Kane County Reporter

Two months after breaking ranks with his Republican colleagues on the state budget vote, Rep. Steven Andersson (R-Geneva) has announced his retirement, according to reports.

Andersson, who was asked to step down as the GOP's House floor leader after the vote, said his decision to not seek re-election when his term ends in January 2019 was prompted by increasingly divisive partisanship, WTTW reported.

“The reality is that this place if very much leadership-driven, and leaders are driven to win,” Andersson said, according to WTTW. “And that means that policy sometimes takes a second place to politics.”

Rep. Steven Andersson (R-Geneva)

Andersson helped pass he first budget Illinois has seen in two years, but it included a 32 percent tax hike and little in the way of reforms, according to many of his Republican colleagues and Gov. Bruce Rauner. Still, Anderrson stood by his decision.

“The proudest moment here was passing that budget for me,” Andersson said, according to WTTW. “… It was hard, it was difficult, but I saw a miracle happen: I saw the rank and file push back on both sides of leadership. Our side was very direct and very visible, but it happened on the other side as well – more in the shadows, in the caucus, but the speaker relented and was willing to work with his caucus to allow the revenue to happen and to allow the whole thing to go forward.”