Endorsement: Stella for GOP nomination to Congress from Dist. 11
Two candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for the 11th Congressional District seat currently held by Democrat Bill Foster.
Dr. Nick Stella, 49, of Darien is a cardiologist who is making his second attempt at the GOP nomination. He lost a tight race two years ago to DuPage County Board member Tonia Khouri, who eventually lost in the general election to Foster.
But Stella says that experience spurred him to try again because of the positive reaction he said he received from voters.
Stella describes himself as a fiscal conservative and as moderate to conservative on social issues. He says Congress is not doing its job - be the members Republican, Democrat or independent. He is generally supportive, however, of the tax reform bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. He says the Affordable Care Act must be repealed and that health care needs to be fixed in many ways but not with one big reform bill. Chief among the changes he calls for is to allow insurance to be sold across state lines and to enact tort reform that would allow costs to come down. Immigration reform, he says, starts at the border. He says it doesn't matter how - be it a physical wall or more border agents - just that the country must tighten up border security.
Challenging Stella is Constant "Connor" VlaKancic, 74, of Naperville. Born in the district and raised in DeKalb County, VlaKancic says he understands best what district residents need. He has run for and lost several elections to Congress in both California and elsewhere in Illinois. His main issue is to remove primaries and allow all candidates to run in general elections.
It's clear, however, that Stella is the best chance for Republicans to win in the general election and he is endorsed.
The 11th District covers parts of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties, including Aurora, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Burr Ridge and Joliet.