Freeport Rep. Stewart to make a run for Bivins' Senate seat

DIXON – State Rep. Brian W. Stewart, R-Freeport, is running for outgoing Dixon GOP state Sen. Tim Bivins' 45th District seat, he said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.

Stewart was appointed to the 89th District in 2013, replacing retiring Rep. Jim Sacia. He was elected in 2014 and 2016.

“Sen. Bivins has been a friend and a mentor to me, and I know I have some pretty big shoes to fill in the state senate should I be elected,” he said in the release.

Stewart, an Army veteran, serves on the House Agriculture and Conservation; Appropriations – Public Safety; Executive; Judiciary – Criminal; Labor & Commerce; Revenue & Finance; Restorative Justice and Veteran’s Affairs committees.

He's a former Freeport City alderman and Freeport Township trustee, a retired Stephenson County Sheriff’s Department sergeant, and is CEO of Stewart & Associates Inc. and 20 other businesses in northwest Illinois that employ almost 500 workers, the release said.

Bivins, a former Lee County sheriff, announced in June that he would not seek a fourth term. He was appointed to the post in March 2008, and his third term expires next year.

Shabbona Democrat David Simpson, 48, a lumber yard manager who has worked in real estate, woodworking and management in DeKalb, announced in February that he also will run in the 45th race. It is his first bid for public office.

The 45th District includes parts of Carroll, Lee, Ogle, Whiteside, Stephenson, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, LaSalle, and Winnebago counties.