Race 05 of 16 · Lantern Vote Election Guide 2026

IL-08 U.S. House, Illinois

~13.8% non-Hispanic Asian residents (2024) · Solid D; open seat

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Race 05 of 16

IL-08 U.S. House, Illinois

~13.8% non-Hispanic Asian residents (2024) · Solid D; open seat

Lantern Vote · AAPI Voter Guide 2026 · Race 05 of 16

IL-08

U.S. House
About 13.8% non-Hispanic Asian residents (Data USA, 2024 ACS) SOLID D · OPEN SEAT
Melissa Bean
Democrat
Immigration & Visas★★★☆☆
Zoning & NeighborhoodsNR
Education★★★★☆
Language Access★★★★☆
Justice & Hate Crimes★★★★☆
Jennifer Davis
Republican
Immigration & Visas★★★☆☆
Zoning & NeighborhoodsNR
Education★★☆☆☆
Language AccessNR
Justice & Hate CrimesNR
Lantern Vote · AAPI Voter Guide 2026 · October 2026 edition · lanternvote.org
Every rating is sourced. Full justifications with named sources are in the PDF guide. Nonpartisan civic research by Lantern Vote; not an endorsement.
Rubric: 5 Championed · 4 Supportive · 3 Mixed / limited · 2 Leaning against · 1 Opposed · NR Bounded search
About 13.8% non-Hispanic Asian residents (Data USA, 2024 ACS)SOLID D · OPEN SEAT
Melissa Bean
Democrat
Immigration & Visas★★★☆☆
Zoning & NeighborhoodsNR
Education★★★★☆
Language Access★★★★☆
Justice & Hate Crimes★★★★☆
Jennifer Davis
Republican
Immigration & Visas★★★☆☆
Zoning & NeighborhoodsNR
Education★★☆☆☆
Language AccessNR
Justice & Hate CrimesNR

IL-08 race breakdown

Illinois' 8th District (parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties: Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village) - OPEN seat Non-Hispanic Asian residents are roughly 13.8% of the district (about 103,000 of 746,772 residents, Data USA's 2024 ACS-based profile). This is resident share, not citizen voting-age population or registered voters. (Data USA).

Competitiveness Solid D (Cook, Decision Desk, Inside Elections, Sabato). Open seat: Raja Krishnamoorthi vacated it to run for U.S. Senate. Krishnamoorthi's Senate bid ended in the March 2026 primary. Neither successor candidate has addressed the H-1B-heavy tech-professional angle of this district in a published platform.

Melissa Bean Democrat

Former three-term U.S. Representative for IL-08 (2005-2011). Blue Dog/New Democrat; former JPMorgan Chase Midwest chair. Comeback candidate; won an 8-candidate primary.

Immigration & Visas★★★☆☆

Mixed record across 2005-2026. Voted YEA on the DREAM Act of 2010 (House Roll Call 625) and AYE on the 2005 Sensenbrenner enforcement bill H.R. 4437 (Roll Call 661, Dec 16, 2005), one of about 36 Democrats to do so. Her 2026 platform supports "comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship," opposes "mass deportation and family separation," and demands ICE due-process oversight. No H-1B or employment-visa record found (GovTrack; GovTrack; campaign issues page).

Zoning & NeighborhoodsNR

Federal race. Her platform addresses housing, health care, education and energy "costs" generally but contains no zoning, density or data-center positions.

Education★★★★☆

Platform: "fight to restore the U.S. Department of Education," "fully fund IDEA," and oppose "vouchers that drain our schools of tax dollars." Clearly supportive of public education. In Congress she sponsored the College Savings Flexibility Act. No record on AANHPI-history curriculum or TEAACH implementation (campaign issues page). Rating basis: Specific IDEA funding, restoring Education Department and opposition to vouchers. An AANHPI-specific bill is not required for this general-education score.

Language Access★★★★☆

Voted No on the July 13, 2006 amendment to strip the bilingual-ballot extension, then Aye on final Voting Rights Act reauthorization retaining it through 2032. This is a historical ballot-access record, not a verified current platform. (amendment vote; final vote). Rating basis: Specific 2006 vote against stripping bilingual ballots plus final reauthorization Yea. Historical and not a current platform.

Justice & Hate Crimes★★★★☆

Voted AYE on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention (Matthew Shepard) Act (House Roll Call 223, Apr 29, 2009) and on the FY2010 NDAA conference report that enacted it (Roll Call 770, Oct 8, 2009). Her 2026 platform adds "supporting strong action against hate crimes, harassment, and discrimination." The record is not AAPI-specific (GovTrack; campaign issues page).

Jennifer Davis Republican

Tech entrepreneur; co-founded software firm Davisware. Mother of ten. First-time candidate from Huntley with no prior campaigns.

Immigration & Visas★★★☆☆

Rated on statements only. Mixed platform. Her "Strong Borders, Fair Immigration" plank is restrictive: "illegal immigration costs Illinois taxpayers billions," "deport criminal aliens." She also wants to "prioritize legal immigration for skilled workers who help grow – not replace – American jobs" and to "champion streamlining legal pathways," notable in this district. The wage-protective framing echoes restrictionist rhetoric; the explicit push to expand skilled legal immigration cuts against an H-1B pause. No position found on H.R. 8443 (campaign issues page).

Zoning & NeighborhoodsNR

Nothing found in the checked sources on zoning, density or data centers. Her priorities are Main Street/small business, crime, education, immigration and national security.

Education★★☆☆☆

Rated on statements only. Her platform states "Put parents back in the driver's seat as their children's first educators" and "keep classrooms free from ideological agendas, return to core academics." She endorses "a range of educational options – public, charter, private, or home schools" plus "slashing bloated administrative costs." She has not addressed AANHPI- history curriculum (flagged as not AANHPI-specific) (campaign about page).

Language AccessNR

No statements found in the checked sources on multilingual government services or the Language Access for All Act.

Justice & Hate CrimesNR

Her "Ensure Safe Communities" planks are generic rule-of-law and police-resources items. No anti-AAPI-hate-crime component, statement or legislation found.