Don Tracy

Don Tracy (born 1949/1950^[2]) is an American lawyer, Republican politician, and business owner. Tracy served as acting and confirmed chair of the Illinois Gaming Board (2015-2019), an appointee of then-Governor Bruce Rauner,^[3][1] and as chair of the Illinois Republican Party (2021-2024), succeeding Tim Schneider.^[4] He ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor in his state's 2010 general election.^[5] but on March 17, 2026, defeated two other candidates to secure the Republican spot for the Illinois U.S. Senate seat, in the fall 2026 general election for that position.^[6]

Tracy is a part of the family ownership group of the privately held, major food-redistribution company, Dot Foods, where he has also served as general outside counsel.^[7]

Tracy was born in 1949 or 1950,^[2] and is the son of the late founder of Dot Foods, Mount Sterling, Illinois, and is the eldest of 12 children in the family.^[7]

He attended Arizona State University, and the University of Memphis Law School.^[8]

Tracy has served as a partner at the Springfield, Illinois firm Brown, Hay & Stephens (since 1995^[9]), and as general outside counsel to Dot Foods, Inc. of his native Mount Sterling, Illinois.^[7]

Tracy was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 2010, finishing third in a field of six candidates in that primary election.^[5]

In 2015, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner appointed Tracy to serve as Chair of the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB),^{[3][4][7][10]} the "regulatory and law enforcement agency... oversee[ing] all licensed casino gambling, video gaming[,] and sports wagering" in the State of Illinois.^[10] Tracy served in an acting capacity from February 2, 2015 until June 20, 2017, and as the Board's confirmed chair from June 21, 2017 until June 14, 2019, for a total of more than four years of service.^[1][11][9] On election of J. B. Pritzker to the governorship, Tracy offered to resign his role as Chair, but was asked by Pritzker to complete his term, which was to end on July 1, 2019; he effectively did so, resigning the position on June 14, the day after the last of the Board's meeting scheduled in his term.^[7]

As of 2019, Tracy was continuing to serve as a partner at Brown, Hay & Stephens, and as general outside counsel to Dot Foods.^[7]

The 2026 Republican senate primary occurred on March 17, 2026, and in the primary, Tracy defeated attorney Jeannie Evans and national director for the Polish American Congress's PAC Casey Chlebek to win the Republican primary spot.^[6]

During the period of Tracy's extended service with the IGB at the request of incoming Governor J. B. Pritzker (but before his resignation from that office just prior to his end of term),^[7] on May 31 2019, Katherine Fischer, an Assistant IG of the Executive Inspector General (EIG), an office of State of Illinois under Pritzker, issued a final report alleging that Tracy "engaged in a prohibited political activity... [in] making a $1,000 campaign contribution to a legislative candidate while serving as chair" of the Gaming Board.^[9] Tracy declared the allegation nonsense for the reasons, he argued, that the contribution had been made by his wife, that it presupposed a wife could not make independent contributions, and that the Office of the EIG (OEIG) had failed to interview his wife.^[11]

No further prosecutorial action followed (i.e., no fine or other disciplinary action), but Tracy sought to clear his name, requesting a hearing before the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission (IEEC), a request that was denied.^[11] Tracy then went to court, litigating the denial for two-years, and winning a circuit court verdict that he was, under the law, entitled to a hearing.^[11] At the hearing, which took place in December 2024 and involved testimony from both Tracy and his wife, and—by Tracy's description to the Illinois Times—five government-paid lawyers to his one, the IEEC ruled in January 2025 that "the inspector general [had earlier] failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Tracy had violated the law".^[11] While the press declared that Tracy had cleared his name, individuals involved in government reform expressed concern at setting a legal precedent that allowed spouses to circumvent prohibitions of illegal activity by political appointees.^[11]

As of May 2019, Tracy was reported as married, his wife's given name, Wanda.^[9]

• Balk, Tim (March 17, 2026). "Don Tracy Wins Republican Senate Primary in Illinois". The New York Times (NYTimes.com). Retrieved March 19, 2026.

• Fink, Doug (February 2, 2015). "Don Tracy Nominated to Lead Illinois Gaming Board". The State Journal-Register (SJ-R.com). Retrieved March 19, 2026.