Illinois' 17th Congressional District election, 2022 (June 28 Democratic primary)

I am certain that I am the most qualifed candidate to beat a Trump Republican in this District. I offer the greatest probability of retaining this a blue seat. I have a proven record of differenting myself and thriving in challenging , competitive, and demanding situations.

Like the majority of my constituents, I know what it takes to be self made, and self driven. I understand how important and valuable the access to opportunity is and how Congress must continue to invest in our District to create opportunities.

We have several great candidates but I don't believe they are as tough as I am. I am goal oriented and outcome driven. My goal is singularly focused and that is to keep this seat blue. I will not rest until I have exhausted every possible path to ensuring that Kevin McCarthy does not become the next Speaker of the House. There is no more ruthless environment than Wall Street, and there is no more convoluted political environment than in the cannabis policy space and I have exceptional experience and success in both of these arenas. It is my experience that makes me the most qualified to go into this political shark tank and succeed in fighting for the hard working people in District 17.

This district has been my home for the majority of my life, and I’m deeply committed to investing in a healthy community. We need more representatives who lead with a local approach - who meet with community leaders, hold open meetings, and listen to community members, not special interests.

I will be a representative for everyone, so we can work on strengthening our economy, investing in our schools, and improving our infrastructure. I want my kids and your kids to see a future here at home.

I will fight for economic policies that protect workers and small businesses. I will promote universal preschool and increased funding for public schools. I will help update our infrastructure by supporting clean water, local bridges, and broadband access for all.

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Eric-Sorenson.PNG

I was a TV news meteorologist for 22 years, earning community trust and keeping people safe by telling the truth. We need more trust between Congress and the people, and I'll work to rebuild trust by looking out for people just like when I was the local weatherman.

I dedicated my career to discovering the truth and keeping people accurately informed. The pandemic, vaccine disinformation, and ongoing climate crises show that it's more important than ever to elect scientists to Congress. We need more science leadership to keep people informed, not political partisanship.

In Congress, I will continue to stand up for vulnerable communities, and I will fight to protect the rights of all people against discrimination

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Income Based Repayment Programs for Trade Schools

Medicare for All

Reducing Maternal, fetal and infant mortality rates.

I am very concerned about the destruction of Roe vs. Wade and will fight hard to codify women's reproductive rights into law. Illinois must continue to be the safe haven that it is for women to travel to this great state to ensure their right to safe access is protected.

I am also extremely concerned with companies that are price gouging during this high inflationary times. I look forward to supporting the "Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act" in order to assess and address the fact that energy companies are making record profits this year.

I am personally passionate about legalizing cannabis at the federal level and in a way that it doesn't disrupt what currently exists across the Country. I would like to begin with independent legislation to release 40,000 non violent cannabis criminals across the nation.

The best path to sustaining the US as Number 1 in the world is though education. We need to ensure that an associates degree is attainable by all in just the same way a high school diploma is.

I pledge to be a leader who adapts to the pressing needs of our country; to adjust my legislative priorities as we had to during the pandemic, or to address the current spike in inflation. With that said, I will remain steadfast in my commitment to providing quality education to our children throughout their lives, as education serves as the great opportunity equalizer.

This work must start with universal preschool, giving our children a fair and equitable start during arguably the most important time in their development. After preschool, we need to ensure our students are entering a modernizing K-12 system; one replete with spaces for alternative learning, art, extracurriculars, daycare, mental healthcare, and financial literacy services. Schools are at the heart of our communities, and our K-12 delivery system must reflect our needs.

Finally, we need to expand post-highschool opportunities by making community colleges and four-year universities more affordable, and encouraging investment in the skilled trades. We need to work with schools to find careers that fit graduates and employers without saddling students with crushing debt.

Climate change:

Early in his career, Eric started discussing climate change with his viewers when it was not a popular thing to do. To him, it isn’t political; his job as a meteorologist is to speak the truth. In Central and Northwest Illinois, we know that climate change is real -- whether it was the 2021 summer drought or, the August 2020 derecho with 100 miles per hour winds, or the record-high Mississippi River flood of 2019. And as the water was rising, it was people coming together from all walks of life to fill sandbags that protected our small businesses.

There is not a single climate communicator in Congress who matches the communication and climate science backgrounds of Eric.

