Dupage Policy Journal

Republican leaders recently tabbed John Egofske, mayor of Lemont, to replace longtime Illinois state Rep. Jim Durkin after Durkin announced his resignation last month; a report from the Chicago Tribune said.

A certified public accountant by trade who left the business world in 2017 to run for mayor, Egofske plans to remain in that post while also representing the House district that covers Lemont, Burr Ridge and most of Homer Glen.

Durkin was in full support of Egofske taking over his vacated 82nd District seat. 

In a statement, Durkin called Egofske "a proven business leader and outstanding public servant" whose "success in the village of Lemont prepared him to solve the problems facing our state."

"John (Egofske) is a pragmatic Republican; someone who is not going to fall in line with the extremists that have, for the time being, hijacked the party," Durkin said in an interview this week, quoted by the Tribune. "Someone who’s going to look at the issue and will make a decision based on what he thinks is right for the district."

Durkin served in the Illinois House for 24 years, including nine as leader of the Republican minority, the Tribune said. Widely viewed as a moderate member of his party, he announced his resignation in January, noting that the “party over the last at least six years has shifted.”