2022 Voter Guide

Candidate Q&A

Why are you running?

I am running for office to combat the climate crisis, protect a woman’s right to choose, and lower costs for families - like prescription drugs and child care.

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

I firmly believe there is more that unites us than divides us. Most Americans want to pay less for prescription medication and pass a livable planet on to our kids. Most Americans want women to be able to make their own health care decisions.

But, we too often confuse debates in Congress with public disagreement. Our founders created a government with one body that was intentionally representative (the House) one that was intentionally not representative (the Senate) and one that was a mix (the Presidency, and the structure of the electoral college).

Gerrymandering and the nature of our campaign finance system have made the House less representative than it should be, but nonetheless it remains true that it is much easier to pass legislation that is desired and supported through the House than the Senate, and far too common for the winner of the Presidential popular vote to lose the electoral college.

I believe there’s a lot of good that this office has done. I was proud to pass, and have President Biden sign into law, legislation to lower the carbon footprint of the Department of Defense. In the House, we’ve passed legislation to cap the cost of insulin, cut child care costs, and tackle the gun violence epidemic. But, if we want to get these bills through the Senate, we need more Members of Congress ready and willing to put “we” above “me”.

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 dedicated much of my public time to explaining to the public why climate change is both an existential threat but addressing climate change is a massive economic opportunity - because the sooner we realize that as a society, the sooner we will stop wasting any more time that we do not have.

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

During my time in office, I’ve hosted over 50 town halls to give constituents the opportunity to ask me about the decisions I’ve made. Town halls provide constituents with a way to hold me accountable, learn my values, and hear why I vote the way I do. More than anything, they ensure I am personally responsive to those I represent.

I am also incredibly proud of the services my office has been able to provide to our constituents. We’ve worked to get passports expedited, IRS checks processed, and even a Purple Heart return to a veteran. On top of that, we’ve been able to return over $3,000,000 to constituents through our casework program.