Lake County conservative leader True dies

Chairman of the Republican Assembly of Lake County and conservative leader Raymond True of Libertyville died Tuesday, local party officials said.

“Raymond was a man of unwavering principle,” said state Sen. Dan Duffy, a Lake Barrington Republican.

Known to some as Colonel True because of his achievement of that rank in the Air Force, True was a conservative voice in Lake County who sometimes clashed with other Republican leaders there.

“He was the heart of the party,” Lake County Republican Chairman Bob Cook said. “We had some good disagreements, but we always knew where he was coming from.”

Cook said True died after a long illness and leaves behind his wife, Doreen.

Duffy said True’s wife was by his side all the time, and he remained highly interested in local politics even as he was out of the public eye in recent years.

Duffy said True could quickly put disagreements behind him.

“The next time that I’d see him, he was just as welcoming,” Duffy said.