Just an aside, being a southsider myself, I have a hard time imagining how hard it must be to be a Republican in Illinois much less Chicago.
The worst thing for me is that most of the time there is no one to vote for, except on the state and national levels, and sometimes not even then! The local Democrats generally have no contested primaries, and there is no GOP slate. I voted Libertarian last time because that's who was running against Jesse Jackson Jr. Last year when I was taking my kid trick or treating, I came up to a house with a Bush/Cheney sign and made a positive comment about it. The guy seemed a bit suspicious of me at first, but I think we departed brothers.
Things could be looking up for Illinois GOP in the gubernatorial race next year. We have some good solid candidates and a weak Dem. incumbant.