On Tuesday, Sept. 28th at 5 p.m., longtime Rock Island County Board member Jeff Deppe will gather outside his union hall, Laborers Local 309 (2835 7th Ave., Rock Island), with family, friends and supporters to announce his run for Illinois State House Representative in the 72nd District.
Deppe has spent the past 27 years as a laborer with Local 309, building local infrastructure like the Moline Public Library, the TaxSlayer Center, UnityPoint Health hospital, and the John Deere Road corridor. Deppe has also been a member of the Rock Island County Board for the past seven years. During that time, he led the committee to downsize the County Board, enacted ethics reforms to promote good governance, and led the effort to make it easier for seniors to freeze their property taxes so that their housing could remain affordable, according to his annoucement.
Deppe has lived in East Moline for most of his life, graduating from United Township High School in 1998. Deppe joined the Laborer’s Union before graduating high school and eventually became secretary, treasurer, and a field representative. As a state representative, Deppe would like to focus on making it easier for young men and women to enter skilled trades, which are in great demand now as older workers retire, his release said.
Deppe brought the Black Hawk College Highway Construction Careers Training Program to the Rock Island County Forest Preserve, which he oversaw as a County Board member. Students from that program built a handicapped accessible boat ramp and ADA-compliant bathrooms. These students have gone on to enter our local trades, where they have been able to obtain secure, well-paying jobs while contributing to the community, he said.
Deppe is currently the vice chair of the Rock Island County Democrats, the Illinois vice president for the Quad Cities Federation of Labor, and a member of the Bi-State Regional Commission. Deppe has also served on the board of Project Now and Arrowhead and is a member of the Rock Island County NAACP and LULAC Council 10. Deppe has enjoyed giving back to our community by building wheelchair ramps for veterans and pouring concrete for Habitats for Humanity.
“Deppe looks forward to helping our community realize its great potential by retaining and attracting new residents to our district. Deppe says that we can do that by fixing our roads, improving our public schools, and supporting businesses that provide great jobs for our workers,” his release says. “Deppe looks forward to accomplishing these goals in Springfield as the 72nd District’s next state representative.”
Current 72nd District Rep. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island) is running to become state senator, to succeed state Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Andalusia).
