Tracy announces re-election bid with newer, larger district

QUINCY — Republican state Sen. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy said Wednesday she will look to stay in the Illinois Senate in the newly created 50th District that covers stretches from Adams County to the Metro East across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.

Tracy has represented the 47th District since 2016 and was a state representative from 2006 until 2014. Democrat-controlled redistricting this year pushed that district to the north split Adams County, which will be represented in both the 47th and the 50th Senate Districts.

Adams was split three way in the Illinois House, having sections in the 94th, 99th and 100th House Districts.

Redrawing legislative boundaries is required every 10 years based on U.S. Census results. Republicans have blasted the new lines as a clear effort to strengthen Democrats’ already iron-clad stranglehold in the General Assembly. Challenges to the maps, which were approved by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, have been rebuffed by the courts.

“It’s exciting to have the opportunity to continue serving,” Tracy said in a news release. “The policies we are seeing being pushed by the executive branch in Springfield are infuriating, and what passes for leadership in Chicago is just mind-boggling.

“Clearly, we have significant differences, but getting things done is about building trust and relationships on both sides of the aisle and I have built a strong reputation as being reliable, being true to my word, and being willing to meet my colleagues across the aisle.”

Tracy touted her record on issues including agriculture, transportation, middle-class families, the Second Amendment and public safety and said the decision to run was “where I can do the most good for the most people.”

The new 50th District will cover most of Adams County, portions of Schuyler, Morgan, Macoupin and Madison counties and all of Brown, Cass, Pike, Calhoun, Scott, Greene and Jersey counties. Sen. Steve McClure, a Springfield Republican, has announced his intention to run in a reconfigured 54th District.

“This district is large and it reflects border community and rural issues,” Tracy said. “We are home to strong manufacturing, ag, logistics and small businesses. We have workforce shortages that aren’t easily resolved. We have values that aren’t always sympathetic with what we see coming out of the bigger cities, particularly Chicago, but we still have to find ways to move the state forward.”

Tracy was the Mount Sterling city attorney and an assistant Illinois attorney general before entering politics. She serves on the John Wood Community College Foundation Board, was a founding board member of Brown County United Way and served for more than 13 years on the Mount Sterling Park District Board.

She and her husband, Jim, have four children and two grandchildren.

Tracy said she is planning a listening tour in coming weeks with stops in Quincy, Jacksonville, Jerseyville and Godfrey.