Bean represents interest, not voters

Studying campaign contributions is a good place to start when determining who a candidate will represent when elected to office. When candidates receive money from Political Action Committees (PACs) in Washington, they generally are responsible for advocating the PAC, or Washington special interest, issues rather than those of their constituents. In the race for Illinois Congressional District 8, Democrat incumbent Melissa Bean has received $1,410,694 from PACs. This represents more than 53 percent of her campaign funding. Since the beginning of her congressional career, she has received a total $3,507,837 from PACs.

Bean's voting record reflects her reliance on Washington special interests. She has voted with her party 89.4 percent of the time. Bean's constituents are significantly more moderate than what her voting record would suggest. In fact, the 8th Congressional District was once considered the most Republican-leaning district in Illinois. If she was truly seeking to represent the people of the 8th District, her voting record would not reflect such party-line voting.

It is time to expect more from our representatives than catering to special interest groups and being more committed to their political party than the people they represent.

Christopher A. Iosello

Gurnee