Barickman Says Nothing Has Been Decided Regarding 105th House Seat

Champaign County's Republican chair said he hopes he would be an attractive candidate to serve in Illinois' 105th House district.

But Jason Barickman said any suggestion that the seat is locked up already is 'putting the cart before the horse.' Current 105th District Representative Shane Cultra was appointed to replace Treasurer-elect Dan Rutherford in the Illinois Senate over the weekend. After that caucus meeting in Bloomington, Cultra suggested the six county GOP chairs making up the House district would cast a unanimous ballot for Barickman. Barickman said there appears to be a lot of support for him, but is not sure how that process will move forward.

"I think the chairmen need to convene again, given that it's many of the same individuals who were in the room for the Senate seat," Barickman said. "I expect that it will happen very quickly, but at this point, I'm like everyone else, waiting to see what the process is and when it unfolds."

McLean County GOP Chair John Parrott also said he would back Barickman for the House seat. Barickman was considered a front runner to succeed Rutherford when Cultra was named to the Senate Seat on Saturday. Barickman said he would expect to know more about the process for replacing Cultra soon. The four-term legislator from Onarga was re-elected earlier this month, defeating Green Party Candidate Vince LaMie.