Robert Gorman, of Frankfort, has decided not to run for the office of U.S. Congressman.

Gorman’s withdrawal from the race means that State Sen. Debbie Halvorson will likely face no competition in the Feb. 5 Democratic primary.

Halvorson is vying for the 11th District congressional seat now held by U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris. Weller decided recently not to seek re-election.

Not only has Gorman withdrawn from the race, but he has decided to endorse Halvorson.

Gorman said he spoke with her recently and learned that her views were not so far from his own. He considers her to be a moderate Democrat with a record in the Senate as a fiscal conservative, while still having progressive social ideas.

He said he initially entered the race because he was "disgusted and embarrassed to have Jerry Weller as my congressman."

Gorman said he wasn’t asked to withdraw from the race by either Halvorson or the Democratic Party. He said it was his idea. The cost of running was also a factor. He said he wasn’t going to spend more than $100,000 of his own money.

Of Halvorson, Gorman said virtually everyone he knows, knows her name and the fact that she is a local politician.

"As I thought about those two items (the cost and the name recognition), I concluded that I would have three months to match her name recognition in my own area.

"It didn’t make sense to continue," he concluded.

A Republican from Utica in LaSalle County has recently announced his intention to run for the U.S. Congress in the 11th district.

Asian-American Jimmy Lee was born in Chicago. He attended college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he earned a degree in economics.

He has also lived in Washington, D.C. where he served for a time as executive director of the White House Initiative for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

He worked in the Illinois governor’s office during the George Ryan administration. And he worked on Jim Ryan’s campaign for governor.

Lee will face several other candidates in the Feb. 5 Republican primary, including New Lenox Mayor Tim Balderman who is also the Chicago Ridge Police Chief, and Jason King of Normal.

Jason Wallace, also of Normal is running, representing the Green Party.