Meet Sam Polan: Congressional Candidate In IL-09

WILMETTE, IL — Sam Polan, a U.S. Army Veteran, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives, IL-09.

Polan served in the U.S. Army for 10 years, including five years in Special Operations. He was deployed to the Middle East three times, twice with Special Warfare Task Groups.

After the military, Polan served at the Pentagon for three years as a Senior Policy and Strategy advisor to the Joint Staff and the Commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command.

Learn more about Polan:

Campaign website

www.sampolan.com

Education

I hold a Master’s in International Relations from American University and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Washington College. I also attended an academic residency at Oxford University in 2012.

The single most pressing issue facing our district or state is:

Regarding Illinois and the 9th specifically, I would fight to protect the integrity of our elections, people’s right to vote, and the ability of state and local governments to govern without federal coercion. That includes opposing efforts to politicize federal funding, undermine election administration, or use federal agencies to punish our state for partisan reasons.

Democracy does not maintain itself. It depends on people in government who are willing to actively defend it. That means making it known that we will show up, ask the difficult questions, exercise real oversight, and build bipartisan coalitions when possible.

It also means having the discipline to say no when any administration, regardless of party, exceeds its lawful authority or tries to erode the checks and balances that protect the public.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

As the only veteran in the race, I believe I have demonstrated my commitment to serving the greater good. I have fought to defend this country and all those in it. I am familiar with the issues, I have a vision for where I want this country to go, and I'm not too proud to say when I don't know something and ask for help. Among all the candidates, I stand out as the only one who has served at the highest levels of government decision-making.

Working in and navigating the Capitol environment and culture is a learned skill, and I have already learned it, so I won't be slowed down as a congressman. I have already developed coalitions and know how to leverage strong relationships across the government, so I can get to work on day one.

If you support tax cuts in Illinois, what spending should be eliminated to offset those cuts?

Yes, I believe there is an inequality between funding for wealthy and poor schools.

Many issues stem from using an outdated assessment model across Illinois and many parts of the United States. Students, teachers, parents, and the world are all different from what they were 20 years ago. We need to update the ways schools' metrics are assessed and recognize that different communities require different support.

If a school isn't performing well, that means it needs help. Not that it should be ignored or abandoned.

What would you do to help constituents struggling with the ever-increasing cost of living, housing and healthcare?

Most people don’t feel like they’re getting poorer because they’re spending irresponsibly. They feel it because the basics are eating into their paycheck in ways we have never experienced before.

Housing is the biggest culprit. When we do not build enough homes near where people work, prices go up. Everyone gets squeezed. The federal government should stop slowing construction down and start rewarding areas that are building. This is especially true for starter homes and small multi-family housing.

We also need to address the costs for basic utilities. Families should not be punished by unpredictable spikes, junk fees, or service failures. These problems are caused by our fragile, aging infrastructure. We need a more reliable grid and practical investments. This would lower monthly bills and help them behave predictably, so people can budget.

Food prices also continue to rise month to month. It’s not just "inflation." In many areas, a small number of companies have too much control over processing and distribution. This limits consumer options and forces families to pay for it. We should enforce antitrust laws, reduce supply chain bottlenecks, and repeal inflationary tariffs. The dollar's spending power is not what it used to be. We need to be honest about that.

Wages need to be higher and reflect the real cost of living. We can achieve this through resourced training pipelines and apprenticeships tied to available jobs. It’s also important to maintain sufficient negotiating power for workers to secure fair pay. The government’s goal should be to reduce costs, increase take-home pay, and stop interfering with people's ability to budget for the future.

Do you support redistricting in a non-census year?

No

Do you support the full release of the Epstein files with the victims' names redacted? What should Congress do to pressure the DOJ into following the law with the full release of the Epstein files?

Yes. I support the full release of the Epstein files with victims’ names and identifying information strictly redacted.

The public deserves clarity about who enabled, protected, or participated in these crimes. Keeping these documents sealed, heavily redacted, and in ongoing violation of the law mandating their release is gravely damaging public trust in our government.

Congress should deploy every available oversight tool. Whether through subpoenas, sworn testimony from DOJ officials, public hearings, or restricting appropriations until there is full compliance with mandatory disclosure.

At this point, Congress can initiate contempt proceedings or seek court enforcement to compel the DOJ to release all non-protected materials immediately. Each day the government shields these offenders, it perpetuates injustice and undermines proper governance.

Do you support the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement in the Chicago area and beyond? Why or why not? If not, what changes do you think should be made?

I support clear statutory ICE standards, stronger training and verification, and independent oversight for rapid review and correction when individuals are wrongly detained. There must also be real consequences and remedies for agencies that violate constitutional rights, not just internal apologies.

