Bean rules out 2012 bid for 8th District seat

Former Congresswoman Melissa Bean of Barrington has ruled out another bid for the 8th District seat, according to a Washington, D.C., newspaper.

The Democrat served the northern Cook and Lake County district for three 2-year terms before losing in November to McHenry tea partyer Joe Walsh, running on the Republican ticket. The race was considered to be one of the biggest upsets across the country in an election fueled by an anti-incumbent fervor.

Roll Call newspaper reported Thursday that Bean has decided not to run again. Bean, reached by the Daily Herald on Thursday, said she was not available to talk.

Bean has been almost completely silent publicly since her concession in November.

In March, the Executive Club of Chicago announced she was taking a position as chief executive officer — a seemingly advantageous position for networking for an upcoming bid.

Answering a phone call Thursday, Bean said, “This is Melissa.” But after the reporter identified herself, Bean said, “I’m unavailable and at a board meeting. You’ll have to try me later,” hanging up the phone.

A former Bean employee said Bean’s move not to run was a “personal decision.”

Democratic Party officials have been in the process of recruiting several former House Democrats to run for their old seats in 2012. Batavia Democrat Bill Foster, who lost to Winfield Republican Randy Hultgren, has not ruled out a bid.

Bean told Roll Call that incoming Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida representative, was “not happy” when she told her about the decision.

Schultz and Bean were Washington, D.C., roommates when they served in Congress together.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee expects a number of people will want to run against Walsh, given what his record, a Democratic source said.