Peoria Standard

Former Republican Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady will be resigning effective 11:59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. 

Brady is a longtime member of the state legislature. 

He spent ten years in the House beginning in 1992 before moving to the Senate in 2002 for a seat he has held since. 

“Over the years, our caucus was successful in securing additional funding for our public schools, helping create a tax-credit private school scholarship program for low- and middle-income students, standing up against income tax hikes that hurt working families, and working tirelessly to improve our state’s crumbling infrastructure,” Brady said in a statement.

Brady did not provide a reason for his abrupt resignation after such a lengthy career as a politician. 

Earlier this year Brady decided to not run again for his leadership position. His fellow senators voted current Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorne) into the chamber’s top Republican post. 

Brady has been a polarizing figure in the GOP in the past few years. 

"The conservative Bill Brady portrays himself to be in public — and with the Senate Republican caucus — is not who he is when he negotiates in private," a former aide, who asked to remain anonymous, told Prairie State Wire earlier this year. 

Those comments came after it was revealed Brady had supported abortion rights and gun control efforts, —two issues staunchly opposed by the Republican Party — behind closed doors with the state’s Democrats.

Top Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan is currently under federal investigation. 

“Illinois has much it can be proud of, and I am proud to have made a contribution to this state, and especially the citizens of Central Illinois, during my time in office,” Brady said in his resignation letter.