State Representative Chapin Rose officially filed to run for the Illinois State Senate in the newly drawn 51st Senate district yesterday.  Rose’s campaign filed over double the required number of signatures to get on the ballot with petitions circulated by volunteers throughout the district.

Rep. Rose will be attempting to move from the Illinois House of Representative to the Illinois Senate. Rose says the opportunity came about with the redistricting map put together by Illinois Democrats. According to Rep. Rose, the map combined his districts and Representative Bill Mitchell's Districts and forced them to decide who would do what.

[audio:62311roseforsenate1.mp3]Rep. Rose On Redistricting Situation[/audio]

Republican Tom Pliura of LeRoy is the only announced opponent to this point for Rose. He notes the district the two will be running in is a very strong Republican District, which should makes things interesting.

[audio:62311roseforsenate2.mp3]Rose On His Republic District[/audio]

While the redistricting map is vastly different from the last map, Rep. Rose says a good portion of his new district will overlap or touch his current district in some way.

[audio:62311roseforsenate3.mp3]Rose On His New District[/audio]

Aside from being a fiscal conservative, Rose is a social conservative who has been a strong supporter of pro-family issues and the 2nd Amendment.  Rose has sponsored and voted for “conceal and carry” in Illinois and is a past recipient of the Illinois-NRA’s Defender of Freedom award for helping kill a “gun-grab” bill proposed by former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.  As a former prosecutor, Rose was chosen to be the only member of the Illinois House of Representatives to help put on the House’s evidence in the impeachment trial of former Governor Rod Blagojevich.