Illinois — 8th District

Melissa Bean

Supports middle-class investments and affordability

Bean focuses on restoring economic security for middle-class families by addressing everyday living costs in housing, healthcare, and education. She champions job training, apprenticeship programs, and empowering workers and small business owners to boost wages.

• Target costs in housing, healthcare, energy, and education to relieve pressure on working families.
• Invest in workforce training, apprenticeships, and public education tied to high-paying jobs.
• Highlight legislative background voting for federal economic stimulus and relief programs.

“The American Dream should be within reach for every family in the 8th District—not just the wealthy or well-connected.”

Jennifer Davis

Supports federal tax cuts and deregulation

Davis identifies affordability as the primary challenge facing district residents, blaming state and municipal leaders for high taxes. She advocates cutting federal taxes on working families and rolling back regulations to lower the overall cost of living.

• Cut federal taxes on working families to leave more money in household budgets.
• Ease regulations that burden local businesses and drive up consumer prices.
• Address state and local tax burdens driving residents and families out of Illinois.

“The top issue in Illinois’ 8th District is affordability. Families, young adults, and seniors are struggling to afford basics amid rising costs.”

“As your Congresswoman, I’ll make life affordable: cutting federal taxes on working families, easing regulations that hurt small businesses and entrepreneurs, and passing policies that lower living costs—so you keep more of your money and can thrive.”

Melissa Bean

Supports capital access and targeted deregulation

Bean positions small businesses as the central engine of the local economy. Drawing on her private-sector background, she advocates expanding access to affordable capital while maintaining key consumer protections.

• Expand access to affordable capital for small business growth and startups.
• Streamline unnecessary red tape while preserving robust consumer protections.
• Promote local economic development and entrepreneurship across the district.

“With real business experience, Melissa Bean understands what it takes to grow a business, meet payroll, and manage risk responsibly.”

Jennifer Davis

Supports tax relief and regulatory reduction

Davis draws on her experience co-founding software firm Davisware to campaign on small business relief. She proposes slashing taxes, removing regulatory hurdles, and building community partnerships to reduce small business failure rates.

• Cut excessive taxes and streamline bureaucratic regulations for entrepreneurs.
• Unlock local economic growth using targeted tax incentives and community partnerships.
• Leverage personal background as a tech founder who built a global business in the district.

“Small businesses employ 44% of Illinois’ workforce but struggle with high taxes, red tape, and limited capital—why 8 in 10 fail.”

“We must end Over-taxation, crippling regulations, and inflation which is suffocating small businesses, and causing Main Street America to slowly close.”

Melissa Bean

Supports comprehensive reform and ICE oversight

Bean opposes mass deportations and family separations, advocating severe oversight of federal enforcement agencies like ICE. She supports comprehensive reform with a pathway to citizenship and voted for the DREAM Act.

• Call for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's firing or formal removal from office.
• Mandate body cameras for ICE agents and allow local police to intervene or arrest federal agents acting outside authority.
• Support comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship and protect DREAMers.

“Americans feel unsafe when masked ICE agents are deployed into their neighborhoods unnecessarily.”

“Melissa Bean is leading on the issue by calling for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s firing or formal removal from office.”

Jennifer Davis

Supports border security and legal pathway reform

Davis emphasizes border enforcement through advanced technology and enforcing current laws. She supports deporting criminal aliens while streamlining legal immigration pathways for skilled workers.

• Deploy advanced technology to secure physical borders and enforce current immigration statutes.
• Streamline legal immigration pathways to make them faster, clearer, and fairer for skilled workers.
• Deport criminal aliens and depoliticize immigration enforcement.

“Jennifer supports common-sense immigration reform that secures our borders with advanced technology, enforces existing laws, and prioritizes legal immigration for skilled workers who help grow—not replace—American jobs.”

“Illegal immigration costs Illinois taxpayers billions!”

Melissa Bean

Supports public education funding and opposes vouchers

Bean champions public education by advocating full funding for the U.S. Department of Education and special education programs. She strongly opposes voucher programs that redirect public funds to private institutions.

• Restore and fully fund the U.S. Department of Education and community school programs.
• Fully fund IDEA and expand federal support for special education staff and resources.
• Oppose school voucher initiatives that redirect public taxpayer funds away from public schools.

