The Whiteside County Board is looking for another Republican to join its ranks in the wake of the Jan. 1 resignation of Larry Russell of Fulton.

The Supreme Court appointed an associate judge running unopposed in November for the six-year circuit judgeship that opens this month in Whiteside County, rather than the county’s former state’s attorney, the sole applicant for the position.

A retired Winnebago County circuit court judge and a grain farmer from Milan, both Republicans, are running to replace the freshman Democrat in Illinois' 17th Congressional District, which includes Whiteside and Carroll counties.

A Republican businessman and philanthropist from Galesburg who announced plans to try to unseat freshman Democratic U.S. Rep Eric Sorensen is dropping out of the race. Another GOP candidate, however, is waiting in the wings.