5 apply to be GOP national committeeman

Five men have applied to fill the Republican national committeeman post left open after Rich Williamson died last month.

Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Jayme Odom said Monday that the candidates for the prestigious but unpaid position are Kent Gray of Leland Grove, Vincent Kolber of Chicago, Marc Levine of Wilmette, Richard Porter of Winnetka and Robert Schillerstrom of Naperville. Gray, an attorney, served on the campaign staffs of presidential candidates Bob Doyle and John McCain, and worked on the staff of President George W. Bush.

Porter served in the White House under George H.W. Bush and is a partner at law firm Kirkland and Ellis.

Kolber founded RESIDCO, an aircraft leasing and sales business.

Levine founded investment firm Chicago Asset Funding and was a senior adviser to former Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross.

Schillerstrom is a former DuPage County Board chair and a partner at public affairs group Ice Miller.

The Illinois national committeeman is a voting member of the 168-member Republican National Committee and a nonvoting member of the Illinois GOP’s state central committee.

The state central committee will make a selection at its Jan. 18 meeting in Chicago.