June 20, 2007
Another Scheurer to run against Bean
It's all in the family when it comes to running for Congress against incumbent Melissa Bean.
Randi Scheurer, 56, of Lindenhurst, will face Bean of Barrington Hills in next February's Democratic primary.
Scheurer's husband, Bill, ran unsuccessfully against Bean in the 2004 Democratic primary and faced her again as a Moderate Party candidate in 2006.
"I am running to bring the troops home and take care of them when they return. Congress has voted consistently to fund the war. Our representative has been disingenuous in not representing the wishes of the people," said Scheurer.
Her husband will also seek the District 8 congressional seat as the Moderate Party candidate in the November 2008 general election.
"If I win the primary I will be running against my husband, and we are fine with that. For us it is peace over party," she said, explaining she is a pro choice and her husband is pro life, but that is essentially the only difference in their politics.
Scheurer has never held a public office. She is the mother of four and says she has always been a political activist. She is a member of Amnesty International and MFSO, Military Families Speak Out.
In 2006 she helped create the Moderate Party and her husband ran against Bean as the first candidate for the new party. "We were tired of being told by Bean to wait and see regarding the war. By 2006 my son was in Iraq and my daughter was also in the military and had been to Kuwait, so we decided to create the Moderate Party."
Scheurer said the cost of the war, financially and in human life, is beyond reprehensible. "The debt we are passing on to our children and grandchildren is huge. I have been opposed to it from its inception."
Scheurer said she cares very much for the troops, but when it comes to fighting this "illegal war based on misinformation" she believes the troops should be pulled out now. "Our soldiers are victims. I consider them more victims and casualties than anything else," she said.
She said she is concerned about the overall health of government. "It is a trickle down effect. I am very much concerned about the health-care system and the fact that it is inhumane and cruel. I am a breast cancer survivor so I believe that people with preexisting conditions are being victimized.
"We need to look at the human cost to all decisions we make when we create bills. Our representatives put that aside for special interests. My special interest would be the people in my district."
Scheurer said that Bean voted to move jobs overseas, "and that, again, is reprehensible. How can we give foreign workers jobs that our working families need? It is not fair."
On the Republican side, Long Grove businessman Steve Greenberg reportedly has said he will seek the GOP nomination to challenge Bean in November.