowing about the riot and condemned the violence that followed.
The Illinois Democratic Party Tuesday objected to Kraulidis’ appearance and said the RNC “prefers to spotlight extremists and peddle election lies rather than address the real issues American families face.”
“Moms know exactly what’s at stake in this election, and we’re determined to fight for our families and our values,” Kraulidis said in a statement on Moms for America’s website promoting her convention appearance.
And, “the Illinois Republican Party thinks the Illinois Democratic Party should spend less time trolling the RNC and more time trying to work on the failed policies of the Democratic majority and keeping former elected officials out of jail,” RNC delegate Aaron Del Mar of Palatine said.
South Side pastor’s secret identity
Notable Chicagoan, the Rev. Corey Brooks, gave the closing prayer at the RNC Tuesday. The senior pastor at New Beginnings Church of Chicago drew fame in the 2010s by camping out for months on a rooftop to draw attention to crime and violence in the Woodlawn neighborhood and to raise money for a community center.
“I would be remiss if I did not give the great state of Illinois and Chicago and the South Side a shoutout. This is a week of celebration and life. A week of democracy and liberty,” Brooks told the cheering crowd.
The Rev. Corey Brooks of the New Beginnings Church in Chicago gave the closing prayer at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. He’s shown here in a 2017 photo on Chicago’s South Side.
AP
Hopefully, Illinois tollway officials aren’t feeling neglected. Brooks spent four years as a tollway board director after being appointed by GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2015.
Make America ‘Grate’ Again?
A hand-carved cheesehead in the likeness of Donald Trump made its appearance at Wednesday’s Illinois Republican delegation breakfast.
It was provided by On Tap at Brewhouse Inn & Suites, located within the Pabst Brewing Co.’s Mill House building in Milwaukee’s Brewery District.
The head already had been unveiled at an event held at On Tap Tuesday night. According to a news release from On Tap, the cheesehead was a whimsical nod to Wisconsin’s cheese heritage and the spirit of the convention.