Republican Tim Butler of Springfield is the current holder of the Illinois State House District 87 seat. However, as a result of redistricting he is running for reelection in the 95th district.
That leaves the field open for one of two Republicans running in the Republican primary. Tazewell County Treasurer Mary Burress of Pekin will face off against Bill Hauter, a Morton doctor and member of the Tazewell County Board.
No Democrats are running in the primary.
The district consists of portions of Woodford, Tazewell, McLean, DeWitt, Sangamon and Macon counties as well as all of Logan County.
According to Buress’s website, “Starting as an entry clerk at the Tazewell County Treasurer’s Office in 1983, Mary Burress worked her way up to Chief Deputy Treasurer, eventually becoming the first Republican woman elected as the Tazewell County Treasurer in 2008.” “In her third term, Mary continues to manage the county’s books by collecting, investing, and disbursing funds, ensuring the protection of tax dollars every day. She decided to run for state representative to bring the same level of care with tax dollars as she has as county treasurer,” the site reads.
Burress plans to focus on fiscal responsibility. She plans to use her budgeting experience, common sense and integrity to address wasted tax dollars, unnecessary bureaucracy and government inefficiencies.
Her website also says, “For the last forty years, Mary has been an active member in her community where she and her husband, Bob, raised their two kids. Bob was a police officer and former Chief of Police for Pekin before retiring in 1995 and his untimely passing in 2018.”
Consequently she is a “Back the Blue” advocate and hopes to make that a top priority in Springfield.
Burress told the State Journal Register last month, “When the SAFE-T bill was passed at 4 a.m., that is corruption at its finest. It is harming our beautiful communities. We need to bring safety back; we need to stop demoralizing our police officers. Stop letting criminals back out on our streets and let the police officers do their job.”
Hauter introduces himself on his website as follows, “I am running for the 87th district house seat. I am a two time board certified anesthesiologist and emergency medical doctor. I was elected to the Tazewell County Board in 2020 and I am also part of many other organizations such as the Morton Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Farm Bureau. My family and I are members of the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Groveland and I have been for 19 years. I have been married to my wife Shelly for 30 years and we have five wonderful children.”
Hauter’s wife, Shelly, is the Director of Living Alternatives Pregnancy Resource Center in Pekin. His family believes strongly in adoption. Hauter’s youngest child, Mahaela, was adopted from Bulgaria in 2010. Hauter was born and raised in Morton, Illinois. He lived for 15 years in Mackinaw, IL, but moved back to Morton in 2018.
In interviews with the State Journal Register Hauter has stated, “Since COVID happened, I’ve been marinating in COVID. I’ve been so disappointed and opposed to the state’s response.” “I became motivated and compelled by what I see as a COVID tyranny. They have made it so one man (Gov. JB Pritzker) decides what businesses stayed open (and) which ones failed, schools that stayed open or closed (or) how many people we could have at a worship service (and) where we could travel if we had a vaccination passport. This COVID tyranny, which was counter-productive, really compelled me to run for this office.”
While Hauter does not support lockdowns, schools teaching remotely, state interference in religious services or vaccination requirements he says he is vaccinated.