When I am in Congress, I will do everything to take back the power of the purse that has been mostly ceded to the Executive branch. The amount of money that was directed to the Department of Homeland Security from the November 2025 Continuing Resolution was unacceptable. Since it was a CR, the administration had much more freedom to spend the money as they wanted. This is a failure of our Congress to set the terms of how money should be spent.

One of the core functions of Congress is to work together to develop a budget for the country, but the last time Congress passed all its appropriations measures on time was in 1997. Relying on CRs to fund our government is laziness and complacency.

ICE has become such a mockery of “law enforcement” that it can no longer exist. I will work to put financial pressure on ICE until we can abolish it in the next administration. I will work with that administration to build an immigrant enforcement agency that will focus on "the worst of the worst" and have real guardrails that are much harder to break.

Immigrant enforcement agents should be easily identifiable through uniforms, and should not be able to hide their faces and should be brought back under the purview of the Department of Justice and not the Department of Homeland Security.

We also need to demilitarize them. Under Obama and Biden, they were able to work with governors of all 50 states to get the worst criminals off the streets, and were able to work with them to deport a lot more individuals after they had served their debt to America.

A secure border is a necessary requirement for national security. However, we need a comprehensive immigration policy in combination with a secure border.

I believe both documented and undocumented workers living in the U.S. should be provided with a pathway to citizenship. What we need is comprehensive immigration reform that secures the border, restores order to our immigration courts, protects asylum seekers, and rebuilds the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

Immigrants have continually strengthened the United States. A comprehensive plan should combine robust enforcement and border security with a fair, humane, and efficient legal immigration system. That means protecting those fleeing persecution while also ensuring communities are not overwhelmed by dysfunction in the system.

Reform should be bipartisan, practical, and rooted in both security and compassion.

Do you support the repeal of the SAFE-T Act, which eliminated cash bail? Why or why not, and do you think wealthier defendants should have an easier route to release?

No, I would not support the repeal of SAFE-T Act because wealth should not be the determining factor in whether you continue to experience freedom prior to trial. The idea that poorer defendants remain in jail while wealthier ones are able to go free is a flawed practice.

All defendants should be treated the same way, regardless of their economic status, and allow a judge to decide if they should go to jail or remain free based on their character and behavior. Under the SAFE-T Act, judges have the ability to determine if a defendant should be jailed prior to trial based on the risk that they pose to society.

The Act also introduces many police reforms that I agree with, including the mandate to wear body cams by 2025, higher standards for police training and use of force, as well as higher accountability measures for police misconduct.

Would you push to repeal the TRUST Act, which bars local police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement? Why or why not?

There are several areas that I agree on with Republicans. I firmly believe in the need for police and law enforcement, but I also believe in accountability measures.

Any functioning democracy has a police force, as well as the ability to enforce immigration and customs. Public safety and law enforcement are incredibly important to me and I think that reform within existing systems is more effective than wholly dismantling them.

For example, I don't believe in abolishing ICE because something worse will likely replace it. Instead, we should push for a complete reform of ICE and revert that agency back to its core purpose. That means demilitarization of ICE and greatly reducing their funding. ICE agents do not need to carry assault rifles, they do not need to wear bulletproof vests and plate carriers, and they certainly should not be wearing masks and tactical helmets.

Maintaining a strong military and defense readiness is another area I agree on with Republicans. I fully support US NATO membership and maintaining our longstanding alliances, as well as participating in joint counterterrorism and intelligence capabilities. Trump believes the opposite.

Additionally, I support fiscal responsibility and appropriately managed deficit concerns. Transparency to the American people is critical and I would support tax increases or spending cuts to manage deficits. When it comes to the economy, I support incentives for investment rather than mandates where possible. Nurturing small businesses and entrepreneurs is the top priority of mine, as well as doing all we can to provide predictability to those doing business in the United States.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I'm running because I love this country, and I can't sit back and watch our democracy slip away. I still remember being 11 years old on 9/11 and deciding then that I would serve. I kept that promise, deploying on three missions overseas. And now, watching what is happening across our country and within our own government has driven me to act.

I am running for Congress to help restore public trust in government, defend civil liberties, and uphold the core principles of our democratic republic. I am an Army Special Operations veteran and a lifelong public servant. I have spent my career protecting the Constitution and the people it serves.

Right now, our community and district need people who know what it means to fight and protect people. My top priority is protecting our democracy, making sure that my kids, and yours, grow up with more freedoms than we had, not fewer. This includes the freedoms we fought to expand while in uniform, such as reproductive rights, marriage equality, and voting rights.

I also intend to tackle the affordability crisis, accessible mental health for Americans, and honoring our commitments to veterans and military families. Steps also need to be taken to strengthen Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security for the next generation.