“Stand with teachers and public schools by opposing vouchers that drain our schools of tax dollars”

“Fight to restore the U.S. Department of Education and the important funding it provides our community schools.”

Jennifer Davis

Supports parental rights and school choice options

Davis focuses on addressing low state proficiency scores in reading and math by championing parental involvement and expanding school choice options. She advocates directing funding directly to learning and vocational programs.

• Position parents as primary educators and central partners in school policy.
• Support diverse educational models including public, charter, private, and homeschooling.
• Reduce administrative overhead to redirect funding into reading, math, STEM, and vocational partnerships.

“Put parents back in the driver’s seat as their children’s first educators, with schools as partners—not substitutes.”

“She supports a range of educational options—public, charter, private, or home schools—so families can choose what works best for their children.”

Melissa Bean

Supports AI leadership and youth online safety

Bean advocates maintaining U.S. competitiveness in artificial intelligence through research investments while setting regulatory guardrails. She also prioritizes protecting children online through strict privacy rules and phone bans in schools.

• Invest in AI research, workforce development, and public-private innovation partnerships.
• Establish rules for responsible AI adoption that preserve safety without hindering innovation.
• Hold tech companies accountable for child privacy and support classroom phone bans during school hours.

“Champion U.S. leadership in AI by investing in research, workforce development, and public-private partnerships”

“Strengthen protections for children’s privacy and mental health online”

Jennifer Davis

Supports creating a national Digital Dome shield

Davis proposes creating a national "Digital Dome" to defend against daily cyberattacks from foreign adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran. She aims to protect families, children, and infrastructure from digital threats without expanding government surveillance.

• Pass legislation establishing a national Digital Dome shield to defend devices, infrastructure, and military networks.
• Expand federal national defense definitions to protect families and seniors from cyber threats and scammers.
• Defend against online predators and foreign manipulation without instituting government surveillance.

“I will partner with the President, Congress, and innovators to pass laws creating a Digital Dome—a national shield expanding defense to protect families, communities, and our military from cyberattacks, online predators, and manipulation.”

“Foreign adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran attack our homes daily through phones and computers—stealing data, spying on families, threatening our kids and way of life.”

Melissa Bean

Supports clean energy deployment and emissions reductions

Bean views climate change as an urgent national priority, advocating federal investments in clean energy infrastructure and strict pollution standards. She highlights her legislative record supporting science-based environmental protections.

• Invest in clean energy technology, infrastructure, and grid modernization to lower emissions.
• Curb super-pollutants and hold industrial polluters accountable to safeguard air and water quality.
• Highlight past voting record supporting environmental initiatives like Cap and Trade.

“Invest and advance efforts that cut emissions, scale clean energy technology and deployment, and expand energy-efficient infrastructure”

Jennifer Davis

Supports energy independence through oil, gas, and renewables

Davis links domestic energy expansion directly to national security and lower consumer costs. She advocates expanding American oil, natural gas, and renewable energy production to eliminate reliance on foreign adversaries.

• Expand domestic production of oil, natural gas, and renewables.
• Achieve total U.S. energy independence to eliminate reliance on adversarial nations.
• Lower gas prices for Illinois drivers by increasing domestic fuel supplies.

“She’ll also drive energy independence by expanding U.S. oil, gas, and renewables, cutting reliance on adversaries, strengthening our economy, and saving Illinois families at the pump.”

Melissa Bean

Supports civil liberties and law enforcement accountability

Bean's public safety platform emphasizes upholding constitutional rights and enforcing accountability for federal law enforcement agents. She supports local police authority when federal agents exceed their jurisdiction.

• Empower local police departments to enforce safety when federal agents exceed legal authority.
• Defend civil liberties, equal rights, and the rule of law across all public enforcement actions.
• Reject political violence and ensure federal agencies remain transparent.

“When ICE or CBP act outside of their scope of authority, local police should have the ability to order them to cease and desist or arrest them, in the interest of safety.”

Jennifer Davis

Supports law enforcement support and strict enforcement

Davis criticizes state and municipal leaders for rising violent crime and illicit drug proliferation. She campaigns on enforcing existing criminal statutes and providing local police departments with modern equipment and advanced training.

