Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa (53rd District), officially announced his candidacy for Illinois secretary of state today.

He announced this morning at the Chicago Lake Shore Hotel, and was scheduled to announce in Springfield at Saputo's Restaurant this afternoon.

In Pontiac tonight, a rally for Rutherford will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Pontiac Elks Lodge. The public is invited. Rutherford will speak at approximately 6 p.m.

On Tuesday, Rutherford will continue his statewide tour with an announcement in Rockford at 4:30 p.m. at Giovanni's restaurant, with a "meet and greet" from 5 to 7. The statewide tour will continue over the next two weeks, according to Rutherford's publicist in Chicago. Rutherford's campaign Web site is www.danrutherford.org.

Today's announcement made official what Rutherford has been confirming in recent weeks: that he would announce his candidacy for secretary of state shortly after Labor Day.

Rutherford said in August that he planned to seek the Republican nomination for secretary of state, having also considered running for state treasurer, a post now held by a Republican, Judy Baar Topinka, who is considering running for governor.

On Rutherford's campaign Web site, under the headline "Because Illinois Deserves Better," Rutherford writes: "The Secretary of State's Office is the agency of state government which directly serves more citizens annually than any other. The customers of the Secretary of State's Office deserve no less in service than that of the private sector.

"Having worked as an Executive with America's premier service company, Dan Rutherford knows what it is to deliver good customer service. That is why Dan Rutherford is running for Secretary of State. He has the experience and know-how to deliver the efficient, timely and friendly service you expect and SHOULD receive."

Rutherford told the Daily Leader in mid-August that he had been talking with local constituents, family and friends, and that many of them were encouraging him to run for secretary of state. He called that office "unlike any other office in state government" in providing to the public something he said he greatly cares about, "customer service."

Rutherford, 50, has said that he knows and respects White, who is 72, and that his candidacy would be "a race for the office" and not an anti-White effort.

Rutherford was re-elected state senator in 2004 from the 53rd District, which includes Livingston County. The next election for senator in that district is in 2008. He was first elected to the Senate in 2002, after serving 10 years in the House of Representatives, where was assistant Republican leader.

Candidates for state office can start circulating petitions this month. Petitions are filed in December; the state primary will be in March 2006.

Rutherford is a vice president of ServiceMaster Corp.

A graduate of Illinois State University, where he was president of the student body in 1977-78, Rutherford became a legislative assistant in Springfield after graduating from ISU. He was executive director of Illinois for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign in 1980; after that, he joined Gov. Jim Thompson's administration as head of International Business for the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs.