Monroe County Board Chairman Bob Elmore of Waterloo announced last week he intends to run against 116th District State Representative Jerry Costello II in the next election.

Elmore formerly served as chairman of the Monroe County Republican Central Committee.

He announced his intent to run for state representative during the March 1 meeting of the Monroe County Republicans.

“A Committee to Elect Bob Elmore to the Illinois House of Representatives has been formed,” Elmore posted on his  Facebook page. “There are currently six members from Monroe County. It is our intention to have additional members from Randolph, St. Clair and Perry counties to join this committee.

“Illinois is in serious financial trouble and we have to stop making patchwork decisions and have a balanced budget with real reforms to get Illinois headed in the right direction.”
Costello (D-Smithton), who has served as representative since July 2011, ran unopposed in the November election. His current term expires on Jan. 8, 2019.

Elmore, 79, who lived in Springfield before moving to Waterloo several years ago, has been vocal in his opposition to Costello recently voting in favor of Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) to retain his role as House speaker.