BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL
DANVILLE — A hard fought race for the 104th District ended Tuesday night with another term in the Illinois House for a longtime area legislator.
An expected close race for the 104th District turned into a one-sided affair as state Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, held off a challenge by Democrat and first-time state legislative candidate Lori DeYoung.
The final results were not as close as expected, according to Black who thought a rough year for Republicans would translate in the loss of some votes in his district. Instead, he said the results were an humbling experience for him.
“Voter said tonight, ‘Hey go back and fight for us, fight for downstate, fight for the 104th District,” Black said late Tuesday night.
“Until you do this you have no idea what it’s like to look at vote totals and say there are people who put their faith and trust in me,” he said.
The win gives Black another two-year term in the state legislature. It will be Black’s 12th term in the Illinois House.
The 104th District extends from the Vermilion-Edgar county border to north of westbound U.S. Route 136. It stretches from the Indiana boarder west to Champaign-Urbana, leaving out the Twin Cities but including Rantoul.
And vote totals from both sides of the county line showed similar support.
In Vermilion County, city precinct voters gave Black 66 percent of the vote to lead over DeYoung, while more than 60 percent of county voters opted for the senior legislator.
Black ran a clean sweep of voting precincts in DeYoung’s county board District 2, accumulating 2,828 votes in the 12 precincts compared to DeYoung’s 1,538.
In Champaign County, 24 voting precincts in the eastern side of the county — including St. Joseph and Rantoul — make up the 104th District. According to figures from the Champaign County clerk’s office, Black carried 67 percent of the voters there.
A message left for DeYoung on her cellular phone Tuesday evening was not returned.
Now that he’s destined for another two years in Springfield, Black said he has not lost his passion for the job and goes into his new term with several goals in mind — first and foremost being getting the state’s fiscal house in order.
“We are in trouble in this state and it doesn’t make any difference whose fault it is,” he said.
He compared the current situation to fiscal problems during the tenure of former governor Jim Edgar. Those problems were eventually handled.
“Our governor has had six years,” Black said. “It’s time for him to step up to the plate.
“This finger pointing in the Democrats is hurting the people of Illinois and people in my district,” he added. “Enough is enough.”
