State Rep. Ryan Spain announces reelection bid for newly drawn 73rd district including Bureau County

State Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) has announced his reelection bid for his seat in the General Assembly. Spain will run for the Republican nomination in the new 73rd District, which houses his hometown of Peoria.

The newly-drawn 73rd District now includes parts or all of Bureau, Henry, Lee, Marshall, Peoria, Rock Island, Stark, Whiteside and Woodford counties.

Bureau County makes up 22% of the 73rd District including Arlington, Buda, Cherry, Coal Hollow, LaMoille, Langley, Manlius, Mineral, Neponset, Princeton, Sheffield, Tiskilwa, Walnut and Wyanet.

“While my representation may be new to many voters in this district due to the new gerrymandered map boundaries drawn behind closed doors by Democrat politicians through a corrupt process, which I led the charge against, I look forward to introducing myself and earning the support of voters who yearn to put Illinois on a better track,” Spain said in a Tuesday press release.

“Voters in Central and North Central Illinois deserve full-throated conservative leaders to thoughtfully and strategically go to bat against the flawed policies which have driven our state into the ground.”

Spain is a lifelong Peorian who graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a double degree in political science and speech communication with Bronze Tablet Honors. He also holds an MBA from Bradley University.

Spain was elected to the Peoria City Council in April of 2007 as the youngest at-large member in Peoria history, as he held the seat until the fall of 2016. He is employed by OSF Healthcare System as the vice president of economic development.

Spain’s release said he has received high marks for his voting record from the Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Tooling and Manufacturing Association, Leading Age Illinois, Illinois HealthCare Association, among others.

Spain was named a Champion of Free Enterprise by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and was awarded the 2018 Leadership Award for improving telehealth policy from the Illinois Telehealth Initiative.

“I was proud to be one of three Republican legislators to lead the petition to investigate the actions of Michael Madigan and begin to end the stain of Democrat machine corruption in our state government,” Spain said in Tuesday’s release.

“Policy challenges with the new Speaker remain, but so does my resolve to improve the lot for Illinois families who want nothing more than to raise their families and see better opportunities in Illinois.”

Spain said many issues face the state, while he serves as an expert in the House Republican caucus on healthcare policy, economic development, redistricting and election reform.

Spain has served as the state representative for the 73rd District since January of 2017 as he will now seek the Republican party’s nomination for the June 28 primary election.