2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois

This district, one of the most heavily Democratic in Illinois and the country, has been represented by Democratic Congressman Bobby Rush since his initial election in 1992. This district is known for having the largest percentage of African-Americans of all congressional districts nationwide; true to the nature of this district, Rush is an African-American. Facing Republican nominee Jason Tabour, Rush easily achieved an eighth term in Congress.

Initially elected in a special election in 1995 to replace disgraced Congressman Mel Reynolds, Jesse Jackson Jr. has been subsequently re-elected by wide margins in this very liberal district, based in the southeastern portion of Chicago and some of the southern Chicagoan suburbs. This election proved to be no different, and Jackson stomped Republican opponent Robert Belin and Libertarian opponent Anthony Williams to win another term.

In this solidly liberal district, based in the southwestern territory of Chicago and western suburbs of Chicago, has a record of sending socially conservative Democrats to Congress—incumbent Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski has proved no different. Following the retirement of his father, long-serving Congressman Bill Lipinski, Dan Lipinski was elected to Congress in 2004 and faced his first re-election campaign in 2006. Lipinski easily defeated Republican challenger Raymond Wardingley to win a second term.

This strangely gerrymandered district connects a northern section that is primarily composed of Puerto Ricans and a southern section that is made up of Mexican-Americans to achieve a Hispanic-American majority district. Staunchly in the Democratic column, this district has continually sent incumbent Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez back to Congress by overwhelming margins. Seeking his eighth term, Gutierrez ultimately overwhelmed Republican challenger Ann Melichar in a landslide.

This district, currently located in the North Side of Chicago and the western Chicagoan suburbs, has been represented by, among others, Stephen A. Douglas and Rod Blagojevich before current Democratic Congressman Rahm Emanuel assumed office in 2002. Emanuel faced no real challenge from Republican opponent Kevin White due to the district’s strong tendency towards the Democratic Party and was re-elected to a third term.

Long-serving incumbent Republican Congressman Henry Hyde declined to seek a seventeenth term in this moderate district based in the Chicago suburbs in DuPage County and Cook County, creating an open seat. State Senator Peter Roskam emerged as the Republican nominee while disabled Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth became the Democratic nominee. In a close election marked by special appearances from well-known politicians like John McCain, George W. Bush, and Dennis Hastert, Roskam ultimately edged out Duckworth by a thin margin, 51.3 to 48.7 percent, keeping district in Republican control. This would be one of the closest races in the 2006 house elections.

The party primaries for the election were held on March 21, 2006. The Republican nominee was Peter Roskam, an Illinois State Senator from the 48th district who lives in Wheaton, Illinois. Roskam ran unopposed in the primary.

The Democratic primary winner was Tammy Duckworth, a decorated Iraq War veteran. On March 21, 2006, Duckworth won the Democratic primary with 44 percent of the vote against 2004 Democratic nominee Christine Cegelis , who received 40 percent, and Wheaton College professor Lindy Scott, who received 16 percent.[2] Duckworth is a resident of Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Although part of Hoffman Estates is within the sixth district, Duckworth lives three miles outside of the district.[3] She lives in a disabled-accessible house which was refitted for her access by friends.[4] The U.S. Constitution requires only that a member, when elected, be "an inhabitant of the state in which he shall be chosen." Illinois does not have a district residency requirement.

Duckworth had never held office, and the 2006 race was her first campaign.

Peter Roskam

In May 2006, the Teamsters labor union endorsement of Roskam was announced by John Coli, President of Joint Council 25.[5] The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 also endorsed Roskam for the congressional seat. The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization also endorsed Roskam over Duckworth.

Tammy Duckworth was endorsed by the Daily Herald,[6] Chicago Tribune,[7] the Chicago Sun-Times,[8] and the Pioneer Press.[9]

The candidates debated on WTTW/Channel 11 (October 23), WBEZ radio (October 19), WBBM radio (September 24), and at the College of DuPage (October 12).[10]

In August 2006, the Roskam campaign used Republican Party stances for an American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) survey. The answers related to Medicare, Social Security, insurance plans and retirement. Democratic opponents characterized it as plagiarism.[11]

On September 10, 2006, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported: "Roskam is trying to use immigration as an issue against his Democratic rival, Tammy Duckworth, in their race for the House seat being vacated by Republican Henry Hyde."

