Progressive challenges Foster Tuesday in race for Congress

Centrist four-term U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville and progressive Democrat Rachel Ventura of Joliet are vying for a nod in the 11th Congressional District.

During the campaign, the duo differed on the Green New Deal and other environmental issues, Medicare for All, the wealth gap and taxing the rich.

Ventura, a mathematician and environmentalist, said several environmental groups have met with Foster on the Green New Deal - a nonbinding congressional resolution outlining a plan for tackling climate change - and criticized him for refusing to sign it.

Ventura supports a national $15-an-hour minimum wage adjusted to inflation and a tax on the rich.

Foster, a veteran scientist doesn't believe a wealth tax is workable and supported access to subsidized education instead.

To set the Republican side of the November ballot, Krishna Bansal of Naperville and Rick Laib of Joliet are running for the GOP nomination.

The 11th District includes parts of DuPage, Kane and Will counties.