Voters in the 90th House District in general, and the Sauk Valley in particular, have been aware of the leadership talents and aspirations of youthful state Rep. Tom Demmer for a while now.

Demmer, 30, a Dixon Republican, first won election to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2012 at the age of 26, and he took the oath for his third term this month.

Before that, he served on the Lee County Board and held other positions of leadership in the Dixon community, where he works as director of strategic planning at KSB Hospital. He studied communications and politics while in college and served as a White House intern in 2006.

Longtime readers may recall that as a senior at Newman Central Catholic High School and a freshman at the University of Dayton, Demmer wrote a widely-read political column for Sauk Valley Media from 2004 to 2006.

The Dixon Area Chamber of Commerce spotted his talents in 2008 when it awarded Demmer its Future Leaders Award.

Well, the future is now.

Demmer was recently appointed chairman of the House Republican Caucus by House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs.

That leadership role allows Demmer a greater role in shaping policy for the GOP caucus, which grew from 47 to 51 after the 2016 election. That compares to 67 seats held by Democrats in the 100th General Assembly.

Demmer said he was honored to join the House Republican Leadership team, remarking, “I’m proud of the work our caucus has done to fight for a better future for Illinois.”

Demmer’s work certainly is cut out for him. The state’s chronic lack of a budget and other festering financial problems still await solutions.

We believe Demmer’s approach – more reasonable, conciliatory and civil that you might see in other politicians – is just what’s needed.

This is a nice step up for Demmer. We congratulate him.