Former Quincy mayor Chuck Scholz announced he is dropping out of a race for state representative to battle a rare and life threatening liver disease. Scholz, a popular three-term mayor turned SimmonsCooper asbestos lawyer, was making a bid for the west central Illinois House seat vacated by longtime GOP representative Art Tenhouse. "Due to a serious health issue, I have formally withdrawn my candidacy for State Representative," Scholz wrote in a letter to supporters last Thursday. Scholz joined SimmonsCooper "of counsel" in May and was expected to garner ample financial support necessary to unseat Republican State Rep. Jil Tracy in November. She was appointed in July to fill the remainder of Tenhouse's term. Tracy, a Brown County attorney whose family owns Dot Foods, was sworn in to office the first week of July, replacing Tenhouse who took a position with the Illinois CPA Society.