LaHood to step down Retirement expected to draw swarm of hopefuls

PEORIA (AP) - Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis says retiring U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood will be remembered for trying to bring Democrats and Republicans together in an era where partisan politics often gets in the way of the common good. But observers say the Peoria Republican's surprise decision to step down after his seventh term likely will touch off new waves of political bickering as Democrats try to grab a central Illinois congressional seat controlled by Republicans for nearly 90 years. LaHood, 61, announced Friday that he will retire when his term ends in January 2009, saying it's time to repay his family for time he was away chasing his political dreams during the last 30 years. "I've got a year and a half to go and I look forward to that and I look forward to walking out of the Capitol and walking out of my district head held high, knowing we gave it 1,000 percent," LaHood, flanked by his wife, two of his children and three grandchildren, said. The former school teacher said he hopes to be remembered "as an ordinary person who used an extraordinary office to do some extraordinary things," such as helping launch the $145 million Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. "It's a huge loss for central Illinois ... He has the ability to bring people together and that's one of the things that's lacking most in D.C. now," Ardis said. LaHood said he announced his retirement early to give prospective candidates time to consider a run before next year's primary, which is being moved up from March 18 to Feb. 5. The Legislature approved the switch in an effort to help home-state presidential candidate Barack Obama and give Illinois a bigger role in selecting the presidential nominees. Observers predict a crush of interest as Democrats target the 18th congressional district seat held for more than a half-century by just two men - LaHood and his old boss, former House Minority Leader Bob Michel, R-Peoria. LaHood said there is no heir apparent, unlike 1994 when he entered the race after 12 years as Michel's chief of staff. Names already were floating Friday through the central Illinois district, which stretches through Peoria, Springfield and Jacksonville. Observers say Republicans could include state Sen. Bill Brady, state Rep. Jim Watson of Jacksonville and 26-year-old state Rep. Aaron Schock of Peoria. Ken Spain, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said there is a "solid bench of prospective Republican candidates." With the right candidate, Spain predicted Republicans will win "with a comfortable margin," in a district where LaHood took 67 percent of the vote last fall. But U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called the district "competitive" with LaHood stepping down, saying "2008 appears to be an opportunity for Democrats." Durbin, the second highest-ranking Senate Democrat, said Peoria County State's Attorney Kevin Lyons and state Sen. John Sullivan of Rushville are among possible candidates. "Democrats have a fair chunk of power in Illinois these days and would love nothing better than to wield some of that power to try to pick up that seat," Illinois State University political science professor Bob Bradley said. Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois-Springfield, said Democrats could pick up as many as three seats in 2008 from the state's congressional delegation, now 10-9 in favor of Democrats. "If total lightning strikes, they could pick up two or three," Redfield said. LaHood, who mulled a run for governor in 2005, says he plans to continue working after leaving Congress, but doesn't know where. "I'm looking forward to retiring from public life, but not life," said LaHood, who got high marks for keeping the U.S. House on an even keel when he presided over impeachment hearings against then-President Bill Clinton in 1998. Mike Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said LaHood will be remembered for his candor - sometimes differing publicly with fellow Republicans - and his efforts to restore civility in Washington. "Ray was a real advocate for civility in public discourse," Lawrence said. "When politicians attack each other they not only diminish the chances of working together and getting things done, but they erode public confidence in government."