2022 General Election Voter Guide

Candidate Q&A

Why are you running?

I ran for this office in 2018 on the premise that there's an awful lot more that unites us than divides us, and yet too many of our elected officials practice the politics of division. And to be blunt, my work isn’t done. Clean energy is cheap energy, but too much of our debate still seeks to pit environmentalists against the business community. America succeeds when we all succeed and yet too many still seek to suppress the potential of women, minorities and the LGBT community. Giving every American access to healthcare lowers burdens on emergency rooms and expensive care to all of our benefit. We know these things are true - but we need more leaders to explain, persuade and legislate accordingly. In short, we need leaders who are willing to lead. That’s why I’m running.

What does this office do well, and what needs fixing?

I love the House of Representatives.  It is the only part of our government that is truly representative. You can’t become a member without winning an election and (with a few exceptions for smaller states) we all represent the same number of people. Presidents can lose the popular vote but win the electoral college. Senators representing Wyoming’s 570,000 residents have just as much say as Senators representing 12 million people in Illinois.  Vice Presidents can become President. Senators can be appointed. But the House is representative, and that’s why on so many issues — from gun control to women’s health to voting rights — it is the only body in Congress that consistently reflects the will of the American people.

Having a government that reflects the will of the American people on the other hand requires an overhaul of our other minoritarian, non-representative structures. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Dobbs case, or the Senate’s failure to even bring the voting rights act up for a vote serve to diminish American’s trust in their government. Preserving the “consent of the governed” requires at a minimum a serious overhaul of Senate filibuster rules and Supreme Court oversight.

But the House is not without its faults. Gerrymandering and dark money have elevated the power and influence of minoritarian influences. The seniority system has tended to concentrate power among members from the safest seats —e.g., those who’s political opinions skew towards the base of their parties, rather than the unum of our pluribus. Finally, the legislative branch has always been too willing to outsource responsibility to the executive branch, which has had the effect of making us  much less “coequal” than our founders intended. The entire budget for the legislative branch is less than 20% of the budget for the postal service — and less than 0.2% of the total federal budget. We should more jealously guard the scope and power of the legislative branch if we are to preserve our founders’ intent.

What is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?

I have dedicated my entire life to combatting the greatest crisis our planet faces — climate change. Whether it was as a scientist working in a lab to create sustainable fuel, as an entrepreneur helping companies transition to renewable energy, or as a Member of Congress, climate change has been, and always will be, my top issue.

From 2010 to 2020, Illinois experienced 48 extreme weather events, costing up to $50 billion in damages. This damage has been caused in part from the climate crisis, but also due to the poor quality of our infrastructure. Moreover, we are seeing a huge restructuring of our financial system, caused both by the economic losses from a changing climate and the flood of money away from energy extractive regions to energy consumers.

I have written and passed legislation to better quantify the risks of climate change to our financial system, to fund R&D programs in the hard-to-decarbonize industries and energy storage sector and to accelerate the deployment of cleaner, cheaper technologies that still provide us with all the useful energy our economy requires. I have also worked extensively on electric sector regulation to help transition our grid from one that is dominated by baseload, fossil-fueled generation to one that has a mix of remote, intermittent renewables, baseload (but often remotely sited) fossil-free power sources like nuclear and geothermal and increased use of load-sited demand response measures. These changes are coming faster than the public appreciates — but if we don’t make the regulatory reforms necessary we may end up compromising system reliability.

What specific steps would you take to ensure your office is accessible and responsive to your constituents?

My predecessor in this office had held 1 in-person town hall during the prior 10 years. I made a promise to be public and available and have held almost 60 town halls since being elected in 2018, including doing 6 in a single day to make sure we touched every corner of the district.  Prior to COVID, those were almost entirely in person but when public health concerns made that impossible we shifted to a mix of telephone and virtual events. This year, we have had 16 events: 5 in person, 5 online and 6 via telephone and expect we will continue with that mix, since it allows us to connect with people who may have mobility issues and/or bring in other experts on-line who would not be able to participate in person. I have found value in every single one - both to understand constituent concerns and needs and to keep the community aware of our work in Washington. They are the purest distillation of democracy in action, and I love doing them. 

In addition, I am proud of the work my staff and I have done helping our constituents. We work with communities to help steer resources to the district, such as funding we were able to provide for after-school support activities at a Boys & Girls Club in Elgin. We work with constituents to get social security checks expedited, to address immigration issues, to help veterans secure missing benefits (and in one case to replace a lost Purple Heart medal to a WWII veteran just a few years before he died.) In total, our casework team has been able to return over $4,000,000 to constituents. Our doors are open.