• Enforce existing criminal laws and restore traditional law enforcement principles.
• Provide police departments with advanced training, modern equipment, and enhanced communications tools.
• Target violent crime spikes and fentanyl trafficking in local communities.

“Jennifer will restore the rule of law, enforce existing laws, and bring back the safety and vibrancy every community deserves.”

“We don’t need higher taxes—we need accountability to the laws already on the books and smarter use of resources.”

Melissa Bean

Supports voting rights tech and campaign finance reform

Bean advocates reforms to rebuild trust in democratic elections, proposing technology that allows voters to verify their ballot was counted correctly. She supports campaign finance transparency, overturning Citizens United, and stricter ethics rules.

• Introduce "My Vote's Been Counted" legislation enabling voters to verify accurately recorded votes after elections.
• Require full spending disclosure to eliminate dark money and work to overturn Citizens United.
• Introduce the "Congressional Accountability Bill" to restrict member promotional use of taxpayer-funded sites.

“Strengthen elections security by introducing her “My Vote’s Been Counted” legislation to incorporate technology solutions that let voters ensure, after the fact, that their vote has been counted accurately, and was not lost or subject to fraud.”

Jennifer Davis

Supports government fiscal accountability

Davis advocates making government accountable, fiscally responsible, and focused on serving citizens rather than political insiders.

• Demand fiscal discipline and government spending accountability.
• Position herself as a political outsider bringing business discipline to Washington.

“Jennifer brings real-world perspective, strong principles, and the courage to stand up for families, small businesses, and our constitutional freedoms.”

Melissa Bean

Supports federal abortion rights and codifying Roe

Bean treats reproductive freedom as a non-negotiable right, advocating the federal codification of Roe v. Wade. She pledges to protect access to contraception, abortion, and IVF while opposing federal bans or restrictions on lower-income women.

• Codify Roe v. Wade protections into federal law.
• Defend nationwide access to abortion services, contraception, and IVF care.
• Oppose federal abortion bans and oppose Hyde Amendment restrictions on low-income healthcare.

“Melissa understands that reproductive freedom is a non-negotiable fundamental right that should not be interfered with by any government entities.”

“Codifying the rights and protection afforded under Roe v. Wade once and for all”

Melissa Bean

Supports strengthening ACA and Medicare negotiations

Bean highlights her congressional vote for the Affordable Care Act and advocates protecting pre-existing condition protections. She supports expanding Medicare direct drug price negotiations and extending health insurance tax credits.

• Protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act and pre-existing condition protections.
• Extend ACA tax credits that lower healthcare premiums for local district families.
• Allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices directly and reverse Medicaid cuts.

“As a member of Congress, Melissa Bean proudly voted for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).”

“Lower overall health care costs by pursuing reforms throughout the system and continue to allow Medicare to negotiate directly to lower prescription drug prices.”

Melissa Bean

Supports union rights and profit-sharing incentives

Bean advocates strong protections for organized labor, collective bargaining, and workplace safety. She promotes tax incentives for employer pension plans and profit-sharing models to address economic inequality.

• Protect workers' rights to organize and engage in collective bargaining.
• Incentivize employer pension plans and profit-sharing programs to build worker security.
• Strengthen workplace safety regulations and fair labor standards enforcement.

“Workers built the middle class—and protecting workers is essential to rebuilding it.”

Melissa Bean

Supports marriage equality and anti-discrimination laws

Bean supports federal non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ individuals across housing, employment, and healthcare. She points to her congressional record voting against DOMA and voting to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'

• Defend constitutional protections for marriage equality.
• Protect equal treatment under law in housing, employment, and healthcare access.
• Highlight past votes ending 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and opposing the Defense of Marriage Act.

“Melissa Bean has backed that belief with action, voting to end “Don’t Ask, Don't Tell” so service members could serve openly, voting against the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which would have outlawed marriage equality.”

Melissa Bean

Supports pro-innovation crypto regulatory framework

Bean advocates regulatory clarity for blockchain and digital assets to keep financial technology jobs in the United States while ensuring consumer trust and market protection.

• Establish pro-innovation regulatory frameworks providing market certainty.
• Promote U.S.-based blockchain innovation to retain domestic talent and capital.
• Expand access to modern digital financial tools to lower consumer transaction costs.

“Support clear, pro-innovation regulatory frameworks that provide certainty and protect consumers”