Wheaton councilwoman Ives will run for House
Wheaton City Councilwoman Jeanne Ives will officially announce Monday that she plans to run for the Illinois House in 2012. Ives serves as a precinct committeewoman for the Milton Township Republican Party and was elected to the city council in April.
Ives will run in the new 42nd District and will become the second Republican to announce a run in the district, after Carol Stream government relations manager Laura Pollastrini announced her intent Tuesday.
The 42nd District includes all or parts of Lisle, Warrenville, Naperville, Winfield, Wheaton and West Chicago.
The seat is wide open after the newly drawn boundary maps shifted the 42nd district west, out of the residence area of five-term incumbent Glen Ellyn Republican Sandy Pihos. Republican incumbent Rep. Michael Connelly, who represents the 48th district, lives within the new 42nd but has announced that he will run for Illinois Senate.
Ives said she was encouraged to run by people she respects within local Republican circles and that she wants to represent her district fully downstate.
“I’m frustrated that municipal counties feel they have to hire high-priced lobbyists,” she said. “(Representatives) should be the lobbyists for the region. I’m pretty independent-minded and we need to shake things up a bit.”