Sullivan won't run for 18th

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

SPRINGFIELD (GHNS) - State Sen. John Sullivan, a Rushville Democrat, won't run for the 18th District Congressional seat that U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood is vacating.

Sullivan, who made the announcement this morning in a news release, said he would seek re-election to his 47th State Senate District seat next year.

"Right now, I'm where I want and need to be, and I plan to continue working hard to serve the poeple of western Illinois," he said.

If Sullivan, a member of the General Assembly since 2003, had opted to run for Congress, he could not also have sought to keep his state Senate seat. He holds leadership roles in the Senate, including chairman of the Senate Democratic Downstate Caucus and majority caucus whip.

LaHood, R-Peoria, announced last week that he would retire at the end of his current term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He said there was no heir apparent to the seat, and that he expects a wide-open contest.