Controversy erupted on September 21, 2006, when the Duckworth campaign accused Roskam of using the term "cut-and-run" in reference to Duckworth's Iraq strategy. Roskam's campaign manager denied that they had made such a statement saying Roskam was "misquoted" and "misrepresented".[12]

A fundraiser for Roskam and David McSweeney was held on October 12, 2006 at the Chicago Hilton. President George W. Bush and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert headlined the event.

On October 24, actor and Parkinson's disease sufferer Michael J. Fox appeared at a fundraiser for Tammy Duckworth at Arrowhead Golf Course in Wheaton, supporting Duckworth's stance on embryonic stem cell research.[13][14] Roskam held a simultaneous press conference featuring a cancer survivor who was treated with his own cells.[15]

On October 30, Roskam attended a fundraiser with Senator John McCain. McCain had cosponsored the immigration bill that Roskam criticized as "amnesty".

Roskam placed television ads that accused Duckworth of wanting to raise Social Security payroll taxes. According to the Daily Herald, the AARP mailed out thousands of letters to the Sixth District denouncing the ad as misleading.[16]

In the week before the election, according to the Elk Grove Times, the National Republican Congressional Committee paid a Richmond, Virginia contractor to make automated phone calls (robocalls) to voters, criticising Tammy Duckworth's positions on issues, that began with "Hi. I'm calling with information about Tammy Duckworth..." and did not identify its source until late in the call. The Duckworth campaign said that the message’s failure to identify its source made many people believe the message came from the Duckworth campaign, hurting its ability to speak to voters. The Duckworth campaign characterized the calls as harassment.

The Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported that the NRCC spent $9,000 on robocalls to help Peter Roskam in a single week. This translates into approximately 180,000 calls.[17]

The NRCC released a statement in response claiming the messages were in compliance with the law and compared them to similar ones made by DNC Counsel Joe Sandler.[18] The Federal Trade Commission Telemarketing Sales Rule excludes political calls, since they are not included in the definition of telemarketing.[19] No FCC or FTC fines have been issued for robocalls relating to the 6th district 2006 congressional campaign in Illinois.

Tammy Duckworth

Roskam trailed Duckworth in fundraising. Roskam raised $3.44 million vs. Duckworth's $4.52 million, but started the fall campaign with more cash on hand, due in part to not having a primary challenger. Roskam was more dependent on contributions from PACs: 56 percent of Roskam's donations and 82 percent of Duckworth's donations came from individuals.[20] 87 percent of Roskam's contributions and 51 percent of Duckworth's contributions came from the state of Illinois.[21] Top zipcodes of contributors for Roskam were Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and Hinsdale. Duckworth's top zip codes were Chicago, Winnetka and New York City.[22]

According to FEC filings, both candidates received donations from various political action committees.[23][24] As of June 30, 2006, Roskam received more contributions from political committees formed by sitting legislators than any other non-incumbent Congressional candidate in the nation. A Roskam campaign spokesman credited House Speaker Dennis Hastert for those contributions.[25]

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Danny K. Davis opted to run for a sixth term in the House of Representatives and did not face a serious challenge in this solidly liberal district based in southern and western Chicago and the western Chicagoan suburbs. Davis swamped Republican challenger Charles Hutchinson with well over eighty percent of the vote, securing another term in this African-American majority district.

Melissa Bean

In 2004, Democrat Melissa Bean had scored an upset to become the first Democratic representative from the district since its creation in 1935 even though President George W. Bush carried the district by a large margin. In 2006, Bean sought a second term and was opposed by investment banker David McSweeney. Though some anticipated a close race, Bean outlasted McSweeney by a comfortable margin, considering the district’s moderate nature.

