What’s the top issue facing Illinois’ 6th Congressional District? Casten, challengers disagree

The candidates challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District seat differ with him about the top issue facing constituents.

Casten, of Downers Grove, believes climate change is the biggest problem we have to deal with. Democratic rival Joey Ruzevich and Republican challengers Niki Conforti and Skylar Duensing identify affordability as their top concern.

The 6th District includes parts of Cook and DuPage counties. The candidates discussed their legislative priorities in Daily Herald questionnaires ahead of Illinois’ March 17 primaries.

Casten called climate change an existential threat to humanity when he first ran in 2018, and it remains a priority for him.

A former energy industry entrepreneur who’s seeking a fifth term in Congress, Casten has pushed legislation to reduce consumer energy usage and costs, such as what he and other proponents dubbed the Cheap Energy Act. It would provide energy assistance to millions of households, restore energy-related tax credits that were revoked in 2025 and support home weatherization and energy-efficiency programs, among other objectives.

Casten said he’s also deeply concerned about defending the Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

“As long as we have a president in the White House who is denying all Americans their equal protection under the Constitution, who is grossly abusing the power of his office for self-enrichment and who is eviscerating our global standing in ways that jeopardize the post-WWII order, it behooves the Congress to act as a check on the executive (branch),” Casten said.

“Congressional oversight will come when Democrats take the majority,” Casten said. “We must also use our power of the purse to withhold funding for those who refuse to comply with ethics and the rule of law.” He cited the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and the U.S. Supreme Court as examples.

Ruzevich is among those who said the affordability of basic necessities such as health care, housing and child care is the most pressing issue for 6th District residents.

A software engineer and first-time candidate from Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood, Ruzevich blamed rising housing, health care, food and utility costs on the consolidation of corporate power, among other factors.

“We must break up monopolies in order to restore competition and keep down prices,” he said.

Ruzevich called for Congress to encourage housing construction and prevent corporations from buying entire neighborhoods. He also said the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is too low, and he supports codifying paid maternal leave and offering tax credits to affected companies.

Conforti, an energy consultant from Glen Ellyn who is making her third run at the 6th District seat, also cited affordability as a key issue. She blamed energy and health care expenses for the rising cost of living.

Cutting energy-industry regulations and limiting renewable energy options will be her priorities if elected, she said. Conforti also wants more transparency in medical billing and more competition in the health care marketplace.

“I intend to create legislation that helps to bend the cost curve and ease the pressure on those that live in the 6th District,” she said.

Duensing, a college student and conservative activist from Shorewood, said Illinois families are struggling to get by because taxes are too high. He pledged to implement federal tax cuts, cut wasteful government spending and promote American energy independence as ways to lower utility bills, create jobs and provide “immediate relief” for taxpayers.

Those and other policy changes will “increase the standard of living that Illinois families have worked hard for,” Duensing said.