Illinois Republican Chair Pat Brady will be keeping his job, at least for now.
Republicans have cancelled a special meeting to consider ousting Brady, after he came out in favor of marriage equality during the General Assembly's lame duck session.
According to the Chicago Tribune, a memo sent to members of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee stated that the meeting had been cancelled due to Brady's anticipated absence. But that report went on to suggest that Republicans did not have enough votes to oust Brady.
The Brady controversy comes at a time when Republicans nationally appear increasingly divided over the issue of same-sex marriage. Late last month, more than 75 prominent Republicans voiced support for equal marriage in a U.S. Supreme Court brief on the issue.
In Illinois, backlash against Brady had been swift. Still, prominent state Republicans supported Brady. Sen. Mark Kirk, Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, former Govs. Jim Edgar and Jim Thompson were among those to stand by Brady, according to multiple reports.
Thompson was a target of activists in the late '80s for his support of stigmatizing AIDS laws.
Both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune ran pieces stating that a vote to remove Brady would harm the Illinois Republican party.