Galesburg Reporter

In an effort to reinvigorate Republican engagement in western Illinois, the Federation of Illinois Young Republicans has launched the Forgottonia Young Republicans chapter, serving Knox, Fulton, McDonough and Warren counties. 

“Forgottonia is a fun one,” Federation of Illinois Young Republicans Evan Kasal told the Galesburg Reporter.

Forgottonia, a name long associated with a tongue-in-cheek 1970s secessionist movement protesting neglect of western Illinois, was a symbolic and strategic target for expansion.

"I actually went down to the Lincoln Day Dinner in Warren County, which is one of the four counties, to specifically start [Forgottonia],” Kasal said. 

The Federation of Illinois Young Republicans announced the news of the Forgottonia Young Republicans chapter on April 21.

“New chapter alert! Anybody in the ‘Forgottonia’ area we would love for you to join our newest chapter,” the group said on Facebook. 

The group held its formation meeting the next day on April 22. 

The expansion comes as part of Kasal’s statewide strategy to grow the GOP’s influence among young voters and build party infrastructure ahead of the 2026 elections.

“There's a couple people who are pretty involved with that chapter,” Kasal said.  

Among the founding members of the Forgottonia YRs are Chair Traeton McVey, Vice Chair Landon Smith and Treasurer Jennifer Fredericks, who is currently running for State Senate. 

In recent weeks, leaders from the Forgottonia Young Republicans traveled to the Illinois State Capitol to meet with legislators and promote key conservative issues. McVey and Smith held discussions with notable lawmakers, including State Senators Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) and Steve McClure (R-Springfield), and Minority House Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) and State Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb).  

Kasal described 2025 as a “rebuild year,” emphasizing his vision of strengthening the party ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial, midterm and U.S. Senate election to be on Nov. 3, 2026.

One of the candidates they may be supporting is Dillan Vancil, a Republican gearing up for a run versus incumbent U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) the U.S. House in Illinois' 17th Congressional District in the 2026 election. 

“(Vancil’s) not directly involved but he's a fan of the YRs,” Kasal said. 

Forgottonia is one of four new Young Republican chapters launched since Kasal took office in March, bringing the statewide total to 11. He views this expansion as part of a “rebuild year” to prepare the party for a stronger showing in 2026 races.

Kasal also credits the success of Forgottonia to a broader structural change he championed upon taking the helm of the organization. 

“One of the things that I specifically pushed for when I became chair… is that we now are allowed to do multi-county chapters,” he said. “The previous YRs were counties. And I was like, this doesn’t work in other parts of the state.”

That flexibility enabled the grouping of rural counties like those in Forgottonia, where single-county chapters might struggle to gain traction. 

Kasal also noted that Emily Cahill, the Federation’s treasurer and membership coordinator, was particularly enthusiastic about the effort.

“Apparently, Emily is actually from that area, too,” he said. “So she was very excited when I told her we were looking at a Knox County YR chapter. And that eventually ballooned into the four counties.”

Cahill has been instrumental in the Federation’s recent expansion, helping to launch chapters in Champaign County, Metro East and North Cook alongside Forgottonia. 

These chapters are already active in local political advocacy—opposing progressive legislation, supporting Republican candidates and mobilizing young conservatives through digital outreach and grassroots action.

“It will help grow the Republican Party and it'll give us a chance to get good Republicans elected,” Cahill previously told Prairie State Wire.

For Kasal, building chapters like Forgottonia is about more than numbers—it’s about changing the political conversation in Illinois.

He believes the state is on the cusp of a Republican resurgence, pointing to demographic shifts and low Democratic favorability. 

“Democrats are losing power because Trump is undercutting them,” Kasal previously told Chicago City Wire. “There's a lot of different groups that are trying to be the next leaders of the Democrat Party in Illinois and then of course you have these demographics that voted Democrat for decades, like the Black vote, the Hispanic vote, working class vote, they're all bleeding to Republicans.”