Sig Vaznelis Chosen as New Cook County Republican Chairman

Highway Commissioner Sigitas "Sig" Vaznelis was elected Thursday night as the new chairman of the Cook County Republican Party.

During a special meeting in Chicago's Greektown neighborhood, Vaznelis, the current Lemont Township GOP committeeman, was chosen to replace Lee Roupas, who stepped down last month to focus on his new position as a DuPage County assistant state's attorney. He will serve out the remainder of Roupas' two-year term, which expires in April 2012.

In becoming the new chairman, Vaznelis beat out Wheeling Township Trustee Ruth O'Connell and Palatine Township's Aaron Del Mar, who stepped down at the last minute to support Vaznelis. The Daily Herald reports that Vaznelis was also backed by committeemen from Chicago and the south suburbs.

According to tallies, the new Cook County GOP chair received 85,221 votes to O'Connell's 66,298. The votes are weighted based on the number of Republicans in each ward and township.

In a phone interview with Patch on Friday, Vaznelis said he was honored to take on the position, and praised O'Connell for her positive campaign.

"This was not ugly at all," he said. "It really was a good debate and a sharing of ideas."

With eyes on the 2012 elections, Vaznelis said he hopes to build on the current successes of the Cook County GOP.

"We're more unified as a group than ever, and I want to keep that going," he said. "I'm an engineer so I'll all about planning, solving problems and building things. We've got a lot of work to do as we head into next year."

Some of his goals include building the party's relationships with the Tea Party and Young Republicans. "Selecting great candidates and fundraising" are also top priorities, he said.

Vaznelis said he is committed to working on the party's operations both in Chicago and Cook County suburbs. Currently, the Cook County Republican Party Central Committee comprises 50 Chicago ward committeemen and 30 township committeemen.

"We want to have everyone working together," he said. "One of the key things will be getting more exposure in the City of Chicago. The city committeemen are very excited about that."