Purcell files to form congressional campaign committee

BY JONATHAN BILYK

BATAVIA — A local businessman has officially filed to run for Congress.

Thursday, Jim Purcell, of Batavia, announced that he has become the latest candidate to officially seek to place his name on the ballot in the race for the Republican nomination in Illinois' 14th Congressional District.

In an emailed announcement, Purcell said he had filed the paperwork with the Federal Election Commission that is needed to form a campaign committee.

He also announced that he had launched his campaign's Web site.

Purcell is the latest in a series of local Republicans to step forward to seek their party's nod to take on incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Batavia, in the fall of 2010.

Purcell is opposed by Ethan Hastert, of Elburn, a lawyer and son of former U.S. Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert; State Sen. Randy Hultgren, R-Wheaton; Mark Vargas, of Elgin, a Defense Department employee who was awarded a medal for his work on rebuilding the economy of Iraq; and Jeff Danklefsen, of Geneva, a maintenance manager for a St. Charles property management company and a local Tea Party activist.

Purcell called attention to his 20-year career in both private and public business, including serving from 2000 to 2006 as vice president and general manager of a cleaning company based in Bloomington.

He relocated with his family to Batavia in mid-2007 and now operates Shamrock Group Investments, a consulting business specializing in helping struggling companies turn around and grow.

He said he has entered the race to offer Republican voters a real alternative to the field as it then existed.

"I was looking at this throughout the summer, and I still felt that, as nice of guys as the field is, it just wasn't enough," Purcell said.

He said his career in business would be what the district needs to be represented properly in Congress.

"Both parties have put us in the predicament we're in now," he said.

He acknowledged that he has entered the race relatively late, and faces a struggle to catch up to other, more entrenched candidates.

But he said he believes his candidacy is "right there" and there is still enough time before the February 2010 primary election to pull even.