Regan Deering
American politician
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Regan Deering is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives representing the 88th district in 2024.
Regan Deering | |
|---|---|
![](#/media/File:Regan_Deering_"Grit"_Portrait.jpg) Deering in 2022 | |
| Member of the Illinois Legislature from the 88th district | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Caulkins |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1974 or 1975 (age 50–51)[1] |
| Party | Republican |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Duke University (B.S.) DePaul University (M.A.) |
Early life
Deering grew up in Decatur, Illinois.[2] She graduated with a bachelor of science in biology from Duke University and a master of arts in education from DePaul University.[3] After graduating from college, Deering worked at the Shedd Aquarium and as a biology teacher at a private school in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.[4] She then ran a Huntington Learning Center franchise in Decatur.[4][5] Deering became politically active during the COVID-19 pandemic,[6] joining a lawsuit against the state's mask mandate in public schools.[2][7]
Political career
Deering filed to run for Illinois's 13th congressional district in January 2022.[8] She won the Republican Party primary,[9][10] but lost to Democratic Party candidate Nikki Budzinski in the general election with 43.4% of the vote.[11][12] She was elected to the Mount Zion School Board in April 2023.[7]
She ran for the 88th district of the Illinois House of Representatives in 2024.[13][14] She won the Republican Party primary in March 2024 with 68.6% of the vote.[15][16] She ran unopposed in the general election.[5] Shortly after taking office, she proposed a bill banning transgender girls from participating in girls sports, which failed to pass.[5][17] She filed for re-election in June 2025.[17]
Personal life
Deering's grandfather was Dwayne Andreas, former CEO and chairman of Archer Daniels Midland.[18][19] She has three children.[20] As of 2022, she lived in Decatur.[4]