Springfield businessman named as new 95th House District representative
The 103rd Illinois General Assembly is set to begin next Wednesday with the inauguration of the newly elected senators and representatives.
While winning in the 95th House District this November, former state Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, will not be serving in the next General Assembly after officially stepping down on New Year's Eve.
On Thursday, Butler's replacement — Mike Coffey Jr. of Springfield — was selected by the Republican Central Committee chairpersons in Christian, Macon and Sangamon counties.
Holding the overwhelming plurality of the voting share, Sangamon RCC chairwoman Dianne Barghouti Hardwick said the decision to go with Coffey came in part because of his family's longstanding connection to the county. All three RCC chairs, including Aaron DeGroot of Christian County and Bruce Pillsbury of Macon County, voted for Coffey in the brief public meeting.
"It means you and your family have cared about this community for a long, long time," she said following the vote held at the county GOP headquarters.
The vote on the matter was based on the percentage of ballots cast for Butler in each of the three counties in his district for the 2022 election. More than 34,000 votes of the 36,173 votes for Butler came from Sangamon County, giving the county approximately 94% of the vote. Christian County had roughly 5% and Macon County had the remaining 1% of the vote.
Coffey is owner of Papa Frank's restaurant on the west side and manages Saputo's in downtown Springfield. This business background gives him an "ear to economic issues," Hardwick said.
While it will be Coffey's first time serving in the General Assembly, he told reporters following the vote that the political sector has long been an interest of his dating back to his days with the Young Republicans.
Conversation regarding the Wyndham City Centre in Springfield, which intersected with his chair position on the Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority, rekindled that interest, he said.
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"I think one of the things that differentiated me from other candidates was that I got friends across the aisle that are statewide, not just locally," he said.
Working with Democrats will be all the more necessary to pass legislation. The Democrats added to to their supermajority during the midterms. The partisan breakdown in the Illinois House of Representatives will be 78 Democrats and 40 Republicans once the 103rd General Assembly begins.
Coffey replaces Butler, who had just won his fifth term in November and is now working as the president of the Illinois Railroad Association. For the remainder of the lame duck session ending on Jan. 10, Menard County sheriff's deputy Jason Huffman will serve as Butler's replacement in the 87th House District.
An assault-style weapons ban has been the talk of the lame duck session, while abortion — previously the premier talking point in the Capitol — has not been at the forefront. In a new General Assembly, Coffey described his positions on those matters will be "pro-second amendment and pro-life" with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.
"Basically, you're going to see a lot of the same things out of Tim Butler from me," he said.
Coffey will officially be sworn in Wednesday with other legislators of the General Assembly. The inauguration is set for noon at the Old State Capitol.
Contact Patrick Keck: pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.com
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Mike Coffey Jr. to fill 95th House District seat
