* It’s opening day at the RNC in Milwaukee…

Bailey and Bost had a turbulent primary, click here to get a taste.

* Ben Szalinski followed up…

Bailey said in March he was putting his campaign signs in storage.

* More from reporters in the room…

* Tribune…

The day after former President Donald Trump was targeted in an attempted assassination, Illinois Republicans converging on Milwaukee ahead of this week’s Republican National Convention said the alarming event will only serve to unite the GOP going into the November election. […]

“We have to, as elected officials, be very careful of the rhetoric that we’re using. Words have meaning,” state Sen. Terri Bryant, a Republican from Murphysboro and an at-large delegate, said of Republicans and Democrats. “And so, in this, I think that you may find some folks taking a step back to try to find a better way to get their message out without being incendiary.” […]

While the progress of uniting Republican voters in Illinois remains to be seen, delegate Aaron Del Mar, who dropped out of the running for Illinois GOP chairman before Friday’s vote, said Sunday that the shooting at the Trump rally has only intensified the unity among the party on a national level.

“I think that we were ahead to begin with. I think this even moves us further ahead,” said Del Mar, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2022. “Everyone … criticizes President Trump for all of his rhetoric. About immigration, about crime, about these issues. But nobody ever calls the Democrats on their rhetoric. Nobody ever says, ‘Hey, maybe that’s not such a hot idea to be so incendiary … regarding Donald Trump.’”

* Related…

* ABC Chicago | No changes made to RNC security plan after Trump assassination attempt, Secret Service says: The RNC Secret Service Coordinator Audrey Gibson-Cicchino said they’ve made no change to their security plan and officials remain confident in the plan they’ve put forth. “This event is designated as a national special security event, which is the highest level of security for an event that can be designated by the government. So this is a whole of government approach. We’ve had an extensive planning process, to include many organizations,” Gibson-Cicchino said.

* Daily Herald | Former suburban police chief wounded protecting Reagan expects ‘deep dive’ into security failures: “I expect it to be no holds barred,” said McCarthy, who retired from the south suburb’s police department in 2020 and now is president of a security firm. “If the protectee is injured, it’s a failure. So you have to look and find out why.” McCarthy was shot in the abdomen on March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley Jr. attempted to kill Reagan outside a Washington, D.C. hotel. […] “It doesn’t take a security expert to ask the question why wasn’t that building better covered. And there will be an investigation to determine that,” he said.

* Daily Herald | GOP convention opens Monday; meet the suburban delegates: Trump’s popularity among GOP voters aside, it’s still up to the more than 2,400 delegates expected to attend the convention, which opens Monday, to make his nomination official. The delegates from Northeast Illinois are a diverse bunch: political operatives; restaurateurs; attorneys; local elected officials; congressional candidates.

* Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | A list of all politicians and celebrities speaking at the Republican National Convention: Over 50 individuals are expected to speak at the RNC over the course of the four days. These include Republican politicians and candidates from across the country, high-ranking business leaders, members of the Trump family and administration, and conservative personalities and celebrities.

* Variety | ‘Daily Show’ Cancels On-The-Ground RNC Plans After Trump Assassination Attempt: The “Daily Show” decision may raise pressure on several late-night programs to recalibrate their tone this week. CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” plans to broadcast live — in New York — on Thursday. And Fox News Channel had planned a week of live-in-Milwaukee broadcasts of the satirical roundtable program “Gutfeld” each evening during the RNC. “The Late Show” also had plans to broadcast live from Chicago, the site of the Democratic National Convention, later in the summer. “The Daily Show” also has plans to visit Chicago for tapings during the event.