Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
Our country and democracy are in crisis. I’m running for Congress to restore balance and faith in our government by bringing principled and mission-driven leadership to Illinois' 9th District.
Having grown up and raised my children here, I have deep roots in this community and I have a personal stake in its future. My experience as a survivor of gun violence profoundly shaped my path into public service. That defining moment drove me to become an FBI special agent and hostage negotiator, careers where I spent years protecting communities and navigating high-stakes situations that demanded both resolve and empathy. Later, I founded PAX Group, bringing those same skills to help organizations solve complex problems, enhance safety, and build resilient cultures.
Today, with three children serving in the U.S. Navy, my commitment to service is stronger than ever. I understand what it means to sacrifice for something larger than yourself, and I’m determined to protect our democracy by demanding accountability at every level of government; bring my lifetime of experience fighting gun violence to make real change happen; build a fair economy that works for everyone, where health care and child care are affordable; and hold this administration’s ICE accountable.
In Congress, I’ll bring courage, clarity, and collaboration to defend democracy, support working families, and restore faith in government. I won’t settle for partisan gridlock when real solutions are within reach.
Our communities deserve leaders who can meet this moment and get the job done. And I am that type of leader.
What do you think is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?
Instability, political and economic, is the most pressing challenge facing our district. Families feel less safe as costs rise and government systems feel unreliable. There is a pervasive anxiety that the ground is shifting faster than people can adapt.
Lower-income households and retirees worry about healthcare access and whether government will function reliably. Middle-income families are squeezed by rising costs. Younger workers are trying to plan futures in an economy where even traditionally stable jobs feel uncertain. Meanwhile, executive overreach, such as unilateral tariffs, enforcement without accountability, and erosion of institutional independence, creates real consequences for families and neighborhoods.
My first priority in Congress will be assembling a coalition of principled leaders to demand accountability at every level of government, starting with restoring the independence of Inspectors General and conducting rigorous oversight. I’ll leverage my experience as an FBI hostage negotiator to bring people together across divides and deliver results under pressure. Simultaneously, I will build bipartisan coalitions to enact evidence-based reforms to prevent gun violence. We need to protect children and families with action, not slogans.
To address economic instability, I’ll fight for policies that create sustainable growth, support small businesses, and expand workforce development by connecting research institutions to family-sustaining careers. I’ll work to lower costs by cracking down on price gouging, strengthening supply chains, and expanding healthcare coverage through a public option.
I’ve spent my career navigating crises where trust and accountability were non-negotiable. I’ll bring that same discipline to rebuilding a government that works for everyone.
What is one unique challenge your district faces and how do you plan to address it?
Illinois' 9th District is one of the most educated and economically diverse districts in the country as it’s home to world-class research institutions, major healthcare systems, and a highly skilled workforce. Yet we face a unique challenge: translating that intellectual and economic capital into broadly shared opportunity.
We have Northwestern and Loyola Universities, major medical centers, and growing innovation sectors, but too many residents, particularly younger workers and those without advanced degrees, struggle to access the family-sustaining careers these institutions help create. The pipeline from education to employment is fragmented.
In Congress, I will work to strengthen workforce development partnerships that connect our research hubs directly to job pipelines in healthcare, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing. This means expanding apprenticeships, supporting community college programs aligned with employer needs, and incentivizing companies to hire locally.
I’ll also push for federal investment in affordable housing near transit, so families can live where the jobs are without being priced out of their own communities.
Helping people in the district starts with serious, results-oriented representation. That means strong constituent services and active engagement so that people with real problems are heard clearly and consistently, not crowded out by lobbyists or bureaucracy.
The 9th District has extraordinary assets. The challenge is ensuring those assets work for everyone, and not just those already at the top. With focused, collaborative leadership, we can build an economy where talent and hard work translate into real security and upward mobility for all our neighbors.
What do you think federal immigration reform should look like?
Congress must pursue comprehensive immigration reform that recognizes the positive contributions immigrants bring to our country and economy. However, if an immigrant is here illegally and has committed a violent crime, they should be removed. But that is not what is happening and border enforcement is only one pillar of reform. Real solutions also require processes that protect people fleeing persecution while keeping communities safe. When systems fail families, workers, and businesses, then criminal networks and exploitative actors fill the void.
