Melissa Bean
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Melissa Bean
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Phil Crane |
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| Born | January 22, 1962 Chicago, Illinois |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Alan Bean |
| Residence | Palatine Township, Illinois |
| Alma mater | Roosevelt University |
| Occupation | sales executive |
| Religion | Serbian Orthodox |
Melissa Luburić Bean (born on January 22, 1962), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2004, representing Illinois's 8th congressional district. The district includes parts of the northwest Chicago suburbs of Hoffman Estates, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Gurnee, Palatine, Mundelein, Zion, Barrington, McHenry, and Woodstock.
Bean graduated from Roosevelt University and lives in unincorporated Palatine Township (in the nearby 10th congressional district) with her husband and two children. Prior to her election to Congress, she was president of a home-based business, Sales Resources Inc., which counted many Fortune 1000 companies as clients.[1]
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[edit] Congressional races
[edit] 2002
In 2002, Bean ran against 33-year 8th District Republican incumbent Phil Crane. She charged that Crane, once a leader of conservative forces in the House, had become a "do-nothing" Congressman. Her campaign focus was on lobbyist-funded trips that he had taken. She lost, but gained 43% of the vote. This was unexpected since she had received almost no funding from the national party. The 8th had historically been the most Republican district in the Chicago area, and by some accounts was the most Republican district in all of Illinois. Bean's performance was even more notable since the 8th had reportedly been redrawn to protect Crane.
[edit] 2004
Bean sought a rematch against Crane in the 2004. During the campaign, Bean raised almost as much money as Crane, mostly from individual donors, whereas Crane's money came mostly from political action committees. Her surprising performance in the previous election led the national party to pump a large amount of money into her campaign. Bean was endorsed by the Daily Herald, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times--the three major newspapers in her district.
Faced with having to actually campaign for what was previously thought to be a safe seat, the Republicans tried their best to keep Crane in office. However, on November 2, 2004, Bean defeated Crane with 52% of the vote. Although George W. Bush won the district with 56% of the vote — the largest margin of any district in the state — Bean was helped by US Senate candidate Barack Obama, who carried the district. She is the first Democrat to represent the district since its formation in 1935. (The district was numbered the 10th District from 1935 to 1949, the 13th from 1949 to 1973, the 12th from 1973 to 1993 and has been the 8th since 1993.)[1]
[edit] 2006
In 2006, Bean's seat was seen by Republicans as vulnerable to takeover due to her freshman status and the 8th district's historical Republican tilt at every level. As mentioned above, George W. Bush carried the district fairly easily in 2004, Most of the district's state representatives and state senators were Republicans. Bean's reelection was also a top priority of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
Bean faced the winner of a competitive six-candidate Republican primary, David McSweeney, in the 2006 general election. As in 2004, Bean was endorsed by all three of the major newspapers in her district. She defeated McSweeney, 51% to 44%.
[edit] 2008
Bean decisively defeated her 2008 opponent, businessman Steve Greenberg[2]. Although she was one of forty-four Democrats in the House who voted to condemn the MoveOn.org group for their controversial "General Betray-us" ad in 2007, he has criticized her for accepting over $80,000 in campaign donations from them three years earlier.[3] [4] [5] Bean defeated Greenberg, 60% to 40%.
[edit] Popular Culture
Melissa Bean's name was mentioned in an episode of NBC's, "Parks and Recreation".
[edit] Positions
Bean is a moderate Democrat, at least by Chicago-area Democratic standards. She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition. She occasionally votes with Republicans on economic issues; but, on social issues, tends to vote more with her party. She supported the majority Democratic position 89.2% of the time in the 110th Congress.
Bean has opposed President Bush's troop "surge" in Iraq. In a February 2006 speech given before the surge had been fully implemented, Bean said, "regrettably, this surge does not constitute a new course."
Among her departures from the Democrats was her vote in May 2006 to extend about $70 billion in tax cuts (she was one of just 15 Democrats to back the legislation), her vote to permanently reduce the estate tax, and her vote in favor of a presidential line-item veto. Similarly, she is one of only 15 Democrats to vote in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) [6].
Bean has received 100-percent ratings from NARAL-Pro Choice America, and opposed a bill that would may have allowed for drilling for oil in Lake Michigan which is a large source of drinking water for her district. [7]
In the 110th Congress, Bean served as the chairwoman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Tax, Finance and Exports. She is also a member of the Financial Services Committee. Normally, House Democrats who serve on the Financial Services Committee can't serve on any other committee. However, Bean was granted a waiver by the Democratic leadership.
Bean has been criticized for refusing to move into the 8th District.
[edit] Committee assignments
[edit] Electoral history
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
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| 2002 | Melissa L. Bean | 70,626 | 43% | Philip M. Crane | 95,275 | 57% | * | ||||||||
| 2004 | Melissa L. Bean | 139,792 | 52% | Philip M. Crane | 130,601 | 48% | |||||||||
| 2006 | Melissa L. Bean | 93,355 | 51% | David McSweeney | 80,720 | 44% | Bill Scheurer | Moderate | 8,502 | 5% | * | ||||
| 2008 | Melissa L. Bean | 146,563 | 60% | Steve Greenberg | 97,931 | 40% | |||||||||
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*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, Chuck Kelecic received 25 votes. In 2006, minor candidates received 817 votes.
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[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2004/candidates/21997/
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=338045
- ^ Dems who condemned MoveOn took its cash - Kenneth P. Vogel - Politico.com
- ^ FEC Disclosure Report Search Results
- ^ The Swamp: MoveOn dust-up hits Bean race
- ^ http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/07/il_8_freshman_bean_appears_str.html
- ^ GOP Sees Opportunity to Pick Up Seat in Chicago Suburbs Kelley Beaucar Vlahos. FOX News. August 20, 2006. Retrieved March 8, 2008
- ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congresswoman Melissa Bean official House site
- Re-Elect Congresswoman Melissa Bean official campaign site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
- Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
- Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Phil Crane |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 8th congressional district 2005–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
