Primary Election Date: 02/02/2009
General Election Date: 11/02/2010

Who Am I?

Daniel Biss is a Democratic candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives in the 17th District. As a teacher, university researcher, political organizer, and civically active community member, Daniel is committed to bringing fiscal responsibility, sound education policy, and creative solutions for political reform to Springfield.

Daniel ran a historic campaign for the seat in 2008 against an entrenched six-term incumbent, a transformative candidacy that stunned the insiders. His grassroots campaign attracted the attention and admiration of political observers from across the country. He was lauded for walking virtually every neighborhood in the community, talking with thousands of people across the district, engaging hundreds of new volunteers and activists in the political process, and communicating with many of his constituents online via social networks and blogs.

After the removal of Rod Blagojevich, incoming Governor Pat Quinn asked Daniel to serve as a policy advisor, focusing on transparency and ethical reform. Seeing the continuing legislative dysfunction in Springfield and the urgent need for action in these areas has renewed Daniel's commitment to bring new leadership to Springfield, and so he is running again for State Representative.

A seasoned grassroots organizer, Daniel has coordinated political campaigns throughout the area. As co-chair of the Illinois Committee of 100 and the Illinois Kerry Travelers, he has helped progressive candidates on both state and federal levels in their fight to make substantive change. Through these efforts, Daniel has created avenues for thousands of dedicated Illinois citizens to join the political process and act on their commitment to our democracy.

An experienced mathematician and teacher, Daniel was until recently Assistant Professor of mathematics at The University of Chicago. He has also volunteered as a math teacher at the North Lawndale College Preparatory High School, a charter school on Chicago's west side aimed at readying at-risk youth for college. Daniel's commitment to excellence in education plays a defining role in his desire to make a difference for Illinois.

Daniel is married to Karin Steinbrueck, a former Peace Corps volunteer who is currently working on her PhD in history at Northwestern University. Daniel and Karin live in Evanston with their one-year-old son Elliot. They are members of Temple Beth Israel in Skokie. Daniel is President of the Democratic Party of Evanston and serves on the Boards of Directors of the Indo-American Democratic Organization and the Chicago branch of Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century. He has also served on the steering committee of Our Climate Matters (a global warming project sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Wilmette), the Social Action Committee of Temple Beth Israel, and the Voice and Action Committee of the Young Professionals of Evanston.

Daniel earned his doctorate from MIT and his undergraduate degree from Harvard University.

Why Am I Running?

I used to be a mathematics professor at the University of Chicago; I went into that line of work because I was passionate about research and teaching. During the last decade, my interests shifted toward public service primarily because I felt that our decision-makers were too susceptible to short-term thinking: in other words, decisions whose impact would be felt for decades were being made primarily with an eye toward a 2-year election cycle.

It is my belief that someone with my scientific background would be uniquely positioned to conduct an analysis of long-term consequences and take those conclusions into account when serving as a legislator. This approach would be beneficial in a variety of areas of public policy where long-term policy analysis and short-term political calculation so often bump up against one another.

Hold Me Accountable!

Political reform: Illinois has been dogged by scandals that have destroyed peoples’ faith and willingness to participate in state government, not to mention our ability to provide critical services in a fiscally responsible fashion. Our campaign finance laws are too weak, as are our procurement and oversight processes. The first step toward achieving progressive governance is to rebuild the electorate’s faith in government, and that must begin with substantial reforms.

Economic recovery: Like the rest of the nation, Illinois has been hard-hit by the recent economic downturn. This has resulted in astronomical unemployment and foreclosure rates as well as economic stagnation. State government can play a role in solving these problems by investing in green infrastructure projects to create jobs and in high-tech research to grow our economy and establish our region as world leaders in the transition to clean energy.

Education: Having taught at every age level, I am acutely aware of the challenges our state faces in education, from funding (where we rank near the very bottom of the fifty states) to standards (which are ill-designed and poorly aligned) to integration and graduation rates. These must be top priorities for state government.

My DFA values:

I have staked out progressive positions on social issues like choice, education, health care, and civil rights. I am committed to these stances and talk about them proudly, because I believe that in order to achieve progressive governance, our progressive candidates and elected officials must talk openly about their values.

Illinois government is a badly flawed institution with terrible ethical and budget problems. I am committed to addressing these problems head-on and making the necessary difficult choices rather than simply pretending they do not exist and thus making next year's problems even worse.

My Campaign is People-Powered!

My political background is in grassroots organizing, from presidential to municipal campaigns. When I ran in 2008, I personally knocked on 20,000 doors, and had over 700 volunteers who walked with me. I organized citizen groups from communities that are too frequently ignored by Illinois politicians, and I had the support of nearly all progressive grassroots organizations.

As I embark on my 2010 campaign, I am completely committed to using these same tactics. I am proud to say that I have already received the Northside DFA endorsement, and I plan to continue working closely with that organization. I have also begun raising dedicated funds for the hiring of summer organizing fellows.

It is my firm belief that the way a candidate wins an election and that person's conduct once elected are inextricably linked, so the only way that I know how to plan to be a community-based responsive legislator is to win this election by building a bottom-up grassroots campaign.