Illinois State Senator Dave Koehler and Illinois State Representative candidate Sharon Chung held a meet and greet at Democrat Headquarters on Main St. during Downtown Bloomington’s monthly First Friday event this past weekend.
Koehler is running for reelection in the Illinois 46th State Senatorial district and Chung for election in the Illinois 91st State House District.
Koehler graciously invited Cities 92.9 to step behind the scenes and sit down with him for an at length interview.
We asked Koehler about running in the redrawn 46th District that now includes Bloomington Normal and he told us, “It’s been very exciting for me to get to know a new community and I think that what’s going on here in Bloomington Normal is pretty exciting.”
“People really have a sense of spirit in the community and I think that is evident in just all the activities I see and people I meet,” Koehler continued. “It’s a good thing to get out and to be able to make that contact and to say here is who I am and here is what I am about.”
Koehler has been in the state Senate for 16 years and serves in leadership for the Democrat party as an Assistant Majority Leader. Because he is in leadership he chairs no committees. In the leadership role he helps set the agenda for what the party hopes to accomplish during each legislative session working with both Senate and House Democrats.
Koehler gets excited talking about his work on the Energy committee. While he is high on wind and solar he also sees a bright future in other developing technologies such as nuclear energy.
According to Koehler, Illinois is more dependent on nuclear energy than any other state with 51% of the energy we produce coming from nuclear energy thanks to 11 generators owned by Constellation Energy.
Koehler says, “The next thing on the horizon is modular nuclear.” He says he is in contact with a company, “that is going to build a modular nuclear plant. This is mini nuclear, micro nuclear.”
Unlike regular nuclear power plants that are either on or off, these units can be “ramped up or ramped down,” according to Koehler. That’s important because at peak times additional plants are brought on line just to provide the capacity needed at those times and those plants charge 100 times what energy should cost.
During the last month Chung has celebrated Bloomington-Normal Pridefest with her children thanking The Bistro and Jan Lancaster for putting on such a fun and inclusive event. She stated on Facebook “I’m so proud of our Bloomington-Normal community for coming out to celebrate and support our LGBTQ+ friends!”
Chung attended a fundraiser in Chicago for Asian American Legislative members and candidates. Again, on Facebook, she posted, “I am excited for the possibility to make history this November by being the first Korean elected to the Illinois General Assembly!”
Chung also attended Illinois Democrat Day where she kicked the lineup off playing the National Anthem. “What an honor to play our country’s song to a room full of hard working Illinois Democrats,” she posted on Facebook.
Chung hosted Governor JB Pritzker at a campaign stop in Franklin Park where after a short rally they knocked on neighborhood doors together.
Dave Koehler’s opponent in the 46th District Senate race is Republican Desi Anderson.
During the last couple of weeks Anderson has toured CSE in Peoria where afterwards she said on Facebook, “As a small business owner myself, I truly believe that small businesses are the backbone of our future.” “CSE has been developing, software, hardware and creating technology solutions for over 30 years,” Anderson added.
Anderson welcomed students back to campus on both the Illinois State University (ISU) and Bradley campuses. She also spoke to ISU young Republicans at a Meet the Candidates event they hosted.
Anderson has been busy supporting Esther Joy King in her run for Illinois 17th U. S. House District as well as Sally Owens in her run for Peoria County Board.
Anderson also handed out coffee to drive through customers at a Meet the Candidate event hosted by Bloom’s Coffee.
It’s Anderson Versus Koehler in Illinois State Senate District 46
Chung’s opponent for the Illinois 91st District State House seat is Scott Preston.
Preston says he is honored to be the Republican nominee and appreciates the strong support from the Republican Party. He is proud of his campaign team that has worked tirelessly, “from Bloomington to Bartonville and every town in between.” Preston senses, “Voters are looking for candidates who are authentic especially at a time when trust in government is at an all time low.”
Preston told Cities 92.9, “The 91st district was gerrymandered by the majority party in Springfield to give their party the best chance possible at being competitive. Now, those same Democrats are going to pump a ton of money into my opponent. I know the families of central Illinois will see through the machine politics from Chicago.”
“I continually here that voters want a common sense issue-based approach to leadership in state government, not more of the same Chicago Democrat institutions,” Preston added.
Preston and his wife Ali Preston are proud parents of their first child Jack who was born last month. According to Preston, “It’s been a great reception after knocking on doors in recent weeks. Jack is keeping all the hard work in perspective for the kind of future we are giving him in Illinois.”
