Brad Beekman
Brad Beekman is an at-large member of the Bushnell Prairie City Community Unit School District 170 school board in Illinois. He assumed office in 2024.
Beekman (Republican Party) is running for election to the Illinois State Senate to represent District 36. He is on the ballot in the Republican primary on March 17, 2026.[source]
Beekman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Brad Beekman graduated from Astoria High School. He attended Illinois College and earned a bachelor's degree from Western Illinois University in 1993. His career experience includes working as a law enforcement officer.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 36
Incumbent Michael Halpin (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 36 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Michael Halpin | |
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary
Republican primary for Illinois State Senate District 36
Brad Beekman (R) and Patrick Harlan (R) are running in the Republican primary for Illinois State Senate District 36 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Brad Beekman | |
 | Patrick Harlan | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Brad Beekman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Beekman's responses.
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Brad graduated from Western Illinois University with a Bachelors Degree in Law Enforcement Administration, and went-on to work 28 years in law enforcement. In 2023, he retired from the Illinois State Police at the rank of Master Sergeant. He worked in several work units - patrol, investigations, crash reconstruction and executive protection. In addition to supervising multiple platoons on patrol, Brad served as a Detail Leader for the Executive Protection of Governor Bruce Rauner and Governor Pritzker. Brad was in charge of security at the Governor’s Mansion, the Governor’s private residence and the Governor’s Office at the Illinois Capitol Building.
Brad held several leadership positions within the State Police, including an assignment as Assistant Bureau Chief in the Firearms Services Bureau - Concealed Carry Licensing.
Brad Beekman currently resides outside of Bushnell, IL in McDonough County, with his wife and children, where they own a small farm. He has his CDL and hauls grain for himself and other farmers. Brad works part-time in the accounting department of a local bank and serves as an elected member of the Bushnell-Prairie School Board. He is active in his church - assisting with youth group activities and youth mission trips. Brad also serves on the advisory board for Cole Street Coffee House (Church Affiliated).- A Voice for Law Enforcement - I am opposed to the SAFE-T Act and will support to have it repealed or amended. Our communities and our citizens deserved be safe.
- Advocate for Quality Education - I support school choice, Public Schools, Charter Schools and home schooling. Our schools deserve stable and reliable funding from state government, not local property taxes.
- Support Agriculture and Small Businesses - Input costs and market trades are unsustainable for farmers; regulations need lifted to support farmers growth. Small businesses are expected to compete with large corporations under the same rules; small businesses need to be lawfully defined apart from large corporations and provided support to be successful and profitable.
Illinois Energy costs are unsustainable. While energy costs are rising, Illinois is tearing down power plants. Illinois must financially invest in non-renewable energy such as nuclear and coal.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 5, 2026
