Shane Cultra

Shane Cultra is an American politician and former Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly.

Shane Cultra
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 53rd district
In office
January 10, 2011 – January 9, 2013
Preceded byDan Rutherford
Succeeded byJason Barickman
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 105th district
In office
January 11, 2003 – January 9, 2011
Preceded byWilliam Black (redistricted)
Succeeded byRussell Geisler
Personal details
Born1950 or 1951 (age 72–73)[1]
Onarga, Illinois
Political partyRepublican
SpouseVirginia
ChildrenFour
ResidenceOnarga, Illinois
Alma materMichigan State University
ProfessionNursery owner

Early life and career

Cultra was born in Onarga, Illinois. He graduated from Michigan State University with an agricultural technology degree in landscape & nursery management. He served on the Iroquois County Board for fourteen years including two years as chairman of the board. Cultra, and his wife Virginia, have four children.[2]

Illinois General Assembly

In 2002, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives from the 105th district.[2] The 105th district, as drawn at the time, included parts of Champaign, Ford, Iroquois Livingston, and McLean counties in east-central Illinois.[3]

Cultra was selected by local party leaders in late 2010 to replace Dan Rutherford, who had been elected Illinois Treasurer.[4]

Cultra resigned from the Illinois House effective midnight January 9, 2011 and was succeeded by his longtime legislative aide Russell Geisler for a single day. On January 10, 2011, Jason Barickman, the Chair of the Champaign County Republicans, was appointed to succeed Geisler for the remainder of the 96th General Assembly and to serve during the 97th General Assembly.[5][6]

During the 2011 decennial redistricting, the 53rd district was redrawn to include portions of Bloomington and Normal while losing Tazewell County.[7][8] In the 2012 Republican primary, Barickman opted to run for the Illinois Senate against Shane Cultra. Barickman defeated Cultra with 19,713 votes to Cultra's 11,861 votes.[9]

Post-legislative career

In 2016, Lyle Behrends of Ashkum succeeded Cultra as Chair of the Iroquois County Republican Party.[10] That same year, Mike Tilstra, the Mayor of Onarga, chose to step down as Mayor. Cultra ran unopposed in the 2017 election.[11] In the 2021 election, Cultra defeated Sarah Barnett 99 votes to 89 votes (52.66% to 47.34%).[12]

On March 7, 2022, Cultra filed with the Illinois Board of Elections to run for the United States House of Representatives from Illinois's 2nd congressional district in the 2022 Republican primary.[13] He finished second of three candidates in the June 28th primary, losing to former Iroquois County Board member Thomas Lynch.[14]

References
  1. Hansen, Karen (March 3, 1994). "Iroqouis County voters pick sheriff, treasuer". The Pantagraph. p. A5 – via ProQuest.
  2. White, Jesse (ed.). "Legislative Branch". Illinois Blue Book 2003-2004. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  3. Veeneman, Drew, ed. (June 1, 2012). "House District 105 as Prepared by the NIU Center for Governmental Studies" (PDF). precinctmaps.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2012.
  4. McDonald, Karen (November 22, 2010). "GOP chooses Rutherford replacement". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  5. Kacich, Tom (December 29, 2010). "Plans approved for 105th District, including legislator for one day". The News-Gazette. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  6. Mapes, Tim, ed. (January 6, 2011). "161st Legislative Day of the 96th General Assembly" (PDF). Journal of the Illinois House of Representatives. pp. 5–8. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  7. Veeneman, Drew, ed. (June 1, 2012). "Senate District 53 Map prepared by the NIU Center for Governmental Studies" (PDF). precinctmaps.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2012.
  8. Veeneman, Drew (June 1, 2012). "53rd Senate District" (PDF). Precinctmaps. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2012.
  9. Smucker, Luke (March 21, 2012). "Barickman gains 53rd Senate seat". Pontiac Daily Leader. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  10. "Bennett re-elected to two-year term as Ford County GOP chairman". Ford County Record. April 20, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  11. Staff Report (December 21, 2016). "Tilstra to step aside from Onarga mayor's office, Shane Cultra will seek job". 94.1 WGFA. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  12. "Election Summary Report Iroquois County, IL Consolidated Election April 6,2021 Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races Unofficial Results" (PDF). Iroquois County. April 6, 2021. p. 6. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  13. Pfingsten, Patrick (March 7, 2022). "Tracking Monday Candidate Filings". The Illinoize. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  14. Provost, Lee (July 1, 2022). "Lynch claims 2nd district in Republican primary". Daily Journal. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
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