Bill Foster is a scientist, businessman and now a candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 14th District. The seat is currently occupied by former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. Mr. Foster was born in 1955 in Madison, Wisconsin and received his BA in Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1975 and his Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University in 1984. He has lived in the district ever since then when he started working for Fermilab. In that time his family has found its roots in the district as both children graduated from local high schools.

Q: Why have you decided to run for Congress, especially in such a difficult district for a Democrat?

A: For me, the point was not so much whether or not this will be a difficult race, but that the country so desperately needs change. We need to bring a rapid and responsible end to the war in Iraq and we need to get back to fiscal responsibility, stop the runaway spending. Dennis Hastert was more concerned about rubberstamping Bush’s agenda, and buying the re-election of Republicans by piling debt onto future generations, than in solving our country’s problems - so, I decided to get involved.

In regards to winnability: I decided to run for congress in this district long before Dennis Hastert resigned. I’ve lived in this district for most of my adult life, and I spent 22 years working and raising my family here, and I saw the people of this district becoming less and less satisfied with the way they were being represented in Congress. There is a reason that the district is on Karl Rove’s famous list of endangered Republican seats.

Q: What is your formula to turn a traditionally red district blue?

A: 1 part tri-methyl chloride + 2 parts… ( just kidding). This is really simple actually. This district wants things to change in Washington, like the rest of Illinois, the country really, they see a disaster in Iraq, they see Washington trapped in partisan infighting, in short no progress on our problems. As a scientist and businessman, I have a history of bringing about positive change. Everywhere I go, voters in the district are so frustrated with the way Republicans have managed government, and with the partisanship and posturing that seem to poison our political process. So much so, that they want something identifiably different. Solving tough problems — on the basis of scientific fact and business reality - is what I’ve done all my life, and it’s what I’ll do in Washington.

Q: What issues do you see as key to the constituents in the district you seek to represent?

A: The first, second and third issue is Iraq. I just put up a statement on my website talking about how the President’s plans to continue on the same course are just wrong. We need to bring troops home, not stay on the same course. Health insurance and outsourcing jobs are two other top concerns that I have firsthand knowledge of as a small businessman. Out of control health insurance costs is putting corporate America, small businesses and labor all at a disadvantage when competing against foreign companies. In regards to outsourcing and offshoring of jobs, people are starting to recognize that the Democratic party is on the side of both small business and labor - in contrast to the interests of large multinational businesses who have been well represented by Republican lobbyists in Washington, DC. Small and medium-sized companies like the one I co-founded with my brother are just as concerned about competitors setting up shop in China to undercut our US production as organized labor is about jobs moving overseas.

Q: A large geographical block of the 14th district is farmland. How do you propose to help small family farmers make ends meet?

A: The recent doubling of corn prices - driven by the use of corn-based ethanol in gasoline - has been great for corn-producing farmers but we have to plan for the future. Since essentially everyone agrees that corn-based ethanol is a transitional fuel, it is important that we plan responsibly for the technological progression to more advanced biofuels. Farmers that I have talked to understand this very well, and are looking for folks who can not only relate to them, but can address the technological hurdles ahead with corn based and cellulosic ethanol. As a scientist, I am a big fan of data and I want to use that expertise to help them make the best decisions in the future. Also, there are also a couple interesting ideas out there that we need to support at the federal level regarding wind power. Illinois is becoming a national leader in this area and it’s important to make these programs work because our farmers can take a relatively small portion of land and turn it into a revenue generator by throwing up a wind turbine.

Q: The rest of the district is mostly suburban towns such as Aurora, Elgin, and DeKalb. How would you maintain a balanced relationship between these growing suburban areas and the rural parts of the district?

A: Well, you represent everyone and I think it’s important to keep that in mind once election season is over. I have heard from Democratic officials that they felt a little slighted by former Speaker Hastert’s office once the area started changing. I also would encourage local officials to take advantage of the federal government programs that help manage infrastructure because good planning today can prevent problems in the future. One example of this is the issue of deep wells and water tables, which threaten to constrain the growth and long-term health of farming and development in the eastern part of the district. The federal government has lots of experience managing this issue in the western part of the U.S., and could be of great help. This is exactly the kind of long-term issue that it is very hard to get congress to think about. Congress seems to have a hard time looking past the politics of the next election, and needs to take a longer term view of most issues.

Q: With Rep. Hastert deciding to resign effectively November 6th, how does this change the approach to your campaign?

A: So far as I know, Hastert has not yet committed one way or another on resigning. (In case you readers are not familiar, Illinois law requires a primary before any special election, and it’s been speculated that the governor would set the special election on February 5th — the same day as the primary for the “normal” election. That would likely result in a special-election-primary in January and only 1 month to present a unified campaign for the special election.) There will not be much time after the special election primary is over to unify and run full speed ahead for the special election general. There will also be a very strange dynamic in the race in the time between the special-primary in January and the primary & special on February 5th - Democrats and Republicans will be unifying behind a single candidate for the special election, while at the same time the separate candidates will in principle remain competitors for the normal primary. This obviously creates some uncertainty, but I think the main thing is that it raises the premium on civility and on having issue based discussions among Democrats.

Q: As you point out on your campaign site it is important to work with members of Congress with differing ideologies. What causes would you work on with members of the other aisle?

A: One example I could name is strengthening “transparency” initiatives such as the one Senator Obama and Senator Coburn working on together to create an on-line database for federal spending. Science policy at all levels creates naturally bipartisan issues, since scientific fact does not normally come with “Democratic” or “Republican” labels on it. Energy production, specifically biofuels, is an area where I would like to sit down with Republicans and Democrats who represent rural districts and discuss their ideas for confronting the future. I would hope that we could have some meaningful discussions with the GOP on ending the war in Iraq, but they don’t seem to be budging right now and we have to start bringing our troops home now.

Q: You recently garnered the support of Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. What do you think this endorsement brings to your campaign? Do you believe that voters value political endorsements?

A: I believe voters use endorsements as way to evaluate what political candidates are saying in their campaigns and in that sense, Treasurer Giannoulias’ endorsement is a very big deal for me personally. He is the exact kind of new leader voters want in government. He brings new ideas to the table, for example auctioning off state property on EBay, and he has had remarkable success already in his first 8 or so months in office. So, when I say I want to do things differently, voters will look at his endorsement and the kind of new approach he has taken to politics and believe that I’ll try and do the same.

Q: One of the many current battles being waged in Congress right now is over the Farm Bill. If you had been serving in the House of Representatives over the summer when the House version was passed, what would you have tried to do to help farmers as well as those suffering from hunger in our country?

A: The main thing I’d be concerned about right now is providing both adequate current and emergency funding for food stamp programs. Increased food stamp participation tracks very closely to economic downturns and the sub-prime mortgage problem has me very worried about the state of consumer lending, borrowing and spending. Because the three can be very closely related and because consumer spending is what keeps the economy running, violent fluctuations or downturns can result in much slower economic growth. On another note, members of congress have been highlighting how inadequate the $1 per meal standard is right now and that needs to be increased.

Q: Our final question for you is simple one. Who are you supporting for President and why?

A: I was an early supporter of Barack Obama in 2004. It was right around the time after the primary but before the DNC speech when he was well known to us in Illinois but not nationally. I saw in him the hope, change and new leadership that we need in this country and I was thrilled to see that he decided to run for president. That said, I am only leaning that way right now because we Democrats have such a formidable field of candidates on the Democratic side. They all have such a spectacular record of achievement that I’m not quite ready to make my firm commitment yet until I get to watch the next few months of the campaign.

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