Southern Illinois in Line for Potential House Primary Slugfest
Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) was redistricted into the new 118th District in the new House map and likely faces a primary with John A. Logan College Trustee and business owner Aaron Smith.
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In the song of redistricting musical chairs, freshman Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) found himself out of his current 115th District in southern Illinois to the new 118th District, stretching from around DuQuoin to Cairo at the southern tip of the state.
While Democrats tell me they view the new district as a potential pickup opportunity, especially with the Southern Illinois University campus in Carbondale making up a large chunk of the district population, Jacobs may have a more pressing issue.
Just as the latest version of maps were finalized in August, 39-year-old former teacher turned businessman Aaron Smith announced he was planning to run in the new 118th District. Smith, of Marion, currently sits on the John A. Logan Community College Board of Trustees and owns a multi-state construction company.
Smith says he’s not considering his effort as a primary challenge to Jacobs, who hasn’t represented many of the more populated areas of the new district under the current map.
“I’m really running for a set of values, not against anyone,” he said. “I didn’t know whether he (Jacobs) would run or not. I saw an announcement the morning after I had announced that he was going to seek the new seat.”
Smith says he’s never met or spoken to Rep. Jacobs, who isn’t his current representative.
Pointing to his roots as a teacher, Smith says he supports local school districts being allowed to make decisions about student health and safety, including masks.
“I don’t believe it’s really freedom if you’re not free to make a poor decision,” Smith said.
But Smith is concerned with education mandates being driven by Chicago Democrats, like a controversial sexual education bill passed earlier this year.
“I think it speaks to a deeper issue going on, which is, who is really going to control what’s being taught,” Smith said. “There are tremendous value differences between northern Illinois and southern Illinois. That’s why the conservative position isn’t for me to control what’s happening in Chicago, but I’m not going to allow them to control what’s happening here.”
He says southern Illinois needs to create jobs to survive and it starts with a better business environment, like reforming the state’s workers’ compensation system. Smith’s construction business, which does work in Missouri and Kentucky, pays drastically lower workers’ compensation insurance rates in neighboring states.
Smith dropped $100,000 of his personal money into the race shortly after his announcement, likely trying to put a scare into the 73-year-old Jacobs to step aside. Jacobs, a longtime optometrist and winery owner, had around $41,000 cash on hand at the end of July and has raised around $17,000 in donations over $1,000 since then. One of the donors was billionaire businessman Richard Uihlein, who can now give unlimited funds after Smith removed contribution caps. Full financial reports for the quarter that ended Thursday are due October 15.
The Illinoize reached out to Jacobs via the House Republican campaign arm and were told Thursday he wasn’t available.