Peoria Standard

State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) has announced he’ll run for election in the new 95th District. The newly created district contains parts of Christian, Macon, and Sangamon counties.

“I look forward to running in this new district and to continue to serve as your voice at the State Capitol,” Butler posted on Facebook.

If Butler is victorious, he will serve his fifth term in the Illinois House of Representatives. As a Republican from the 87th District, he represented Logan, Menard, Sangamon, and Tazewell counties. He previously served as district chief of staff for both Congressman Rodney Davis and former Congressman Ray LaHood.

A native of Peoria, Butler is the fourth great-grandson of Lewis Barker, a state senator from Pope County during the first four Illinois General Assemblies. He is also the youngest of seven children of parents who owned a small manufacturing business.

The 95th District was created when Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the majority party implemented redistricting before getting the updated population maps from the U.S. Census Bureau. Judges heard arguments against the validity of those maps last month.

Butler has recently been an opponent of the quick implementation of new judicial subcircuit maps for Cook County. Under the new mapping systems, the number of subcircuits will increase to 20 from 15, due to the population growth in the Chicagoland area. The goal of the subcircuits is to better reflect the population and demographic shifts that have occurred across the county during the past three decades.  

“If these aren’t going to be effective until 2024, then what is the rush?” Butler said during a Dec. 16 hearing on subcircuit maps.