In January 2024, Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ editors emailed a questionnaire to candidates in contested Illinois March 19 primary races for Congress, requesting biographical information as well as their views on issues ranging from the Israel-Hamas conflict and the migrant crisis to the country’s economy. Answers have been lightly edited for typos, minor grammar and consistency in styling, but not for content or length. Age was calculated as of Feb. 6, 2024.
Bill Foster: I support Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas terrorism and to make sure Hamas can never again inflict the barbaric violence on innocent Israeli civilians that we witnessed on October 7. Hamas must immediately release every innocent hostage in their custody.
While I support Israel in its self-defense, I have expressed deep concerns with how the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu has conducted the war in Gaza. The mounting and unnecessary civilian death toll and worsening humanitarian crisis are unacceptable. They are not in accord with American principles or interests; nor do they make Israel safer. Maintaining the current strategy also jeopardizes efforts to permanently dismantle Hamas and secure the release of all hostages.
I urge President Biden to continue using America’s leverage to urge the Israeli government to pursue a long-term peace founded upon a sustainable two-state solution that respects international law and the interests of both the Israeli and Palestinian people.
Bill Foster: The United States has a moral obligation to assist Ukraine in its self defense against Putin’s unjust invasion. This is especially true as Ukraine agreed to turn over their nuclear weapons in the 1990s in return for a guarantee that their territorial sovereignty would be defended by the international community. If we don’t adhere to that agreement, it would set a dangerous precedent in our efforts to reduce the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Furthermore, allowing Putin to illegally annex Ukraine will endanger our allies in eastern Europe and will lead to further confrontation. America and our allies in NATO should continue to support Ukraine as it defends its democracy.
Bill Foster: The biggest threat to our democracy is the loss of faith in free and fair elections — people must be able to exercise their right to vote and know that their vote will be counted and that the outcome of the election will be respected.
There is nothing more important to our democracy than protecting the right to vote. I am proud that while states across the country are trying to make it harder to vote, Illinois is leading by example — passing measures to protect voting rights and make it easier for citizens to cast their vote. This includes same day voter registration, early voting, and mail-in voting. I was proud to vote for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act which would restore protections of the Voting Rights Act and strengthen the ability for the federal government to intervene in instances of voter discrimination or disenfranchisement.
What occurred at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was an attack on our democracy and our cherished tradition of a peaceful transfer of power. It was an attempt by a mob to overturn a democratic election, done while President Trump refused to do anything to try and stop it. There is no legitimate evidence of widespread fraud during the 2020 presidential election. President Trump had multiple opportunities in court to present evidence of his claims, and in each instance the courts found no justification for overturning the results of our free and fair election. President Trump lost fair and square, but instead of accepting the results, he spent his remaining time in office casting doubts on the integrity of our democratic system and our elections.
I support the Electoral Count Modernization Act and applaud the bipartisan effort in the Senate to get it passed so that our peaceful transfer of power — a hallmark of our democracy — is protected, and that nothing like what we saw on Jan. 6, 2021 happens again.
Bill Foster: I have led my congressional colleagues from the Chicagoland area in calling on the Biden administration to provide resources to communities that are managing migrant arrivals as a result of this partisan stunt by the governor of Texas. It is appalling that human beings are being used as pawns — being sent on buses with little regard for their own safety. The federal government has a duty to provide our communities with the resources needed to manage this situation in a humane manner.
Bill Foster: Our immigration system is broken and Congress needs to address it by passing comprehensive immigration reform. We had an opportunity to do just that back in 2013, but then-Speaker John Boehner refused to allow a vote on bipartisan legislation that passed the Senate and would have passed a vote in the House vote if he would have brought it up. That 2013 legislation provided a strict but fair pathway to citizenship for those undocumented residents who were able to pay a modest fine, pay back taxes, and pass a criminal background check.
It’s been disheartening to see far-right Republicans, including Donald Trump, call for Congress to do nothing to address our broken immigration system because they’d rather use it to score political points. I hope that serious Republicans will reject this cynicism and work with Democrats to finally get this done.
Bill Foster: Our federal deficit exploded following President Trump’s tax cuts for the rich, which already added over a trillion dollars to our national debt. I’m proud to support measures that make sure billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes, which will not only bring down our nation’s deficit but ensure our economy works for everyone, not just those at the top. To that end, I was proud to support the Inflation Reduction Act, which will erase $300 billion from our nation’s debt by requiring corporations to pay at least 15% in taxes and increase enforcement against wealthy tax cheats.
