WASHINGTON--Former Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) comeback bid, announced on Monday, is in the a new Democratic vote friendly 11th District--in a seat currently held by Rep. Kinzinger, Adam [R-Ill.] The Illinois Senate votes on the newly remapped congressional districts--designed to pit six of the 11 Illinois incumbent Republicans against each other--today.

Foster, defeated in 2010 by Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.)--after being elected twice in the heavily GOP 14th District--said in a statement that parts of the new 11th were in his old 14th district.

UPDATE FROM GOP HOUSE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE...

"Illinois working families fired Bill Foster last fall because of his unwavering support for reckless spending, higher taxes and bigger government. Illinois voters understand that Bill Foster's tax and spend record was part of the problem and are unwilling to foot the bill again for his big spending agenda." - NRCC Spokeswoman Andrea Bozek

END UPDATE

below, Foster announcement....

Bill Foster Announces Candidacy for Congress

Businessman and scientist Bill Foster announced his campaign to return to Congress in the Illinois' 11th Congressional District that contains Aurora, Joliet, Lisle, Montgomery and Naperville.

"I am running to return to Congress because there are important things left to accomplish, and important accomplishments that must be defended," said Foster. "Our fragile economic recovery must be sustained, and the long-term fiscal problems that we face must be solved without breaking promises to our seniors or dismantling Medicare. Reforms to our financial and healthcare systems must continue so that they work well for both businesses and ordinary people."

"I started off as a small businessman, so I know how to create jobs and how much it means to families. As a scientist, I've learned to take a practical, thoughtful approach to solving problems - examining the facts and bringing people together towards solutions. And I believe that's the approach we need in Washington," said Foster.

"The new 11th District is wide open and I think Bill Foster would be a great candidate," said Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner. "He has the practicality of a small businessman, but also a scientist's vision of the future . . . and he worked hard for Aurora as its congressman."

Aurora is the largest city in the new 11th District, and the largest city Foster represented in Congress. Foster also represented Montgomery, Oswego, and parts of Joliet among other areas in the new 11th.

When he was 19, Bill Foster and his brother started a business from scratch. That company now manufactures over half of the theater lighting equipment in the U. S. and still employs hundreds of people with good manufacturing jobs in the Midwest. For 25 years after that, Foster was a scientist at Fermi National Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois--where he participated in leading-edge scientific research, designed and built state-of-the-art physics experiments, and led teams of people to help build Fermilab's giant particle accelerators. Foster served in Congress for nearly three years after winning the special election to fill Dennis Hastert's seat in March 2008, serving on the Financial Services Committee where he played an important role in crafting the Wall Street reform bill to crack down on abuses and stabilize our economy following the financial crisis.

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