Where is Melissa Bean these days?

When Melissa Bean ran for Congress in 2004, she did so on the message that Phil Crane was not willing to debate her and that he was out of touch with the people in the 8th Congressional District.

Two years later, in her race against David McSweeney, there weren't many debates between the two.

History has a tendency to repeat itself. Here we are in 2008 in another election and Congresswoman Bean has been in hiding from Republican Steve Greenberg.

I understand that members of Congress have had a tough few weeks in Washington working on the bailout. Bean voted for the bailout.

Congress is on recess and we still haven't heard from Bean on the most important issues facing our district.

She has had time to travel to South Carolina on behalf of Sen. Obama and Denver for the convention, but she hasn't had time to hold a town-hall meeting with the people of the 8th District.

Bean has only begun to take the stage to explain to the voters her agenda for Washington, with less than two weeks until Election Day.

Greenberg has been doing this since last year. He has gone door-to-door all over this district spreading his message that Washington has forgotten who the customer is.

When Todd Stroger and the Democrats raised the sales tax in Cook County, Greenberg was there to fight for working families and businesses in Cook County.

Where was Bean? She was not only silent, but by her own admission, didn't know what was happening in Cook County. We deserve better.

Greenberg has been very accessible. He is exactly the kind of leadership we need in Washington now more than ever before.

So I am asking the people of the 8th District to put party aside and support Greenberg for U.S. Congress.

Ryan Melchin

Hoffman Estates