Petitions are now available for corn producers who are interested in running for a seat on the Illinois Corn Marketing Board.  Petitions are available from local University of Illinois Extension offices or from the Department of Agriculture. To be eligible, producers must be of legal voting age, have produced and marketed corn during the 2013 commodity year, and reside in the district to be represented.  In order to have their name placed on the ballot, candidates must submit a completed petition to the Director of Agriculture by the filing deadline of May 15, 2014. Petitions should contain the signatures of 200 (or 5 percent, whichever is less) producers residing in the counties in the district in which the board member is to be elected.

The following counties will hold Illinois Corn Marketing Board elections:

            District 1:                    Boone, McHenry, Lake, DeKalb, Kane, Cook, DuPage, Kendall and Will

            District 4:                    Whiteside, Lee, Bureau, Stark, Marshall and Putnam

            District 7:                    Woodford, McLean, DeWitt, Macon, Piatt and Moultrie

            District 10:                  Scott, Morgan, Sangamon, Greene, Jersey, Calhoun and Macoupin

            District 13:                  Marion, Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash and White

Voting will take place at local University of Illinois Extension offices on July 8, 2014.  Those elected will serve a three-year term beginning August 1, 2014.

For more information or to request a petition, call the Illinois Department of Agriculture at 217-782-6675 or write: Illinois Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Marketing and Promotion, PO Box 19281, State Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL 62792-9281.