Connor announces run for McGuire's state senate seat

State Rep. John Connor announced Tuesday that he will be running for a state Senate seat in 2020.

Sen. Pat McGuire, D-Joliet, currently has the job, but he announced Monday that he would not seek reelection. McGuire represents the 43rd Illinois Senate District, which includes parts of Bolingbrook, Channahon, Crest Hill, Elwood, Joliet, Lockport, Rockdale, Romeoville and Woodridge.

Connor was first appointed to his seat representing the 85th Illinois House District in 2017 after Emily McAsey’s retirement. He easily won his first election for the House seat in 2018.

During his tenure in Springfield, he’s focused on issues such as helping residents of the Fairmont neighborhood block the privatization of their water supply. He also serves on the governor’s broadband advisory council and helms an election cybersecurity subcommittee to examine the state’s election security ahead of the 2020 election.

Connor, a Joliet native, worked as a criminal prosecutor in the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he was tried cases such as that of Drew Peterson, the former Bolingbrook police officer convicted of killing his third wife.

Republican Ben Bierly is also running for McGuire’s seat.