For Immediate Release:
Saturday, June 8, 2024

Contact:
Dan Kovats, Executive Director
dan@ildcca.org

 Guethle Elected President of Democratic County Chairs

Elected to full term since serving as President since January 2024

Springfield, IL – On Saturday, June 8, 2024, the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association (IDCCA) unanimously voted to elect Kane County Chair Mark Guethle their President for the next two years. Guethle has served as President of the IDCCA since January 2024 following the retirement of former McHenry County Chair Kristina Zahorik. Prior to serving as President, Guethle served 15 years as the Vice President of the organization.

President Guethle released the following statement:

“I want to thank my fellow County Chairs for putting their trust in me to lead our organization. I plan to take a lot of what we’ve accomplished in Kane County and apply that statewide. That means we are going to get back to the basics of door knocking and talking to voters about Democratic accomplishments. We are going to make sure that Joe Biden gets reelected. We are going to help Democrats retake control of Congress which starts by sending back all Democratic members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation. And we must return the supermajorities to Springfield for Speaker Welch and President Harmon to continue supporting Governor JB Pritzker’s agenda.”

“And I want to reiterate my gratitude to Kristina Zahorik, our previous Chair, for leaving with me an IDCCA in great shape. Our organization is primed to take the next step in providing resources throughout Illinois to build the Democratic Party.”

Guethle has led the Kane County Democratic Party since 2002. Since being elected County Chair, Guethle has helped transform Kane County from what was once considered a reliably Republican county to a county where Democrats now control most levels of local government. A union organizer at his core, Guethle retired as the Political Director of Painters District Council 30 in 2020. For 20 years Guethle led the Labor-to-Labor program in the collar counties with the Illinois AFL-CIO, working to mobilize members of Organized Labor to get out and vote. Guethle is also a Village Trustee in North Aurora where he has helped champion responsible bidder and prevailing wage agreements to guarantee good paying jobs stay in Kane County.

Since taking over as President, the IDCCA has raised over $149,000 and trained close to 150 candidates, campaign staffers, and Democratic Party leaders at their annual Boot Camp training. The IDCCA continues to partner with the Democratic Party of Illinois to provide virtual training opportunities for down ballot candidates as part of the year-round candidate recruitment initiative that launched in 2023.

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