Foster wins over Stella in 11th Congressional District race

Naperville Democrat Bill Foster will retain his 11th Congressional District seat after a convincing win over Republican challenger Nick Stella.

Foster returns to Congress for his fourth term as one of the most vocal suburban critics of the Trump presidency. Foster coasted to re-election with 140,538 votes, according to unofficial results from 467 of 468 precincts reporting in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties. Stella, a 49-year-old Darien cardiologist, received 80,355 votes.

Foster, 62, has stressed his experience as a particle physicist, sharply rebuking the Trump administration's appointments at the Environmental Protection Agency, regulatory rollbacks on coal plants and the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord.

"When you leave science as the basis for environmental protection, I think you're going off the tracks, and we've seen that again and again," Foster said during the campaign.

Foster celebrated with his supporters in Naperville, saying he was "very gratified" at his re-election.

In the next session of Congress, Foster vows to oppose cuts to scientific research and wants to seriously consider a Medicare buy-in for people in their 50s. He doesn't endorse a "Medicare for All" plan championed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and other Democrats to have a government-run system cover all Americans.

The Stella campaign made headlines across the pond for a social media ad with an old photo of a dilapidated street in an English village and the message "Help President Trump keep America on track and thriving."