A republican who ran unsuccessfully for the 115th District Illinois House seat in 2018 is throwing his hat into the ring again.
Semi-retired optometrist and owner of Von Jakob Winery, Paul Jacobs, is seeking the nomination, this time for an open seat since incumbent Terri Bryant is running for state senate.
Jacobs received almost 45 percent of the vote in the 2018 GOP primary. He says the experience he gained in that campaign will benefit him this time around.
"It's a 2 ½ hour drive from one end (of the district) to the other and we met an awful lot of people. Those individuals I think that voted for us originally will still - I believe - want that reform individual."
Jacobs knows this will be an uphill battle, especially since the GOP will likely remain a minority party in the Illinois General Assembly.
"My family goes, 'why are you doing this?' I'm going, 'because I still love Illinois.' I have to do it. I have to try to bring some kind of a reform, conservative, quit spending attitude into Springfield. I think there will be other like-minded reps."
Jacobs says the state is taxing residents way too much, so one of the reforms he backs is to stop the government's wasteful spending.
Murphysboro Mayor Will Stephens announced last week he has decided not to seek the district's nomination in 2020.
