Melissa Bean
| Melissa Bean | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 8th district |
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In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Phil Crane |
| Succeeded by | Joe Walsh |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Melissa Luburich January 22, 1962 Chicago, Illinois |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Alan Bean |
| Residence | Barrington, Illinois |
| Alma mater |
Oakton Community College, A.A., 1982 Roosevelt University, B.A., 2002 |
| Occupation | Business consultant, marketing |
Oakton Community College, A.A., 1982
Melissa Luburich Bean (born January 22, 1962) is an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district from 2005 to 2011. Bean is a member of the Democratic Party.
Bean attended Maine East High School before graduating from Oakton Community College with an Associate degree in 1982 and from Roosevelt University in 2002 with a Bachelor's degree. Prior to her election to Congress, she was president of a home-based business, Sales Resources Inc., which counted many Fortune 1000 companies as clients.
In 2002, Bean ran against 73-year-old 8th District Republican incumbent Phil Crane, a 33-year incumbent. Bean attacked Crane for taking numerous lobbyist-funded trips. She lost, but gained 43% of the vote. This was unexpected since she had received very little funding from the national party. The 8th had historically been the most Republican district in the Chicago area, and by some accounts was the most Republican district in all of Illinois. Bean's performance was even more notable since the 8th had reportedly been redrawn to protect Crane.
Bean sought a rematch against Crane in 2004. During the campaign, Bean raised almost as much money as Crane, mostly from individual donors, whereas Crane's money came mostly from political action committees. Her strong showing in 2002 led the national party to pump a large amount of money into her campaign. Bean was endorsed by the Daily Herald, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times—the three major newspapers in her district.
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