Congressman John Shimkus made it official on Monday, he will seek a 12th term in office. The area’s Republican Congressman for better than 2 decades on Monday filed his petitions to run for another term. And, it looks like Shimkus will have competition in the General Election next November. Democrat candidate Carl Spoerer of Mahomet filed his petitions on Monday to run in the 15th district Congressional race, and would square off against Shimkus in the General Election—-that is, if there is not a primary race for either one. As of this time they are the only 2 candidates to file, but candidates have until December 4th to file their petitions. State Senator Kyle McCarter ran against Shimkus in the Republican primary in 2016.