We need clear, workable policies that improve technology infrastructure to vet migrants and prevent entry by those with criminal histories; direct enforcement resources toward drug trafficking and criminal networks; fix the broken asylum system and reduce the massive backlog of pending cases; and create a pathway to earned legalization for law-abiding people who’ve built lives here, paid taxes, and established deep community ties — many of whom are parents of U.S. citizens or military veterans who have been here for decades.
Our economy relies on millions of immigrant workers who create jobs and pay taxes, including undocumented immigrants who contribute billions annually. Immigration policy should make people safer and institutions more credible, not terrorizing families through intimidation. Enforcement without accountability undermines legitimacy, weakens cooperation with law enforcement, and ultimately makes communities less safe.
I spent 21 years in the FBI and know what effective federal law enforcement looks like. In Congress, I’ll bring that same approach to immigration reform: targeted, restrained, accountable, and grounded in evidence-based decision-making — even under pressure.
How should Congress address the rising costs of health care?
For decades, healthcare premiums, deductibles, and prescription drug costs have grown faster than wages, quietly eroding pay increases for working families and those on fixed incomes. In some parts of our district, families pay more for healthcare than for rent or mortgage. No one should face financial ruin simply because they get sick.
The best way to reduce costs and improve access is by expanding coverage through a public option while strengthening existing systems. I support allowing Americans to buy into a public insurance plan that competes with private insurers: driving down costs, increasing transparency, and expanding choice.
My day-one priority is preserving ACA tax credits that help 26,000 9th District residents afford coverage, including gig workers, freelancers, and older job-seekers who don’t yet qualify for Medicare. Beyond that, I will work to:
- Empower Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and rein in pharmaceutical profiteering.
- Cap out-of-pocket expenses and protect people with pre-existing conditions.
- Drive greater efficiency and transparency throughout the healthcare system, including reforming pharmacy benefit managers.
- Strengthen enforcement of the No Surprises Act to end unexpected charges for emergency ambulance transportation.
- Reform aggressive medical debt collection practices that block families from stable housing.
These reforms would ease pressure on household budgets while strengthening Medicare’s long-term sustainability without cutting benefits or pushing more risk onto seniors. Americans deserve quality, affordable healthcare, and Congress must play a fundamental role in ensuring it.
What approach would you take on tax policy and what is your top priority?
My top priority is fairness: ensuring corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay what they owe while protecting working families from bearing a disproportionate tax burden.
The Trump tax changes sharply lowered corporate tax rates while widening the gap between profits at the top and public investment. Meanwhile, tariffs, which function as a regressive tax on consumers, have raised prices on groceries, housing, and everyday goods at the worst possible time. This imbalance is not sustainable.
I would reverse Trump-era tariffs and raise revenue where the money actually is: corporate profits. Taxes on profits are far less inflationary than taxes embedded in the price of everyday goods. A modest adjustment to corporate rates combined with closing loopholes that allow billionaires to avoid taxation through financial gamesmanship would generate revenue while restoring fairness and trust in the system.
Additionally, I do not support a broad wealth tax on unrealized gains. It raises serious concerns and could harm older homeowners whose wealth is tied to long-held property. But I would target reforms that address specific abuses, like tightening rules on loans used to avoid taxation.
I also support lifting the cap on income subject to Social Security payroll taxes so high earners contribute more, and support preserving ACA tax credits for working families.
A fair tax system, one that asks the wealthy to contribute while protecting those living on the margins, is more stable, more credible, and better for everyone.
Is the House currently using its oversight powers in the way it should be? What areas of government need more or less oversight?
Oversight is supposed to protect the public, not score political points. Over the past year, congressional energy has been consumed by partisan disputes while far less attention has gone toward holding powerful interests accountable. This Congress has been one of the least productive in decades, passing fewer bills than almost any session in the last 50 years. So no, the House is not using its oversight powers the way it should be.
Meanwhile, we’re seeing a dangerous pattern: unilateral executive actions without congressional authorization, the misuse of tariffs that raise costs for families, and the deliberate dismantling of accountability: firing Inspectors General, purging career prosecutors and FBI officials, and sidelining civil servants who upheld the rule of law. As a former FBI special agent, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when accountability structures are dismantled. I also know what it takes to rebuild them. The House must reclaim its constitutional authority, starting with reasserting its power of the purse.
- Effective oversight should focus on how federal policy affects working families:
- Holding Big Pharma accountable for skyrocketing prescription prices.
