By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – Rural McLean County residents are likely to hear more from area Democrats in the coming months.

Making his first State of the Party address on Thursday, McLean County Democratic Party Chairman Erik Rankin said he would like to give voters a choice in traditionally Republican-dominated rural communities.

“Those people that live in those rural areas are also not okay with what they’re seeing nationally,” said Rankin.

“They’ve been effected by tariffs, they been effected by things that are breaking the family farm, and we can stand there and say we offer a different program,” Rankin added.

Democrats won five county board races last fall. In 2020, Democrats would have to win three more seats to create a tie with Republicans for county board control.

Rankin is recruiting candidates for McLean County State’s Attorney, Coroner, Circuit Clerk, and Auditor, which are up for election next year.

Rankin also reported record fundraising of $135,308 last year, including an $85,000 Blue Wave Illinois grant from state Democrats aimed to build the party from the bottom up.

“From the grass roots, it provided us with the ability to go out and send county-wide mailers, provided us with the ability to purchase a photocopier that now we get to use for all of our candidates running for public office, which lowers their bar to have to try and run a race because they used to have to go to Kinkos or someplace else where they have to spend five, six, seven times as much money. We now have the ability to underwrite that cost,” Rankin said.

Rankin became party chairman exactly one year ago, replacing John Penn.

Rankin is a former county board member and is assistant to the chair in the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]