Registered Republican

A specific accuser for Herman Cain has finally stepped forward. I'm not clear on whether a crime is alleged, but the suggestion is that he offered to help someone get a job in return for sexual favors.

Put all that aside for now, because what interests me is something her lawyer said - namely that the woman is a "registered Republican." What puzzles me about this is that she's from Chicago and we don't really "register" here for political parties.

In many states, you do something like this:

Look for the party identification box on the form. A list of political parties recognized by your state are displayed. Check "Republican Party" to register to vote as a Republican.

But not here:

In Illinois, you do not declare affiliation with a political party when you register to vote. You may choose to vote a specific political party on Primary Election Day.

So why is the lawyer using that phrase? I note that Chicago Tribune story put the phrase in quotes, which it sometimes seems to do to highlight oddities of language.

Is careful speech
out of her reach?

UPDATE: Is this new? The early reports described her as a Chicagoan. Now:

Attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing Bialek, said the woman was born and raised in Chicago and "has spent the majority of her life there."

Well, if she lives in another state, that would render my question moot.

But the Trib, in a separate story, says she lives with her fiance in Mundelein - an Illinois town:

Bialek and Harwood, who is from London, have lived together for four years and have shared an upscale home in Mundelein for the past two, he said. She is a stay-at-home mother to a 13-year-old son and he works in the medical equipment industry.

So I'm still left with this minor mystery
about her party registration history.