Strengthening health care: Eric believes that everyone should have access to quality and affordable health care.

Eric supports protecting and improving the Affordable Care Act to ensure health care coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. He supports allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices to lower costs and the creation of a public option to expand access to coverage.

Health care is an equity issue for Eric. Students can’t focus in school and people can’t focus on making a living when they don’t feel well, either physically or mentally. We need to be setting people up for success, and quality, affordable health care is essential to providing opportunity for all.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My son died from two true knots in his umbilical cord when I was 38 weeks pregnant. Restrictive women's health laws would have prevented from me from receiving life saving medical treatment. Currently our country has a high rate of maternal, fetal and infant mortality. Of those cases, about 60% cases are preventable. Expanding access to healthcare is the key to reduce these deaths.

It truly depends on what hour of the day you ask me this question. If you would have asked a few weeks ago it would be Adam Kinzinger, and Liz Chaney as well as Joe Manchin, and Kristin Sinema. All of these elected officials have been willing to sacrifice their careers in order to do what's best for their constituents. I pledge to do the same.

If asked this question last night I would have said Abraham Lincoln for freeing the slaves, or Elanore Roosevelt for addressing segregation. I aspire to address institutional racism due to the fact that I was raised by a racist and I understand this issue more than my competitors on how we fix this.

Yet a consistent answer for me would always be that the Obama Administration was my most admired. I aspire to be as classy, as effective, and as compassionate and as they all were.

I want to follow the example of my own family, who worked hard to find their way in an uncertain world. My great-grandparents showed up every morning and stood in line at the local GM plant, hoping to get work that day to put food on the table. My grandparents were lucky enough to become proud UAW members, working in GM factories with guaranteed hours, benefits, and a secure retirement. Their hard work and union jobs allowed the next generation to go even further. My dad was an engineer at Ingersoll Milling Machine and mom was a secretary and retail worker. It’s their initiative and hard work that inspires me. I also see those who did not have those advantages, those that no longer have union representation, good stable jobs, and the ability to work one’s way through school. I want to see to it that everyone has these chances, that anyone willing to work hard can realize their American dream.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

My Grandmother Adele. Due to the poor education she received early in life, she was unable to read until she was 9 years old. In adulthood, she became a teacher with a focus on reading. She always taught me that anyone can be anything in life as long as they can read.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

City So Real is a docuseries that tracked the political campaigns of all of the candidates for Mayor of Chicago in the last cycle. This is and has been a huge influence of philosophy of how dirty this entire game is and on how absolutely dependent the voters are on finding the ones that have a good heart and a strong nose in order to raid into this swamp and do the right thing.

There are main two driving factors to creating successful politicians. The first is that they must be able to enter extremely contentious situations and also be able to navigate and implement success for their distirct's policy goals.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

An important characteristic for any elected official is integrity: if our government is not trustworthy, then it cannot be effective. In an era of attacks on our democratic process and too much influence of special interests that serve narrow interest groups, I believe that being honest and earning trust is the most important thing that a legislator can do. Accountability breeds trust - as a local elected official, I earned trust by meeting with community members regularly to discuss their concerns. Along the campaign trail, I travel to two or three counties every week, meeting in coffee shops, labor halls, senior centers, and more to meet with folks in their backyards. As a Congresswoman, I aim to have mobile offices in addition to our static ones, so constituents can receive in-person help readily. I also believe that an official must be informed. We live in a time where facts are whatever the speaker decides, creating alternate realities and making bipartisanship extremely difficult. I believe in seeking out reliable, expert information from a myriad of sources in order to make informed and realistic decisions.

First and foremost, I prioritize hard work and real achievement in the workplace, values which I would take with me to Washington. I plan to emphasize bipartisanship and compromise in order to make much-needed progress in Congress, using my extensive background in communications to advance the issues most important to my constituents. My experience as a local elected official will also augment my efforts to create change, as I understand the responsibilities required of our leaders and the inner workings of the government.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe that my decades of experience as a communicator will make me a successful U.S. Representative. My entire professional career as a meteorologist has been about communicating. Taking complex, science-heavy topics like weather and climate, I distilled information to understandable, succinct reports that positively impacted people’s lives. Not to mention I made it fun. But I also took controversial and complicated topics like climate change and articulated that across the partisan divide. I hear from voters how disconnected they are from Washington. I hope to be the communicator that serves as the bridge between Congress and Northwest/Central Illinois.

