Illinois delegates differ on impact of Cruz's convention speech

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Illinois delegates to the Republican National Convention are divided about the impact of the approach Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is taking toward nominee Donald Trump.

There isn't even agreement among the delegation about whether Cruz, the last Republican standing with Trump at the end of primary season among more than a dozen contenders who sought the prize, offered an endorsement of the New York real estate developer, who was scheduled to accept the party's nomination Thursday night in Cleveland.

It was an unusual sight: Cruz, stinging from attacks Trump made on his wife and father, granted a prime-time convention spot Wednesday night, and then, in a speech vetted by the Trump camp, failed to outright throw his support to the victor, earning him boos.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes. That was terrible," said Trump delegate Cynthia Schaffer of Tinley Park. But Trump came out on top, she said, because he knew what Cruz was going to say, and "that was OK, they gave him enough rope to hang himself. They all took the pledge to support the nominee, and he's not doing that."

Cruz's battle cry? "Vote your conscience." That sentiment was good enough for some Illinois delegates.

"Isn't that what we're all supposed to be doing in every election, whether you're Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Independent?" asked Cruz delegate James Kammer of Monticello. "It's disturbing to me that people would boo someone for saying, 'Vote your conscience.' Are we all Pavlov's dogs? Is this the Soviet Union, or Germany in the '30s?"

To Trump supporter John Cabello, the delegation's co-chairman and a state representative from Machesney Park, Cruz's call counted.

"He said, 'Vote Republican from the top of the ticket all the way down,'" Cabello recalled. "We only have one person at the top of the ticket, and that's Donald Trump."

Speaking to the Texas delegation Thursday morning, Cruz said pledge or no, he would not endorse anyone who personally attacked his family. During the campaign, Trump sent a tweet that disparaged his wife's appearance and insinuated that his father was complicit in the assassination of President John Kennedy.

Kammer said he will not cast a vote for president on Nov. 8 and that Trump owes apologies to the Cruz family for his "maliciousness."

Countered Schaffer, "This is politics. You ought to expect that and be able to move on and be honorable. Going back on your word is not honorable."

None of the delegates expects the Cruz controversy to last, particularly in the shadow of the traditional bounce in popularity a presidential contender gets after his or her nomination.

"There are going to be some people who are going to hang onto it," said state Rep. Mike Fortner of West Chicago, an alternate at-large delegate.

So why would Trump allow Cruz to talk after knowing the contents of the speech?

"He's a dealmaker," Fortner said. "He wasn't going to go back on his word."