Representative David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) announced last week that he will not seek reelection. Instead, he said he'll likely be making a 2022 statewide bid for either US Senate against Senator Tammy Duckworth or Secretary of State if Jesse White retires.

He may not be a household name, but Representative McSweeney has been a huge thorn in Republican leadership's side since he first ran for the Illinois House in the 2012 primary.

Every two years, the Illinois Republican Party tears itself apart over a piece of legislation that supposedly would allow rank-and-file party members to have more say in party affairs This year may be worse than usual, however.

Senate Bill 600, sponsored by Senator Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora), would stop the practice of allowing Republican township, ward, and precinct committee members to elect the state central committee. The bill would instead force the GOP to adopt the same rules as the Democrats and allow primary voters to elect the state central committee.

Most people don't care about this, and I can understand if you're with them. But since this tiny little change has been one of the most divisive issues in the Illinois GOP's recent history, it's worth a closer look.