Republican party leaders have chosen a Livingston County Board member to fill a vacant state House seat.
Jason Bunting, of rural Emington, replaces Tom Bennett who was recently appointed to the Illinois Senate.
Bunting represents the 106th legislative district that includes northeastern McLean County and parts of six other counties (Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, LaSalle, Livingston and Will).
Party leaders interviewed seven candidates for the open seat on Saturday in Gibson City: Bunting, Thomas Lynch, Kyle Behrends, Joshua Harris, Kristen Koppers, Susan Wynn Bence and Chris Balkema.
Bunting, a regional director for the Illinois Corn Growers Association, owns and maintains a family farm and a trucking business. He also co-owns a seed business in northeastern Livingston County.
“I am a farmer. I am fiscally conservative. I am all about protecting property owners’ rights, gun owners’ rights,” said Bunting, who added he knows he'll have to work with Democrats who hold super majorities in both the House and Senate.
“We’re almost outnumbered 2 to 1. It’s going to take a lot of compromise and hopefully we can find a way to meet in the middle (to) better the lives of the residents of the state of Illinois,” he said.
Bunting has resigned his Livingston County Board seat that he had held since 2015. He previously served as the highway commissioner of Broughton Township.
Bunting said he intends to run for a full two-year term next year.
