A large Republican field is forming to oppose Democratic Rep. Bill Foster in Illinois' 14th District.

The latest entrant is state Sen. Randy Hultgren, who recently filed a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission and who formally announced his candidacy on Monday.

Hultgren served eight years in the Illinois House (1999-2007) and was elected to the Illinois Senate in 2006, replacing Republican Peter Roskam, who was elected to Congress from the 6th District.

If there's any state that might need a breather from politics, it's Illinois.

But the state that ejected Democratic Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich on corruption allegations earlier this year has the first-in-the-nation 2010 primary on Feb. 2, and Tuesday was the first day that prospective candidates could ask voters to sign nominating petitions to place them on the primary ballot.

Yes, you read that correctly: just seven months after the 111th Congress convened and 15 months before the November 2010 elections, Illinois incumbents and candidates have to make their political plans now. The candidate filing deadline is Nov. 2.

Here's a look at some of the Illinois races CQ Politics will be watching most closely:

• Governor: Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, a former lieutenant governor who became Illinois' chief executive after Blagojevich was ousted, probably will be opposed in the primary by state Comptroller Dan Hynes. More than a half-dozen Republicans are planning to run.

Illinois Republican Jeff Danklefsen is waging a 2010 campaign in the state's 14th District, where Democratic Rep. Bill Foster already faces a challenge from a son of former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert.

Danklefsen's lives in Geneva, about 40 miles west of Chicago in Illinois' Fox River Valley, and works as a maintenance manager for a property management company.

"I do not have a political resume, but I understand the challenges families face with increasing tax burdens and the uncertainty of the job market," Danklefsen says on his campaign Web site. "I am asking for the opportunity to represent the 14th District taxpayers in Washington D.C. I will stand up for responsible taxation, a balanced budget, and job growth."