Vote Dan Behr
For Illinois State Representative, 57th District
Common-Sense Leadership for the 57th District
Where Dan Stands
Leadership the 57th District Can Count On
Dan Behr is a small business professional with a PhD in Applied Economics. He is running on three commitments that need fixing not only in the 57th District, but throughout Illinois.
Make life more affordable for residents
Eliminate unnecessary taxes and leave more money in the hands of the people who earned it. Resulting in more opportunities for families.
Keep communities safe and protected
Violent repeat offenders need vigorous prosecution. Illinois should not be a laboratory for social experiments.
Strengthen economic competitiveness
Through strong foundational education, responsible and moderate taxes and the selective removal of unnecessary regulations.
SAVE DOWNTOWN NORTHBROOK
14 LOCAL BUSINESSES. 90,000 SQ FT OF RETAIL. REPLACED BY THREE SIX-STORY CONDO BUILDINGS.
Meadow Plaza is the heart of downtown Northbrook. Losing its 14 businesses means losing the tax base that keeps property taxes in check. Residents have packed every meeting to oppose this plan, and I’m standing with them. I’ve put together a better path forward, reviewed by local developers and a respected Northbrook architect, that keeps our downtown a place to shop, eat, and gather.
About Dan Behr
Experience Matters
Decisions Have Consequences
I hold a PhD in Applied Economics and have spent much of my career working at the intersection of business, transportation and public policy. That experience has taught me that government decisions have real consequences.
Taxes, regulations, infrastructure, education and public safety all affect whether families and businesses choose to remain in a community, invest in it or leave.
Illinois has extraordinary people, strong communities, world-class employers and the benefits of central geography for logistics and travel. Yet policy decisions in Springfield have eroded some of these advantages and have made it harder to stay, raise a family and build a business here.
Get involved
Get to Know The Man Behind The Campaign
Values, Perspective, action
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56,000+
illinois Residents lost to domestic out-migration, 2023 to 2024
That trend is not sustainable. When businesses leave or never locate here, residents bear the burden of the lost tax base.
Issues and Priorities
Results Ahead of Ideology
The Illinois 57th District deserves disciplined, independent representation focused on results not ideology.
Priority One
Cost Control and Economic Discipline
Affordability, Property Taxes & Government Transparency
The rising cost of living, particularly property and other taxes, is a major concern in the 57th District.
Meaningful tax relief requires taxpayers to be able to see clearly where their money goes, why costs are increasing and what results they receive.
Government should identify unnecessary spending, duplicated administration and avoidable costs before asking taxpayers for more money.
Pension Reform
Illinois should honor pension benefits already promised to current employees and retirees.
For future hires, the state can establish financially sustainable terms from the outset, including a hybrid retirement system combining a reasonable guaranteed benefit with an individual defined-contribution account.
The principle is straightforward: honor existing commitments while designing future commitments responsibly.
The Proposed 3% Millionaire Income-Tax Surcharge
I do not support imposing an additional 3% income-tax surcharge on income above $1 million.
Property-tax relief should begin by identifying and reducing the underlying governmental costs that create high tax burdens, rather than simply shifting those costs from one group of taxpayers to another.
Illinois must also consider how its cumulative tax and regulatory environment affects decisions by residents and businesses to remain, invest and grow here.
Ethics & the Legislative Inspector General
The Legislative Inspector General should have sufficient independence to investigate misconduct without political interference, including independent subpoena authority.
That independence should be paired with rigorous investigative standards, reliable documentation and independent quality review, while protecting complainants and witnesses through confidentiality and strong anti-retaliation safeguards.
Small contractors, tradespeople and family-run businesses deserve regulatory clarity, not paperwork burdens. Whether you run a plumbing company, a family restaurant or a neighborhood retail shop, state policy should make it easier, not harder, to succeed.
Priority Two
Education and Workforce Competitiveness
Connect education spending to measurable learning and long-term competitiveness.
Education Funding
Education funding should begin with the results we expect students to achieve, identify where those results are falling short, and determine what resources will measurably improve them.
Additional funding should be directed toward demonstrated needs, particularly foundational literacy and numeracy, classroom instruction, and special education, with results measured to determine what is working.
Literacy & Numeracy
Students should leave elementary school as competent readers, writers, and users of mathematics.
As they progress, schools should continue developing vocabulary, writing, mathematics, science, history and analytical skills so students can comprehend increasingly difficult material, communicate clearly, reason quantitatively and build substantive knowledge.
Performance Reporting
Educational success should be measured by what students can actually demonstrate, not simply by spending levels or the programs schools operate.
Illinois should compare student performance not only with other states, but with international competitors, because academic achievement ultimately affects the ability of Illinois businesses to recruit skilled workers and compete in the global economy.
Workforce Readiness
College should not be the only recognized pathway to success. Students should also have access to career, technical, and experiential education that combines strong academic fundamentals with hands-on learning, teamwork, and practical experience.
These pathways can better prepare students for skilled trades, technology, and advanced manufacturing, and other careers important to Illinois’ economy.
During my door-to-door campaign, an experienced teacher told me that students struggling to read an analogue clock were eventually tested without that question rather than being given additional instruction. Whether the subject is telling time, mathematics or reading, lowering the standard is not the answer. Teach the skill and give students the opportunity to master it.
