When Outside Money Targets Consumer Protection
Chicago, March 8, 2026
Voters across the 7th Congressional District have likely seen a wave of negative advertisements attacking me. Those ads are being funded by a cryptocurrency industry super PAC that has spent millions trying to influence this race.
The obvious question is why.
The answer is straightforward. While serving in the Illinois House of Representatives, I supported legislation to regulate cryptocurrency and strengthen consumer protections. My position was simple: new financial technologies should operate with transparency, accountability, and safeguards for the people who use them.
Innovation can create opportunity, but without oversight, it can also expose consumers to fraud and abuse. Families should not have to navigate complex financial systems without basic protections.
My vote reflected that principle. Consumers deserve clear rules, responsible oversight, and a system that protects them from bad actors.
In response, a national super PAC tied to cryptocurrency interests has invested heavily in advertising designed to defeat me in this congressional race. Their campaign relies on negative messaging and attempts to revisit legal matters from more than a decade ago, issues that were widely reported on at the time, including the fact that federal prosecutors dropped the felony charges involved.
The goal of these ads is not to inform voters about policy. The goal is to discourage leaders from standing up to powerful interests.
This situation illustrates a larger problem in American politics: outside groups spending enormous sums of money to shape local elections.
The people of the 7th Congressional District deserve representation that puts their interests first—not the interests of wealthy donors or national political organizations.
For nearly two decades, I have worked to expand access to healthcare, protect seniors, and strengthen consumer protections for working families. Those priorities will not change.
Public service should always be guided by one principle: representing the people who elected you.
When powerful interests attempt to influence our elections, it only reinforces why that principle matters.
