Sangamon Sun

State Sen. Steve McClure (R-Plainview) is listening to the concerns and desires of Illinois voters by taking part in a listening tour hosted by Republicans in the state Senate.

McClure took to Facebook to talk about the Nov. 15 town hall event.

"Monday night in Edwardsville, I participated in my 8th town hall as part of the Senate Republicans Listening tour," McClure wrote on Facebook a few days later. "Thanks to Senator Jason Plummer for hosting."

McClure has been keeping busy and announced earlier this month he'd be running for the newly-created 54th Senate District. 

“I’m excited to be a part of turning our state around and getting us back on track,” McClure said, according to the Effingham Daily News. “We have the better solutions to our state’s problems, we have a better record of fighting crime and growing our economy and we actually want to support our businesses and restaurants, instead of regulating, restricting and taxing them into oblivion. I’m not giving up on our state or our people."

Plummer (R-Edwardsville) called McClure a leader when he endorsed the senator's bid for the new Senate district.

"I am comforted in knowing that my good friend, State Senator Steve  McClure, has announced his intention to run for the potential 'new' district  that covers the portions of Effingham County that I would be  losing," Plummer said on Facebook. "You learn who your friends are during the toughest times and you learn a  person's character when they are under fire or when they have  difficult, sometimes unpopular, decisions to make. Steve has been a leader in the Republican caucus and he has been on the front lines of  some of the most important issues facing our families and our communities, namely out-of-control crime in Illinois and taking a stand for our law enforcement community."

The new district includes Christian, Effingham, Macon, Menard, Sangamon, Macoupin, Motgomery, Moultrie and Shelby counties.

During the redistricting process, McClure questioned Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) about private meetings with Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) where conversations about the state's redistricting were supposedly taking place, according to Crain's Chicago Business. 

Sims denied having any knowledge about the report or the meetings.