From a Friend of McHenry County Blog:
GOPers want to remove ward committeeman, but may lack authority
There is talk about “removing” Paul McKinely, the 4th ward committeeperson from the Chicago Republican Party and/or the Cook County Republican Party following his May 12 arrest for battery; however, my understanding is that there is no legal mechanism to remove an elected ward, township, or precinct committeeperson.
The alleged battery happened inside of a public library located at 3436 S King Dr which is at the intersection of 35th and King in Chicago.
McKinley was in a physical altercation with Danielle Carter-Walters of the Chicago Flips Red organization.
The group has been getting some attention lately.
Chicago Flips Red says that when they went to an event, Paul McKinley and another man cussed at them and told them to leave.
Then Carter-Walters began recording on her camera phone (she is also trying to obtain video surveillance from the Chicago public library but has thus far been obstructed and told the cameras do not work, so now she may get an attorney involved).
The video starts with Carter-Walters antagonizing a man in a face mask by telling him to say what he said again.
Whatever it was that he allegedly said to begin with is not on video.
The man says nothing in response on video and walks away.
At that point, McKinley steps in and things quickly get out of control.
Chicago Flips Red says they were called “dick eaters” but in the video it sounds like McKinley is upset with them for their frequent and well documented vulgarity, and it sounds like he is saying they were the ones who have called people “dick eaters.”
The group is known to be vulgar and they have acknowledged that, but they say it should not matter if they were vulgar in the past because as long as they are not doing that right now then they should be allowed to stay at the event.
McKinley disagreed and said it doesn’t matter how they are behaving now; he does not want them at events.
Then he slaps the phone out of Carter-Walters’ hand and there is a large commotion.
As the camera phone lays on the ground, McKinley calls someone a “punk ass bitch” and a woman is heard repeatedly shouting in terror, “Don’t hit her! Please don’t hit her!”
There are banging and crashing noises and people screaming.
According to Carter-Walters and other witnesses, a fight ensued between several people.
She only had a few small scratches on her face and attributes being relatively unharmed to the fact that she knows how to fight.
(Being a personal fitness trainer also helped her with strength and cardio.)
The fighting is out of frame but it definitely sounds like there is violence happening.
Video of the incident leading to McKinley’s arrest can be viewed with the link below.
For some reason, the arrest was recorded as May 12 even though the incident happened on May 11 which was Mother’s Day.
The optics of black Republicans getting into a physical fight at a public library on Mother’s Day was not great.
I thought maybe McKinley was charged the day after Mother’s Day, however, the location of the arrest in the record shows the address of the library.
The reason for the discrepancy in the date and location of the arrest record is unclear.
Reporting from the media about the Republican-on-Republican violence has, oddly, largely been muted.
But in Republican circles this is a big scandal.
Chicago Flips Red has posted video of Chicago Republican Party Chairman Chuck Hernandez — whether he knows it was being livestreamed or not is unclear — where he expresses misgivings about Chicago Flips Red by saying he does not work with them and says McKinley has due process rights (which is true in a court of law).
Although the woman in the video who is an ally of McKinley keeps interrupting Hernandez, it does sound like Hernandez is not a fan of Chicago Flips Red and now they are calling him out.
Chicago Flips Red has repeatedly protested Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Push organization, and their crass style has been controversial even for those who are sympathetic to their cause.
But that does not mean what McKinley did was right either.
Following the video of the library brawl, there were immediate calls for McKinley to be removed as a Republican ward committeeperson.
While Hernandez from the Chicago Republican Party may not be a fan of Chicago Flips Red and was not willing to throw McKinley under the bus, Cook County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Del Mar quickly issued a strong statement against McKinley.
Chairman Del Mar wrote, “Effective immediately, Paul McKinley is prohibited from participating in any Cook County Republican Central Committee events, caucuses, or votes. Additionally, he has been suspended from his roles as a member of the Cook County Republican Central Committee and as the Ward Committeeman for the 4th Ward in the City of Chicago. I am advocating for his permanent removal and censure at the next Cook County Central Committee meeting. Mr. McKinley’s behavior is unbecoming of a Republican Committeeman, a Republican, or a decent human being. Please refer to the attached video for evidence of Mr. McKinley’s actions.”
There is something missing in all of this drama and that is the issue of whether McKinley even can be removed.
I have seen no evidence that he can be.
Please submit the evidence if you have it.
What does Illinois law say?
What do Republican Party bylaws either in Cook County or Chicago say?
If they contradict each other, which one takes precedence?
If McKinley were appointed, that would be a different story.
Appointed committeepersons usually serve at the discretion of the county chair who can appoint them and remove them at-will.
Following Del Mar’s election last month, he removed several appointed committeepersons who did not vote for him.
But where is the authority to remove an elected committeeperson?
My understanding is that there is no such authority — but I am not an expert of Cook County or Chicago politics and it is not uncommon for them to have completely different rules than the rest of the state.
Pointing this out is not to condone what McKinley did at the library, but there are rules and processes which ought to be followed, and if they are not followed then the Cook County Republican Party and/or the Chicago Republican Party could open themselves up to a lawsuit.
McKinley was elected during the March 19, 2024 primary and the next election for Chicago Republican ward committeepersons will be during the presidential primary of 2028.
McKinley is being called a “RINO” by many people who saw the video but he has long been involved in Republican politics.
In 2013, McKinley was the Republican candidate in the Illinois second district U.S. House of Representatives special election to replace Jesse Jackson, Jr. who had resigned.
Democrat Robin Kelly defeated him.
Chicago Flips Red claims that McKinley has been bought off by the Democratic Party.
An alternative explanation is that he has not been “bought off” but simply does not like the women from Chicago Flips Red and has a bad temper.
He spent many years in prison for violent crimes.
In old interviews and ads, he says that he is an “ex offender trying to prevent the next offender” and explains how the Democratic Party “machine” works.
The videos are very good and can still be viewed here.
https://www.youtube.com/@PaulMcKinleyVideos
There are other videos too.
Now the 66-year-old “ex offender” finds himself back in the legal system where he faces the charge of battery.
For the time being, he is still a Republican ward committeeperson and there may not be a way to remove him like people want to happen.
McKinley and the library could face lawsuits too.
After McKinley “ranned up on” Carter-Walters and her ally Zoe Leigh, Carter-Walters is “willing to sue everyone.”
