Democrat Hoffman Forms Committee to Explore 13th Dis. Congressional Run

A former state lawmaker from southwest Illinois says he wants to run against incumbent Republican Tim Johnson in the new 13th Congressional District.

Democrat Jay Hoffman of Collinsville said he is forming an exploratory committee to see if a run for congress is feasible. If he runs, Hoffman will face David Gill in the Democratic primary. Hoffman said he likes Gill and appreciates his stand in favor of health care reform. But the Collinsville Democrat said he is better suited to work for job creation and debt reduction in Washington.

"What is happening out in Washington right now, is not putting the people of Champaign-Urbana or central Illinois or southwestern Illinois first," Hoffman said. "It's putting the individual congressional members first. And I think people are just tired of that and want to see a fresh approach, an approach that's going to use our natural resources and create jobs and economic op for all of central Illinois."

Hoffman said Johnson has been serving in a congressional district --- the 15th --- that leans Republican, but he said the new 13th District is more of a tossup between the two parties. Hoffman said a race between him and Johnson would provide a clear choice.

"You want someone in Washington who's going to fight for job creation, and fight for working families, or do you want someone who's owned by the special interests and big business?" Hoffman said. "That's the distinction that'll be made."

The 49-year-old Hoffman served twenty years in the Illinois House. He gave up that seat in 1996 to run for Congress, but lost the race against John Shimkus. In October 1997, Hoffman was appointed to the Illinois House again, and served in the General Assembly before losing a re-election bid last year. He faced criticism for being a close ally of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Hoffman defends his ties to Blagojevich, saying everybody has a friend who has done things wrong. He said that when the time came, he voted to impeach Blagojevich in the Illinois House.

While not yet a formal candidate, Hoffman plans to campaign in the new 13th District on Labor Day. He said he also plans to appear in the Decatur Labor Day parade, and at Labor Day picnics in Bloomington-Normal and Champaign-Urbana.