The Eye

Hultgren is entering a crowded GOP primary field that also includes Ethan Hastert, a lawyer whose father, former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, represented the district from 1987 until his resignation in November 2007.

Also seeking the GOP nomination are Jeff Danklefsen, a maintenance manager for a property management company, and Mark Vargas, who worked for the Department of Defense in iraq. Bill Cross, a former Aurora city councilman, also is making plans to run.

The Republican field in Illinois' 14th is more wide-open than it was in 2008, when dairy executive Jim Oberweis was the Republican nominee against Foster in both the March special election and the November general election.

Foster won the first race by 5 percentage points and the second by 16 percentage points.

CQ Politics at the moment rates the Illinois 14 race as Democrat Favored.

To follow the 2010 House races, check out the CQ Politics election map

UPDATE: In a telephone interview with CQ Politics on Monday afternoon, Hultgren said that he's "very frustrated with the direction our nation is taking and with the current administration, and also very disappointed with our current congressman, Bill Foster."

Hultgren said that Foster in 2008 was at the "right place at the right time" but that voters now are beginning to realize that he "doesn't fit well with this district. His voting record, his stance on issues, does not match up with the majority of people in this district."

Hultgren will run as an opponent of what he sees as a "huge expansion of federal government." He opposed the economic stimulus law that President Obama signed into law in February and also attacked the health care overhauls that Democrats and the Obama administration have proposed.