The 8th district election was unusual in several ways: The two main candidates in the election for the United States House of Representatives were incumbent Melissa Bean of the Democratic Party and Republican Party candidate David McSweeney, joined by third-party candidate Bill Scheurer, running as a self-proclaimed "moderate." McSweeney emerged as a candidate from a crowded and often brutal six-way Republican primary, and Bean was unopposed in the Democratic primary. As the 8th congressional district, covering parts of McHenry County, Cook County and most of Lake County, is considered to lean conservative, the United States Republican Party targeted the district as a high priority for recapture in the 2006 elections. However, Bean defeated McSweeney by a nearly five percent margin during a national election which proved unfavorable to Republicans nationwide.

The district had long leaned Republican. As of 2002, the district had been represented by Phil Crane for 33 years. Bean's 2004 victory was considered to be a decisive upset in a district once considered to be reliably conservative. Making Bean's victory even more important for the Democratic Party was the fact that the Party lost seats in the House elsewhere in the country, meaning Bean's victory somewhat softened the Party's overall net defeat in the 2004 election, which saw the reelection of Republican President George W. Bush as well as a net Republican gain in both the House and the Senate. Given their overall dominance in the 2004 elections and a congressional district they still saw as conservative, the Republican Party marked Bean's district as one of their top priorities in the upcoming 2006 House elections.

Republican challengers included David McSweeney, Kathy Salvi, Aaron Lincoln, Robert Churchill, Ken Arnold, and James Creighton Miller.

The 2006 Republican primary for the 8th congressional district was highly contested, with six candidates. David McSweeney garnered 43% of the vote, winning by 10 points over his closest opponent, Kathy Salvi.[26] During the course of the campaign the McSweeney and Salvi campaigns used negative ads against one another. Salvi criticized McSweeney, claiming he raised taxes two years in a row, increased spending by 28%, and added 20% more employees while serving as a Trustee for Palatine Township. McSweeney responded with a television ad stating "Kathy Salvi is lying".[27]

In a Chicago Sun-Times article, movement conservative Tom Roeser wrote "Because McSweeney is a social conservative, the skittish Illinois establishment GOP would like to run someone else."[28]

Congressman Mark Kirk (R) of the neighboring 10th district, supported Teresa Bartels, a moderate, during the Republican primary. Kirk believed that David McSweeney could not win the district, with a conservative being easily defeated by the incumbent Melissa Bean. However, Bartels dropped out before the primary. Kirk reluctantly supported David

Bill Scheurer, who had run as a Democrat in 2004, entered the race as an independent after he felt that both Melissa Bean and David McSweeney were too conservative. He criticized Bean more harshly in his campaign than he did McSweeney, asserting that Bean's frequent pro-business votes in Congress are an abandonment of Democratic Party ideals. The focus of Scheurer's campaign was fiscal issues: balancing the federal budget, fixing the United States health care system, and reducing the national debt.

Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, reported in April 2006 that "the 8th District Bean-McSweeney race is one of a handful in the nation that could determine which party controls Congress."[29]

In June 2006, the Cook Political Report, an independent non-partisan newsletter, rated the race for Illinois' 8th Congressional District as "Lean Democratic", meaning Melissa Bean had the advantage.[30]

McSweeney is a conservative Republican. He supports finishing the War on Terror and the Iraq War. McSweeney also promises to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent, to offer tax cuts to companies that invest in new jobs and workers. He is opposed to raising the federal minimum wage, currently $5.15 an hour. McSweeney vows to try and freeze the total amount of federal spending, excluding national security, homeland security, and social security. McSweeney opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is at stake. McSweeney also opposes embryonic stem cell research, instead favoring research on umbilical cord blood. He supports 2nd Amendment rights and opposes a ban on semi-automatic firearms. McSweeney supports carrying concealed weapon. McSweeney opposes same-sex marriage as well as civil unions for gay couples and is in favor of amending the Constitution to ban sex same marriages. McSweeney argued that a wall should be built along part of the 2,000-plus-mile U.S.-Mexican border, focusing on the urban areas.[31] McSweeney favored means-testing as a way to reduce the cost of Medicare Part D, which is the prescription drug benefit. McSweeney said, "I believe we need to means-test the Part D prescription drug program that was just adopted by Congress."[32]

Bean won in each county in her district.

Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, seeking her fifth term in Congress, did not face a serious challenge in this consistently liberal district based in the North Side of Chicago and the northern Chicagoan suburbs. True to the district’s history of electing Democrats, Schakowsky slammed Republican opponent Michael Shannon with nearly seventy-five percent of the vote.

Initially elected in 2000, incumbent Republican Congressman Mark Kirk built a reputation as being a moderate Republican, the kind of Republican that this liberal-leaning district in the northern suburbs of Chicago would elect. Facing off against Democratic challenger and businessman Dan Seals, Kirk experienced a serious challenge. Seals was able to remain competitive against Kirk for most of the campaign, abetted by the Democratic wave sweeping the country, but he ultimately fell to the incumbent Republican and lost by around thirteen thousand votes and seven points. The district was located in the northern suburbs of Chicago in Cook and Lake counties, along Lake Michigan. Although reliably Republican in past elections, particularly before the latest redistricting, it voted for John Kerry in 2004, which made re-election in 2006 a challenge for Republican incumbent Mark Kirk.

Democratic hopes for winning here rose after Melissa Bean's win in the neighboring 8th District, which is more Republican. The Democratic candidate was GE Commercial Finance Director of Marketing Dan Seals. Seals raised $1,918,167 to Kirk's $3,168,367.[34]

Daniel "Dan" Seals is a native of Chicago. He lives in Wilmette, Illinois (one half-block outside of the 10th district) with his wife Mia (maiden name: Miyako Hasegawa) and their three young daughters. Seals taught high school English in Japan before earning a Master's in Public Policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Seals was a Presidential Management Fellow during the Clinton Administration and worked on trade issues to increase overseas markets for U.S. goods. He also spent time on Capitol Hill, serving as a fellow in the office of Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, where his primary focus was on economic development and policy. Seals earned his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He was on leave from his position as Director of Marketing at GE Commercial Finance while he campaigned full-time. He is now self-employed as a consultant. Seals ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility, pragmatic energy independence solutions, universal access to health care for the 46 million uninsured Americans, and a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. In March 2006, Seals won the Democratic Primary with 70% of the vote.[35]

Mark Kirk is a graduate of Cornell, the London School of Economics, and Georgetown University where he earned his JD. Moreover, Kirk has worked at the U.S. Department of State, the World Bank, and Baker & McKenzie. Kirk is the head of the Moderate Republican caucus. He was also Assistant Majority Whip until the Republican Party lost control of the House of Representatives in the November 2006 election. He claims to be fiscally conservative, but pro-choice and pro-environment. Kirk was endorsed in the 2006 election by all major local newspapers including The Daily Herald,[36] the Chicago Tribune,[37] the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Lake County News Sun. He was also endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Planned Parenthood.

In his most difficult race since 2000, Kirk prevailed by a 53% to 47% margin.

Republican Jerry Weller, who was part of the 1994 Republican Revolution in which the GOP took control of Congress had been re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2004. In this conservative-leaning district, Weller experienced a more serious challenge from Democratic challenger John Pavich than he was used to. The 11th stretches from the southern suburbs of Chicago to Bureau County and then dips down into Bloomington and Normal. True to the district’s conservative tilt, however, Weller defeated Pavich, 55% to 45%, a narrower margin than expected.

Weller was a staff member for state representative Tom Corcoran from 1980 to 1981, assistant to the director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture and an aide to Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block from 1981 to 1985. In 1988, Weller was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives where he served until 1994. Weller was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 following the retirement of Democrat George Sangmeister. Weller defeated New Lenox attorney Robert T. Herbolsheimer in the Republican primary, and Democrat Frank Giglio in the general election.

John J. Pavich was an American attorney who served on the legal defense team of former Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska president Biljana Plavšić before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Pavich's father served as lead counsel for Dr. Plavšić. After the 9/11 events, Pavich joined the Central Intelligence Agency, working in counterterrorism for the National Clandestine Service from 2003 to 2005.[38] Pavich then returned to Illinois to practice law and start a family. He and his wife and their one-year-old son currently reside in Beecher, Illinois.

