The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • A3

www.pantagraph.com The Pant agraph Tuesday, March 31, 2015 A3 LOCAL Mark Pickering, editor, 309-829-9000, ext. 252, email: Tuesd A Mar ch 31, 2015 A3 Lenore Sobota BLOOMINGTON Agriculture, the economy and infrastructure impro vements will be the key issues in the upcoming special election in the 18th Congr essional District, state Sen. Darin LaHood said as he formally announced his candidacy for that post during a stop in Bloomington. LaHood, a Republican from Dunlap, is seeking to replace Republican U. S.

Rep. Aaron Schock of Peoria, who is stepping down amid ethical questions that Schock said had become a distraction. His resignation is effective Tuesday. While not mentioning troubles, LaHood emphasized his own ethical and background as a federal prosecutor. is about making things better for the next said LaHood, who was joined at the podium by his wife, Kristen.

They have three boys, ages 8 to 12. stop at Harley-Davidson was among several stops across the district Monday and Tuesday, starting in Peoria and ending in Macomb, to announce his candidacy. He already had been traveling the district for the past couple of weeks to become better known. been going to places I never thought go LaHood said with a laugh. state Senate district, which he has represented for four years, includes five of the 19 counties in the congressional district.

The 18th Congressional District includes all or parts of Bloomington-Normal, Springfield and Peoria. Voter turnout will be a key to the election, noted LaHood and his fellow state Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, who was on hand to show his support for LaHood. Gov. Bruce Rauner has five days for set a date for a special election, which must take place within 120 days of the vacancy.

LaHood said, a short but, feel very confident with our Part of that strategy is working the grassroots he said. have a great team in Speaking after his formal announcement, LaHood said, is the No. 1 industry in this That makes reducing regulatory burdens and promoting fr ee trade important issues, he said. Next to that comes economy and and finding ways to private-sector whether at Farm, John Deere or he said. Third is infrastructure and finding ways to replenish the depleted Highway Trust Fund.

Because of the circumstances under which Schock is le aving office, Barickman said, will scrutinize candidates more Follow Lenore Sobota on Twitter: LaHood campaigns in B-N Senator seeking Schock seat touts agriculture, jobs LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER The Pantagraph Illinois state Sen. Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap, introduces his wife, Kristen, before speaking about his run for the 18th Congressional District seat to a small crowd during a stop Monday at Harley Davidson in Bloomington. Kurt Erickson kurt.erickson@lee.net SPRINGFIELD For two local Republicans eyeing a run for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, personal considerations may outweigh their political aspirations when it comes to making a final decision.

With the clock ticking on Gov. Bruce Rauner to schedule a special election for the 18th Congressional District seat, Bloomington businessman Ed Brady and stat Rep. Dan Brady both spent the weekend traversing Central and western Illinois to gauge their support. The duo are not related, but they are facing similar dilemmas in the coming days. For Dan Brady, winning a seat in Congress would mean have to step down as a partner in a Bloomington-Normal funeral home.

is a he said Monday, referring to federal rules reg arding outside employment by members of Congress. For Ed Brady, it would mean an end to his climb up the leadership ladder of the National Association of Homebuilders, where he currently is on track to become the leader of the organization within the next eight months. does weigh on my Ed Brady told the Lee Enterprises Springfield bureau. The two Bloomington Republicans both said the would decide whether to move forward within days of Rauner scheduling a special primary election and a special general election to replace Schock. Rauner must act by Sunday.

While the two mull their decisions, state Sen. Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap, embarked on a two-day, multicity tour to formally announce his plan to win a district that once was held largely by his father, Ray, a Peoria Republican. Monday stops included Peoria, Bloomington and Springfield. He is scheduled to be in Jacksonville and Quincy on Tuesday. Bloomington attorney Mark Zalcman also said he is running for the GOP nomination.

Former state Rep. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, issued a statement Monday saying she is not running. Ed Brady, who lost to Dan Brady by 47 votes in the race for a seat in the Illinois House in 2000, said his connection with the home uilding org ani zation giv es him a national fundraising network to draw on. He also said he can tap into the donor base his brother, state Sen. Bill Brady, built during his past bids for governor.

is certainly an interest in this being a competitive Ed Brady said. Dan Brady said he visited with Republicans in Adams and Hanc ock counties over the weekend and discussed the rac with both Ed Brady and LaHood. In addition to his role in the Kibler- Brady-Ruestman Memorial Home, Dan Brady said he is weighing his needs. made a formal decision but I will very he said. Follow Kurt Erickson on Twitter Business interests may affect whether Bradys will join race Dan Brady Ed Brady Mary Ann Ford BLOOMINGTON The Prairie Aviation Museum embraces all forms of aviation from military to outer space and everything in between in its recently refurbished space on Illinois 9 near the old airport.

want to be all said Barbara Edwards, a museum board member and one of 25 volunteers who operate the museum. trying to focus on everything in While the museum was closed during the month of February, volunteers took the opportunity to freshen up the space with a new coat of light blue paint and the addition of wall display space, and to introduce some new ideas. The lobby entrance now displays a plaque with the mission of th 31-year-old museum: educate, inspire and entertain through collecting, preserving and displaying aircraft, artifacts and memorabilia about aviation and The new displays clearly accomplish that mission. One marks this 45th anniversary of the Apollo 13 space mission. Besides pictures of the crew, a Life magazine that focused on the mission and other memorabilia, the display case includes a roll of duct tape.

Edwards said the Apollo 13 crew used duct tape to make something square become round. take it on all the missions, she said. tape, leave earth without she joked. also a display of the history from the Ozark Airlines airplane to its now large variety of display aircraft, including a Huey helicopter, an F-100C, an F-4N Phantom II and a recently restored Cessna. One of favorite new features includes a small portion of hundreds of model airplanes donated to the museum.

The planes, built by a Chicago man, are replicas of ones manufactured throughout the world. Edwards said Prairie Aviation Museum Board President Steve Schmidt is repairing all the planes and they will be rotated about every six months. The museum also captures things closer to home: pictures of the Twin first airport north of Normal on U.S. 51; a memorial to Charlie Wells, an aviation acrobat who crashed and died at the 1993 Prairie Air Show in Bloomington; and a display that includes items donated by Ryan Chamberlain, a graduate of Central Catholic High School and now a member of the U.S. Blue Angels flight squadron team.

Other new displays include: one on women in aviation; a brief history of Boeing 700 airplanes; seaplanes; air racing from its inception in 1919 to today; the history of the Stealth airplane; and one on helicopters tha includes models made by museum member Mike Sallee. Mixed among the new displays are the popular and valuable museum standbys including Link the first true flight simulator designed by Edwin Link in the 1930s and a Wright R3350 aircraft engine. Follow Mary Ann Ford on Twitter: THING IN A Prairie Aviation Museum looking up Revamped space reflects broader view of mission An exhibit commemorates the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 13 lunar mission, which almost ended in disaster because of an on-board explosion on April 13, 1970. LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER The Pantagraph Barbara Edwards, Prairie Aviation Museum curation and display director, talks about the in exhibit on Sunday at the facility near Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington. Prairie Aviation Museum Location: 2929 E.

Empire Bloomington Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 Thursday through Saturday; noon to 4 Sunday Admission: adults, children 6-11, children 5 and under, free; museum members and active military, free. More information: prairieaviationmuseum.org BestinService fordetails Expires 101N.Veteran’sPkwy. (309)663-2700 DIGITALPROGRESSIVE NO-LINE BIFOCAL LENSESFOR 89.