I was also proud to support measures to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, and I will continue to support broadening the scope of this policy to include more and more drugs. Not only would this lower the prices everyday Americans are paying for their medications, but it would save the government $322 billion over the next decade. As our population ages, keeping these costs fair will be more and more important to both the government’s and everyday Americans’ budgets.
Health care spending including Medicare and Medicaid is a major driver of our long-term budget deficits, and diabetes and obesity-related costs represent over one-third of those costs. This Congress I am working to push for the widespread and low-cost distribution of semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and related anti-obesity drugs. These medications have shown incredible promise in helping obese Americans lose weight and reduce related health problems — a problem that has puzzled doctors for decades. If we succeed at leveraging our ability to negotiate price reductions on these drugs, they could provide an extraordinary cost-saving to Medicare and Medicaid as fewer Americans will face serious, expensive obesity-related health conditions like Type II Diabetes.
Bill Foster: Inflation is now hovering around 3%, down significantly from the 9% late in the COVID pandemic, and continuing to fall. When inflation was at its peak I supported policies, like the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act, which would shore up the supply chain issues that were causing goods to become so expensive. During that time, we passed historic legislation to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, and cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors at $2000/year. Despite falling inflation, however, many families are still feeling the pain from the rapidly rising costs over the past few years. I believe the best way to address this is by raising workers’ wages and by helping low- and middle-income families afford life’s essentials. To that end, I’m proud to support the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which will ensure every worker has the right to form a union, and the Raise the Wage Act, to gradually raise the minimum wage and get rid of the lower minimum wages for tipped workers and people with disabilities. The research is clear that increased unionization and higher minimum wages raise wages for everyone, unionized or not, near the minimum wage or not. To help families afford essential goods and services, I also support policies to restore the Child Tax Credit expansion; subsidize unaffordable child care costs; expand SNAP benefits and make them more flexible; build more affordable housing; bring down the cost of college and student loans; and strengthen the ACA to make health care more affordable, especially prescription drugs; among other policies.
Bill Foster: Currently, the most pressing issue facing people in my district is the continued economic recovery from the COVID pandemic. In addition to the work of the Federal Reserve to tame inflation via monetary policy, the United States is setting an example for the entire world for how to address the issue of rising costs. One of the biggest drivers of this current bout of inflation has been deficiencies in our supply chains, specifically our supply of semiconductor chips, food, and durable consumer goods. I was proud to vote in favor of the CHIPS and Science Act to directly address our supply chain issues by boosting American domestic manufacturing and production of semiconductor chips.
As someone who started and grew a successful domestic high-tech manufacturing business during a time of inflation, I know how important it is to strengthen our supply chains and reduce our dependence on foreign manufacturing. I was proud that my company kept our manufacturing jobs right here in the Midwest rather than outsourcing to China, and thanks to bold investments like the CHIPS and Science Act, more companies are focusing manufacturing investments here in the United States which will help us build a stronger and more resilient supply chain.
I’ve also been proud to vote for measures to reduce costs for hardworking families, including legislation to cap the cost of insulin, let Medicare negotiate for lower prescription drug prices, lower the cost of health insurance, and hold multinational gas companies accountable for gouging American consumers at the pump.
Bill Foster: After a successful career in both business and science, I succumbed to my family’s recessive gene of late-onset political activism, and thinking about how I could best serve my fellow citizens became very important to me. Answering that question is why I decided to leave my job at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory to run for office, and it keeps me motivated to serve in public office.
I am the only Ph.D. physicist in Congress, and I bring with me a wealth of experience gained from a career that required prioritizing research and scientific evidence to draw conclusions and make recommendations — something we need much more of in Washington.
The American people are facing a lot of challenges right now: from a right-wing assault on reproductive freedom to gun violence to the challenges posed by advances in AI and the need to better protect our climate for future generations. To tackle these issues, we need serious leaders who lead with science and a deep understanding of the policies that are debated in Washington. I’m proud of how I’ve approached my responsibilities to my constituents and how I’ve always fought to make sure science is prioritized in Congress.