Priority Three
Infrastructure and Economic Competitiveness
Tie infrastructure and economic policy to measurable public benefit.
Transportation Funding & Accountability
Transportation requires adequate funding, but there should be a clear relationship between who pays, where the money goes and what transportation benefit taxpayers receive.
Motor-vehicle taxes and fees should principally support roads and highway-related needs, automatic tax increases deserve scrutiny, and CTA, Metra and Pace should retain transparent, separate financial accountability even within a regional structure.
Regional coordination should improve transportation without creating an open-ended mechanism for shifting one system’s financial problems to taxpayers elsewhere.
Economic Development Incentives
Incentives should be based on measurable net economic benefit, not simply the announced size of an investment.
Public benefits should be weighed against tax incentives, infrastructure costs and other costs ultimately borne by taxpayers or utility customers.
Data Centers & Incentives
Data-center incentives should be based on measurable net economic benefit to Illinois, not simply the size of a project’s capital investment.
The analysis should include permanent employment, tax revenue and local economic activity, while subtracting tax incentives and infrastructure costs shifted to taxpayers or utility customers.
Data centers should generally bear the incremental power, grid and other infrastructure costs their operations create.
Artificial Intelligence Regulation
Illinois should regulate identifiable harms rather than attempt to regulate “AI” as though it were one stable technology.
Existing laws against discrimination, fraud, privacy violations and similar harms should apply regardless of whether a human or algorithm is involved.
Where automated systems materially determine consequential decisions, transparency and meaningful review may be appropriate, but regulation should remain targeted enough to adapt as the technology changes.
Infrastructure investments should be based on measurable economic value, long-term need and realistic costs. Roads, transit, freight systems and other public assets should be maintained before deterioration makes them more expensive to repair.
Priority Four
Public Safety and Confidence in the System
Protect public safety while preserving fairness and due process.
Pretrial Detention Standards
Pretrial detention should be based on demonstrated risk, not a defendant’s ability to pay bail.
Judges should be able to consider the seriousness of the alleged offense, criminal history, prior violations and the totality of the evidence, while retaining the clear-and-convincing-evidence standard before someone is deprived of liberty prior to conviction.
Electronic Monitoring
Electronic monitoring is a useful supervision tool for defendants who can safely await trial in the community, but it should not substitute for detention when the evidence demonstrates a real and present danger to the public or a risk of willful flight.
Judges need both adequate authority and reliable information to make that distinction.
Repeat Offenders
Prior convictions and documented violations committed while already on release should carry substantial weight in pretrial decisions.
They provide judges with evidence of actual past behavior and should be considered when determining whether a defendant presents a continuing risk to the public.
Judicial Discretion With Due Process
Judges need sufficient discretion to consider the circumstances of each case rather than being confined by rigid categories that treat all felonies alike.
Offenses involving violence, weapons, serious threats or repeated violent conduct present different risks from nonviolent offenses.
Greater judicial discretion should therefore be combined with the clear-and-convincing-evidence standard, protecting both public safety and the rights of people who have not yet been convicted.
Recent armed home invasions in Northbrook and Glencoe remind us that public safety must remain a priority. Safety and fairness are not opposites.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Make a plan to vote
The 57th District Deserves
What Dan Supports
- Responsible spending and resistance to unnecessary tax and fee increases
- Safe communities with policies that deter crime and hold repeat violent offenders accountable
- Strong schools focused on foundational education and academic rigor
- Measurable results for taxpayer dollars
- Effective government focused on results, not ideology
Who Supports Dan
Practical Experience for Springfield
Serious problems require serious preparation
Grounded in Economics. Driven by Results.
Applied Economics
PhD in Applied Economics.
Small Business
Small business professional and business consultant.
Economic Development
A career spent helping businesses and communities solve practical problems and attract investment.
Public Policy
Work at the intersection of business, transportation and public policy.
Proven Competitiveness
Approximately 42% of the vote and more than 19,500 votes in 2024, on only 74 active campaign days.
In Dan's Words
Strengthening the 57th District Together
I am an economist, business consultant and longtime advocate for economic development and responsible government. My professional career has focused on helping businesses, communities and transportation systems solve practical problems, attract investment and create the conditions for long-term economic growth.
I am running for State Representative in the 57th District because I believe Springfield needs more practical judgment and less ideology. Illinois has enormous advantages, including an exceptional workforce, strong communities, world-class employers and a central location that should make us one of the most competitive states in the country.
Too often, however, state policy has made it harder to build a business, raise a family and plan for the future here. I believe government should concentrate on the fundamentals. Keep taxes reasonable. Provide strong foundational education. Maintain safe communities. Invest wisely in infrastructure. Remove regulations that impose costs without producing a meaningful public benefit.
In 2024, I ran for this office with only 74 active campaign days and received more than 19,500 votes. That experience reinforced my belief that many voters in the 57th District want an independent, practical alternative in Springfield.
I am running again because I believe experience matters. Good government means understanding how decisions affect people, businesses and communities, then making those decisions carefully.
That is the experience and judgment I will bring to the Illinois House.
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