2019 Conference

– We had a great time on Aug 24.

Dust off the cleats… suit up… get off the sidelines… bring your “A” game…

Join hundreds of Illinois Conservatives from across the state at the
4th Annual ICU Grassroots Activist Conference
Illinois: IN PLAY


When: Saturday, August 24, 2019, 8 am until 4 pm
Where: Bolingbrook Golf Club
2001 Rodéo Drive, Bolingbrook, IL 60490

Wrap-Up: ICU 4th Annual Grassroots Activist Conference

Our sincere “Thanks!” to everyone who attended our 4th Annual ICU Conservative Activist Conference on Saturday, August 24th. The feedback we’ve received has been very positive. Those who attended sacrificed a beautiful Saturday outdoors to be there. They are movers, shakers and change-makers who will help to turn Illinois around. We will be updating our website soon with the Conference Wrap-up and links to the presentations. 

Of course, the Conference would not have taken place without our wonderful volunteers and the great speakers who joined us. A big “Thank You!” to all of them.

A few highlights from the Conference are below. We’ll be telling you more about these items in the coming weeks:

• We have some great candidates to support in the coming election cycle;

• There are some great organizations in Illinois which are coming together to join forces and fight some of the crazy stuff coming out of the Illinois Legislature.

• All of the presentations were well-received and attendees found the information presented very valuable. Videos to come soon.

• We introduced a new “guerrilla tactic” to educate the public: our “Hosed” and “Hot Air” post-it notes. Attendees received a pad of each (see photo). Our request is to place a post-it on gas pumps when they fill up and hand dryers when they use public restrooms. The post-it notes direct people to www.IllinoisVoteSmart.com, where they can see details about how Illinois legislators have betrayed them. We must use every day between now and November 2020 to educate voters. More to come…stay tuned.

• We presented the first of what we hope will be an annual ICU Award: The Unsung Hero of Freedom Award. The 2019 recipient is Gary Carlson, whom many of you know as “the guy with all the bumper stickers!”. Gary is a quiet and humble evangelist for freedom.

• Presentations on the progressive tax ballot initiative by Steve Rauschenberger (President, Technology and Manufacturing Assoc.) and Victor Dula (AFP Foundation Grassroots Engagement Director) gave us solid facts about how a progressive tax will hurt Illinois families, and how we can help to fight it.

• Peter Breen introduced his new Fair Maps petition effort. It’s well-thought-out and thoroughly researched to stand the best chance of holding up under court challenges. ICU fully supports this petition effort. We encourage ALL candidates to circulate the Fair Maps petition along with their own candidate petitions in the coming weeks. For more details, go to www.fairmapsillinois.com

• Carol Davis delivered a message called, “The Trifecta of Election Fraud” and urged every county GOP organization to form a “Rapid Response Team” trained to observe the Vote by Mail Ballot process and prepared to challenge non-compliant ballots.

• The Illinois Conservative Union Election Integrity Team gave an update on their research and progress.

• C. L. Bryant closed out the conference with a highly motivating message of encouragement to carry us forward.

To our knowledge, the yearly ICU Conservative Activist Conference is the only Conference which is laser-focused on Illinois problems and solutions. It brings together many different Illinois organizations and activists to build relationships and strategize together on solutions for Illinois. We hope you’ll make plans to join us next year, in August 2020. Let’s make it the biggest and best event ever to help engage the grassroots and help propel great candidates into office. Illinois is worth fighting for!