East Central Reporter

Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Vandalia) recently announced he is running for election for the newly drawn 55th District Senate seat in the upcoming June 28 Republican primary.

“It is humbling and not a duty I take lightly,” Plummer wrote on Facebook. “I’m proud to work hard on behalf of Southern Illinois and the Metro East.”

He has held the 54th District seat since Jan. 9, 2019.

According to his campaign website, Plummer’s platform includes term limits, ethics reform, and the rights of the unborn. He wants safe schools for students and supports the Second Amendment and law enforcement.  

He’s also been vocal about his state’s financial situation.

“(Gov.) J.B. is woke, and the State of Illinois is broke,” Plummer wrote on Facebook. “If you thought our state’s finances were bad a couple of years ago, wait until all the federal money dries up. (Pritzker) will be gone, and you'll be left holding the bag. This is complete negligence and I will continue to sound the alarm. 

“Through sheer incompetence, or perhaps because he just cares about his time as governor and not the future of the people in Illinois, Pritzker is fumbling our recovery and making a bad fiscal situation much worse,” Plummer said.

He has also raised questions about unemployment fraud. In a January Facebook post, he shared a story from The Center Square that questioned where Illinois' unemployment fraud information was.

“The unemployment fraud ... hit our state because of the failures of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s thin-skinned feckless administration,” Plummer wrote in his post. “Did we lose $$$Billions or ‘merely’ $$$Hundreds of millions?” 

He called out Pritzker for issuing 100 executive orders regarding COVID-19.

“According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 47 states have attempted to rein in their Governor’s emergency powers since the pandemic began, including 12 states who have successfully enacted new laws,” Plummer’s website said.

He has also been outspoken about issues related to ethics, such as the turmoil with the Legislative Inspector General's office. Former LIG Carol Pope resigned last year, citing the legislative reform bill she said didn't go far enough.

State Senate District 55 includes Charleston, Louisville and Fairfield.