Two SIUC employees are eyeing an Illinois Senate seat that has yet to be vacated by its current occupant.

James Osberg, director of international economic development at SIUC’s Office of Economic and Regional Development, and SIUC Political Science Professor Barbara Brown both said they desire Sen. Ralph Dunn’s, R-DuQuoin, seat in the Illinois Senate.

The seat will be up for elections next year, but Osberg could get appointed to the seat if Dunn, who was unavailable for comment, decides to retire early, as he has indicated in recent days.

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Dunn recently was quoted in the Southern Illinoisan saying Osberg would be Dunn’s choice for a GOP replacement. Osberg said Dunn came to him and asked him personally if he would consider taking the seat.

Ralph came to me and said, Would you be willing to do this?,’ Osberg said. I’ve been trained to do the kinds of things the legislature does.

The decision to appoint Osberg would fall on a seven-member GOP committee, and they will not make a decision until Dunn officially announces his retirement. He faces Republican competition from Jerry Reppert from Anna and Charles Wayne Goforth from Tamaroa.

Brown, who announced her intentions to run on a Democratic ticket over the summer, will not have the luxury of being appointed and must wait for the primary elections next March.

Brown said the most significant reason for her entry into next year’s race is she believes that Chicago-area Republicans control the Illinois legislature.

The affluent, suburbanite Republicans are now in charge, she said. Unless we fight for Southern Illinois we will lose out.

Losing out, Brown said, means losing a family-friendly government. This would be a government that focuses its efforts on issues such as helping working parents deal with the low wages prevalent in Southern Illinois, increasing economic development and improving working conditions, Brown said.

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Osberg said issues facing students are high on his list of concerns, especially when it comes to the cost of higher education.

Middle class families know what the crunch is, he said. At the state level, you’ll see continued efforts to make education affordable for everyone in Illinois.

Osberg said aside from education, his focus will be on rural health issues and economic state development.

Brown also said focus in the Illinois Senate needs to be geared toward education, which includes the needs of the students at SIUC.

I think that is precisely what I want to do; help the students that is, she said. Republicans at the national level are shirking their duty to students.

This means the burden is going to fall on state government. I want to be there to be one of the defenders and advocates for students because they are going to need it.

Osberg’s political career has spanned the last five years since his appointment as Gov. Jim Thompson’s education assistant. Since then, he has been appointed to numerous committees, including Illinois’ Export Promotion Coordinating Council and the Securities Advisory Committee.

Brown earned a Bachelor’s degree in political science from SIUC in 1976 and then a Master’s in 1977. She earned a Doctorate eight years later in 1985, and has been teaching as lecturer, then professor, since 1983.

Brown’s experience in the political arena includes service as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, an elected position, four times. She has been a state central committee woman, also an elected position, two times.

This experience, Brown said, will give her the edge she needs to win not only the Democratic primary election next March, but also the general election in November.

I am definitely a party activist, she said. That gives me the exposure other candidates don’t have. I’m better known around the district, and I’ve never lost an election.