- Ensuring infrastructure and relief funds reach communities equitably.
- Scrutinizing corporate consolidation that drives up costs.
- Protecting Social Security, Medicare, and affordable healthcare.
- Following dark money in politics and demanding transparency.
Oversight should not be weaponized to intimidate public servants doing their jobs. Endless investigations into settled matters waste taxpayer dollars and distract from urgent issues.
Real oversight is about results, and results are what I will bring to Congress.
What is the most pressing foreign policy issue facing the country and what role should the House play in dealing with it?
China represents the most significant long-term foreign policy challenge facing the United States. Recognizing that threat was one of the few areas where the Trump administration was directionally correct. Where it failed was in execution.
After more than two decades in federal law enforcement and national security work, I learned that complex adversaries cannot be countered with chaotic, unilateral actions that weaken our own strategic position. China’s intellectual property theft, economic espionage, and state-driven trade abuses warranted decisive consequences. But the administration’s sweeping tariffs — imposed on allies as well as adversaries — collapsed any coherent strategy. Instead of concentrating pressure on Beijing, these tariffs diluted U.S. leverage, alienated partners critical to a unified response, and shifted costs onto American families already struggling with rising prices. Economic statecraft only works when it is targeted, coordinated, and disciplined; this approach was none of those.
The House must reclaim its constitutional role in foreign policy. That means reversing broad tariffs that harm American families while pursuing targeted, multilateral enforcement with allies. It means protecting our intelligence institutions rather than purging experienced professionals. And it means investing at home in research, manufacturing, and emerging technologies, so we can compete from a position of strength.
With three children serving in the U.S. Navy, I have a direct personal stake in getting this right. China will pursue its interests relentlessly, and our response must be strategic, disciplined, and built for the long term.
How do you view AI and the role the government should play in its regulation?
AI is one of the most transformative technologies of our time, and like every major innovation before it, it should be studied independently and governed with clear, evidence-based rules. The goal isn’t to slow progress; it’s to ensure AI strengthens our economy, protects Americans' safety and well-being, and safeguards our national security.
Congress should establish independent, expert-driven oversight. Regulations need to be grounded in rigorous research and real-world evidence, not shaped by lobbyists for profit-driven companies. Regulation should focus on high-risk uses of AI, require rigorous testing before public deployment of AI, transparency and disclosure around safety and security risks, algorithmic audits to prevent bias, strong data privacy protections, and clear accountability to ensure humans remain responsible for critical decisions that affect people’s lives, such as how the military has long done with its most powerful technologies.
At the same time, we must be careful not to stifle innovation. Smart regulation creates trust and certainty, which actually helps responsible businesses and researchers thrive. Overregulation driven by fear is just as dangerous as no regulation at all.
Finally, the United States must lead in this space. We cannot afford to outsource AI standards to other countries, as we’ve done in the past with issues like climate change. American values —fairness, accountability, and democratic oversight — should shape the global rules of the road for AI development and deployment.
That’s how we protect people, strengthen national security, and ensure this powerful technology serves the public good rather than undermining it.
How would you describe the current state of your party and what changes or new approaches would you like to see your party adopt?
The Democratic Party is strongest when it delivers tangible results for working families: lowering costs, protecting rights, improving public safety, and proving government can work.
I believe the party needs to refocus on a few core principles.
First, we must lead with competence and accountability. Voters are exhausted by chaos. They want leaders who show up, solve problems, and follow through. Democrats should be the party of disciplined, effective governance, not just resistance.
Second, we need to rebuild trust with voters who feel the party has stopped listening to them. That means talking about economic security, public safety, and opportunity in ways that connect with people’s real lives, and not abstract terms that feel disconnected from kitchen-table concerns.
Third, the party should welcome candidates with diverse professional backgrounds. More veterans, law enforcement professionals, small business owners, educators, and others who have served outside politics. That diversity strengthens our credibility and broadens our coalition.
Finally, we must clean up our own house. If we are going to fight corruption, we must have clean hands. That means getting dark money out of politics, ensuring transparent party processes, and ending practices that allow candidates to run simultaneously for U.S. Congress and state party positions to enable access to two campaign funds, as seen in the IL-9 race.
I have the real-world experience and unique skills as a hostage negotiator for this moment. I believe the Democratic Party should stand for integrity, compassion, and results and be open to new voices willing to serve.