Melissa Bean
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Melissa Bean (née Luburich; born January 22, 1962) is an American politician who served as the
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
for from 2005 to 2011. Bean is a member of the Democratic Party.


Early life, education, and business career

Bean attended Maine East High School before graduating from
Oakton Community College Oakton College is a public community college with campuses in Des Plaines, Illinois and Skokie, Illinois. It was established in 1969 in Morton Grove, Illinois and moved to its current locations in 1980. History Oakton College opened in 1969 as ...
with an associate degree in 1982 and from
Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...
in 2002 with a bachelor's degree. Prior to her election to Congress, she was president of a home-based business, Sales Resources Inc.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections

;2002 In 2002, Bean ran against 73-year-old 8th District Republican incumbent Phil Crane, a 33-year incumbent. Bean attacked Crane for taking numerous
lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...
-funded trips. She lost, but gained 43% of the vote. This was unexpected since she had received very little funding from the national party. The 8th had historically been the most Republican district in the
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
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. ;2004 Bean sought a rematch against Crane in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
. During the campaign, Bean raised almost as much money as Crane, mostly from individual donors, whereas Crane's money came mostly from
political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...
s. Her strong showing in 2002 led the national party to pump a large amount of money into her campaign. Bean was endorsed by the '' Daily Herald'', the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' and the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
''—the three major newspapers in her district. Faced with having to 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 George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
during the 2004 presidential election won the district with 56% of the vote, Bean was helped by US Senate candidate
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, 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.) ;2006 In 2006, Bean's seat was seen by Republicans as winnable due to her freshman status, the 8th district's historical Republican tilt, and George W. Bush' 2004 presidential vote margin. Most of the district's state representatives and state senators were Republicans. In much of the district, Bean was the only elected Democrat above the county level. Bean's reelection became a top priority of the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds and organizes races in ...
(DCCC). Bean faced the winner of a competitive six-candidate Republican primary, David McSweeney, in the general election. As in 2004, Bean was endorsed by all three of the major newspapers in her district. She defeated McSweeney, 51% to 44%. ;2008 Bean decisively defeated her 2008 opponent, businessman Steve Greenberg. 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 criticized her for accepting over $80,000 in campaign donations from them three years earlier. Bean defeated Greenberg, 60% to 40%. ;2010 Bean was challenged by Republican nominee
Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...
and
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
nominee Bill Scheurer. Although Bean was heavily favored, she lost to Walsh by only 291 votes. Bill Scheurer received 6,400 votes, which far exceeded Walsh's margin of victory. Bean was endorsed by the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', '' The Daily Herald'', and the '' Lake County News-Sun''.


Tenure

Bean was a member of the
Blue Dog Coalition The Blue Dog Coalition, commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats, is a Congressional caucus, caucus of Political moderate, moderate members from the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the United States House of ...
and the New Democrat Coalition. Bean was a member of the
Small Business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...
and
Financial Services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...
committees for her entire House tenure. Normally, House Democrats who serve on the Financial Services Committee cannot serve on any other committee. However, Bean was granted a waiver by the Democratic leadership. Bean's business and financial record includes opposing a bill that would have allowed for drilling for oil in Lake Michigan which is a large source of drinking water for her district. She has departed from the Democrats in voting in May 2006 to extend about $70 billion in tax cuts (she was one of just 15 Democrats to back the legislation), voting to permanently reduce the estate tax, and voting 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). In 2009, she voted for the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a Stimulus (economics), stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed ...
and the American Clean Energy and Security Act. She was a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act. On other issues, Bean 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." On social issues, Bean is
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their ...
and voted in support of
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, pai ...
, health care reform. Bean was one of four Democrats to vote against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, joining 155 of 159 Republicans, blocking the vote (which needed a 2/3 majority to pass, as it was brought to vote under a motion to suspend rules).


Committee assignments

* Committee on Financial Services ** Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises ** Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit * Committee on Small Business ** Subcommittee on Finance and Tax ** Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology ** Subcommittee on Regulations, Healthcare and Trade


Electoral history


After Congress

In 2011, Bean became President and CEO of the Executives Club of Chicago. After serving as chair of Midwest operations for
JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...
, she became CEO of Mesirow Wealth Advisors, part of Mesirow Financial, in 2019.


Personal life

Bean lives in unincorporated Palatine Township with her husband and two children. Their residence was in the 8th District when they moved there, but became part of the 10th District because of redistricting. They lived in an adjoining district for her entire time in Congress. Bean is
Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...
.


See also

* Women in the United States House of Representatives


References


External links

*
Profile
at
SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by prog ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bean, Melissa 1962 births Living people Female members of the United States House of Representatives People from Barrington, Illinois Politicians from Chicago Roosevelt University alumni American people of Serbian descent Women in Illinois politics Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 21st-century American women politicians Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives JPMorgan Chase people