This liberal-leaning district based in southern Illinois and the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis has consistently given Democratic incumbent Congressman Jerry Costello solid re-elections ever since he was initially elected in a 1988 special election. Seeing as he faced no challenge this year other than a few write-in votes, Costello was a shoo-in for re-election and received nearly one hundred percent of the vote.

In this compact district based in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, incumbent Republican Congresswoman Judy Biggert sought a fifth term. Biggert has typically enjoyed wide margins of victory in this moderately conservative district, and this year proved no different. Biggert defeated Democratic challenger Joseph Shannon by a seventeen-point margin—a wide margin, no doubt, but thinner than what Biggert received before.

Incumbent Republican Congressman Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House since 1999, has represented this conservative-leaning district since his initial election in 1986. Hastert faced off against Democratic challenger John Laesch in the general election, and Hastert faced off against Democratic challenger John Laesch in the general election, true to this northern Illinois district’s conservative history, defeated him by a wide margin.

Incumbent Republican Congressman Tim Johnson, who has represented this district since 2000, sought a fourth term this year. The 15th district, which includes much of eastern Illinois and stretches into southern Illinois, is one of the most conservative districts in Illinois, and as such, Johnson did not experience a particularly tough challenge from Democratic opponent David Gill.

In this conservative-leaning district based in northern Illinois, incumbent Republican Congressman Donald Manzullo has not experienced a serious challenge since his initial election in 1992, and this year proved no different. Manzullo crushed Democratic opponent Richard Auman and independent challenger John Borling with nearly sixty-five percent of the vote and won an eighth term in Congress.

This strangely shaped district constitutes much of western and central Illinois and was gerrymandered to protect incumbent Democratic Congressman Lane Evans. Evans planned on seeking a thirteenth term in Congress this year, but was forced to retire due to the increasingly debilitating effects of Parkinson's disease. Evans’s longtime Chief-of-Staff, Phil Hare, was selected as the Democratic nominee in his place and faced off against previous Congressional candidate and former television reporter Andrea Zinga in the general election, which he won handily.

This solidly conservative district based in western and central Illinois has been represented by incumbent Republican Congressman Ray LaHood since 1995 and has consistently given him comfortable margins of re-election. This year, despite the anti-Republican sentiment nationwide, LaHood was able to swamp Democratic opponent Steve Waterworth with nearly seventy percent of the vote.

John Shimkus

This district, the most conservative in Illinois, was composed mainly of southern Illinois, but also included Springfield and a small sliver in western Illinois. Incumbent Republican Congressman John Shimkus, seeking a sixth term, faced off against Democratic opponent Danny Stover. Shimkus played a prominent role in the Mark Foley scandal; he knew of embattled Congressman Foley's controversial activities as the Chairman of the House Page Board and did not take action against Foley. Despite this, Shimkus ultimately swamped Stover on election day, winning over sixty percent of the vote and another term in Congress.

In the Democratic primary, Danny Stover won over coal miner Vic Roberts:

• Stover 20,555 61.56%
• Roberts 12,835 38.44%

In the Republican primary, incumbent John Shimkus only faced token opposition from a write-in candidate.

Danny Stover had the endorsement of the St. Louis Dispatch and John Shimkus had the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune. A poll taken in June had it 53% to 36% in Shimkus favor. Then Mark Foley said he would resign because of a sex scandal. Shimkus being head of the page that Foley went on was in big trouble of losing his seat. A poll taken after the scandal had it 46% to 43% in Shimkus favor. But on Election Day he won by a landslide 39% to 60%. Winning all but one of the 24 counties he represented.

• Illinois State Board of Elections
• Campaign contributions for Illinois congressional races from OpenSecrets
• Melissa Bean campaign website
• David McSweeney campaign website Archived 2019-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
• Bill Scheurer campaign website
• Bill Scheurer for Congress Blog
• Bill Scheurer profile on Project VoteSmart
• McSweeney interview
• Official web site - Mark Kirk
• Official web site - Dan Seals
• State Board of Elections Candidate Detail - Dan Seals Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Official campaign site
• Case information sheet for Biljana Plavšić
• Clandestine Service description