Representative Melissa L. Bean

Melissa Bean (née Luburich; born January 22, 1962) is an American politician and business executive who served as the U.S. representative for Illinois’s 8th congressional district from January 3, 2005, to January 3, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented a historically Republican-leaning district for three consecutive terms and was the first Democrat to hold the seat since the district’s formation in 1935. Bean is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition. In September 2025, she announced her intention to run again for Illinois’s 8th congressional district, which is being vacated by fellow Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is running for the U.S. Senate, and she is currently a candidate in the 2026 U.S. House election in that district.

Bean grew up in a Serbian-American family in the Chicago suburbs, where her father worked as an engineer. She attended Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois, and went on to Oakton Community College, from which she earned an associate degree in 1982. While working and raising a family, she later completed her bachelor’s degree at Roosevelt University in Chicago in 2002. Bean is Serbian Orthodox, and her ethnic and family background in the Chicago area formed an early connection to the diverse suburban communities she would later represent in Congress.

Before entering elective office, Bean built a career in business. She was president of a home-based sales and consulting firm, Sales Resources Inc., gaining experience in small business operations and sales management that would later inform her work on Capitol Hill, particularly on issues affecting entrepreneurs and financial services. Her early political involvement included campaigning in 2000 for Lance Pressl, the Democratic candidate challenging longtime Republican incumbent Phil Crane in Illinois’s 8th congressional district, an experience that introduced her to the dynamics of the district and the challenges of running against an entrenched officeholder.

In 2002, Bean mounted her own campaign against 73-year-old Republican incumbent Phil Crane, who had held the 8th District seat for 33 years. In that race, she criticized Crane for taking numerous lobbyist-funded trips, highlighting ethics and accountability as central campaign themes. Although she did not win in 2002, her strong performance in what had been considered a safe Republican district drew national attention and laid the groundwork for a rematch. During her subsequent service in Congress, Bean herself took two trips funded by special-interest groups between 2005 and 2006, while members of her staff took the same trips six times during that period, reflecting the broader environment of congressional travel and lobbying scrutiny at the time.

Bean sought a rematch against Crane in 2004. In that campaign, she raised almost as much money as Crane, drawing most of her funds from individual donors, while Crane’s support came largely from political action committees. Her competitive showing in 2002 led the national Democratic Party to invest heavily in her 2004 effort. Bean received endorsements from the three major newspapers in her district—the Daily Herald, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times. Republicans, forced to defend what had long been considered a secure seat, mounted an intensive effort to retain Crane. On November 2, 2004, however, Bean defeated Crane with 51.7 percent of the vote. Although President George W. Bush carried the district with 56 percent of the vote in the 2004 presidential election, Bean benefited from strong support for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama, who carried the district, and she took office on January 3, 2005, as the first Democrat to represent the 8th District since 1935.

During her three terms in Congress, from 2005 to 2011, Bean represented Illinois’s 8th congressional district through a period marked by the Iraq War, significant tax and trade debates, and the financial crisis of 2008–2009. She was a member of both the Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition, reflecting a centrist, pro-business orientation within the Democratic Party. Throughout her tenure, she served on the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Small Business. On Financial Services, she sat on the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises and the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. On Small Business, she served on the Subcommittee on Finance and Tax, the Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology, and the Subcommittee on Regulations, Healthcare and Trade. Because House Democrats who serve on the Financial Services Committee are normally barred from serving on other committees, Bean received a special waiver from Democratic leadership to maintain her dual assignments, underscoring her party’s interest in her role on small business issues.

Bean’s voting record reflected a blend of party loyalty and independent, business-oriented positions. She opposed a bill that would have allowed drilling for oil in Lake Michigan, a major source of drinking water for her district, emphasizing environmental and public health concerns. At the same time, she departed from most Democrats on several high-profile economic measures. In May 2006, she was one of just 15 House Democrats to vote to extend approximately $70 billion in tax cuts, and she supported permanently reducing the estate tax and granting the president a line-item veto. She was also one of only 15 Democrats to vote in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), aligning with pro-trade and pro-business interests. In 2009, she voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the major economic stimulus package responding to the financial crisis, and for the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a comprehensive climate and energy bill. She co-sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act, backing organized labor’s efforts to ease unionization procedures.

On foreign policy and social issues, Bean generally supported core Democratic positions while occasionally staking out distinct stances. She opposed President George W. Bush’s troop “surge” in Iraq, stating in a February 2006 speech, before the surge had been fully implemented, that “regrettably, this surge does not constitute a new course.” She is pro-choice and supported the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which, together with the Affordable Care Act, constituted the major health care reform of that era. In 2007, she was one of forty-four House Democrats who voted to condemn MoveOn.org for its controversial “General Betray-us” advertisement, even though her 2008 Republican opponent later criticized her for having previously accepted more than $80,000 in campaign contributions associated with the group. In 2010, she was one of four Democrats to vote against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, joining 155 of 159 Republicans in blocking the bill under a motion to suspend the rules, which required a two-thirds majority for passage.

Bean’s subsequent electoral contests reflected the competitive nature of her district. In 2006, Republicans targeted her seat as winnable due to her freshman status, the district’s longstanding Republican tilt, and Bush’s strong 2004 showing there. Most of the district’s state representatives and state senators were Republicans, and in much of the district Bean was the only elected Democrat above the county level. Her reelection became a top priority for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She faced Republican David McSweeney, who emerged from a competitive six-candidate primary, and again secured endorsements from the Daily Herald, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times. Bean won reelection with 51 percent of the vote to McSweeney’s 44 percent. In 2008, she ran for a third term against businessman and former professional hockey player Steve Greenberg. Despite criticism from Greenberg regarding her earlier MoveOn.org contributions, she decisively defeated him, 60 percent to 40 percent.

In 2010, Bean sought a fourth term and was challenged by Republican nominee Joe Walsh and Green Party nominee Bill Scheurer. She again received endorsements from the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Herald, and the Lake County News-Sun, and she enjoyed strong backing from the national Democratic leadership. The race proved extremely close. Walsh received 98,115 votes, Bean received 97,825 votes, and Scheurer received 6,495 votes. Bean’s narrow loss ended her congressional service on January 3, 2011. During her time in office, she consistently participated in the legislative process on behalf of her constituents in the 8th District, contributing to debates on financial regulation, small business policy, tax and trade legislation, health care, and national security.

After leaving Congress, Bean transitioned to leadership roles in the private and civic sectors. In 2011, she became president and chief executive officer of the Executives’ Club of Chicago, a prominent business forum that convenes corporate, civic, and governmental leaders. She later joined JPMorgan Chase, where she served as chair of Midwest operations, further deepening her engagement with financial services and regional economic development. In 2019, she became CEO of Mesirow Wealth Advisors, a division of Mesirow Financial, overseeing wealth management services and drawing on both her business background and her experience on the House Financial Services Committee. Alongside these roles, she remained active in public affairs and Democratic politics, culminating in her 2025 announcement that she would seek to return to Congress representing Illinois’s 8th congressional district.

Bean resides in unincorporated Palatine Township, Illinois, with her husband and their two children. When they moved there, their home lay within the boundaries of the 8th congressional district, but subsequent redistricting placed their residence in the 10th congressional district, meaning they lived in an adjoining district for the entirety of her congressional tenure. Her continued residence in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, combined with her Serbian Orthodox faith and long-standing ties to the region’s ethnic and professional communities, has remained a defining element of her personal and political identity.