Honest and transparency with their constituencies on what is and was able to be accomplished. They also have to be able to articulate where they have fail.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Ultimately, I believe the core responsibility for all elected officials is to represent the interests of their constituents. It’s important for our Representatives to listen, ask questions, and seek to understand the challenges facing their constituents. I also believe a core responsibility for Representatives is to help connect the solutions coming from Washington back to our home district. There are countless programs and opportunities being funded and implemented by Congress. I hope to connect the people of IL-17 to those solutions so that they can access them.

I became a cannabis advocate at the age of 8. I realized at this age that my abusive father did not harm my mother when he was smoking that stuff. So even though I believed in Santa Clause at that time, I asked my mom how much weed cost. She had a minor melt down thinking her 8 year old was smoking pot, but I assured her that I just wanted to go hustle selling sodas at construction sites in order to pay for a bag. I had $17 dollars saved at the time and my mother was 9 months pregnant with my brother. I knew if I could buy him a bag that the beatings would stop and that my little brother would be born ok. Cannabis has now become the best natural medicine I have ever know and I aspire to be the first openly proud cannabis Congresswoman in office.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

The Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in January 1986 when I was ten years old. I watched it live in my classroom and it strengthened my interest in science and the reporting of news.

I worked at a Wendy's in high school and I had that job for 3 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My first job was at Dairy Queen for 3 years.

"Art of the Deal" by Donald Trump......just kidding!! My favorite book is the "Alchemist"

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

I truly lamented over this question because I have been influenced by so many books; The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes offered a fascinating perspective on science, international diplomacy and World War II; The Great Gatsy by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a provocative allegory on class privilege that I re-read during the pandemic, and I use the lessons from Berne Brown’s Dare to Lead in my communication classes at Augustana regularly.

Ultimately, though, I landed on James Clear’s Atomic Habits, which has helped me craft a life I feel proud to live everyday. The book taught me how to be more mindful, and assess my actions by examining if they were in step with my values.

As an individual who spent much of my life homeschooling my three children while teaching at Augustana College, I am no stranger to high expectations and being hard on myself. James Clear helped me value taking more time for me, which in turn made me a better leader in all other aspects of my life.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Robinhood

"I Can't Stop"-by Flux Pavillion

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

There’s a new song out this year called “Weatherman”. Some of my meteorologist friends were sending it around as a joke, but I love it!

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

The US House of Representatives it truly the government that is directly properly elected, and because of that you do not see any more honest representation of what the people think and feel.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Having experience in any job is usually a very good thing, however in politics they have either existing biases or existing financial relationships that cloud their judgment or influence their policy making in a way that deters the will of their constituents.

We are heading straight into a recession and there is no way to deny that. Rising inflation usually is due to a roaring economy. This one is slightly different. This one is being caused by price gouging and supply chain issues. Studying economics, one would know that rising interests is the go to solution for inflation. However, this inflation wasn't caused by the usual. I believe we need to create company incentives for green energy and job training for when those jobs arrive in order to proceed through this transition into a green new world.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I believe that one of the greatest challenges the United States (and the world) over the next decade pertains to how we address climate change. We know that climate change is real, and requires action now. It’s time to start seriously investing in decarbonization efforts. As a climate communicator, I’ve spent the past two decades communicating the science of climate change and how it’s affecting our communities. From the rising price of groceries to out-of-season tornadoes, stronger and longer droughts, record flooding, and derechos – here in Northwest and Central Illinois, we are already feeling the impact of climate change.

When we talk about addressing climate change, we’re talking about investing in the green economy of the future, the green infrastructure that’s going to transform our society. As we invest in EVs (electric vehicles) and renewable energy, there will be an opportunity for good-paying, union jobs, and we should encourage those jobs to remain right here in the United States (in particular, Northwest and Central Illinois).

We must also recognize that we are going to need to make sure that those solutions are affordable and accessible to all people.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

I would aspire to honor the esteemed Congresswoman Bustos' legacy of serving on both the Appropriations Committee and the Agricultural Committee so I could continue to implement the bills she has passed throughout her tenure.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I do not agree that this term limit is effective in true representation in Congress for those that elected them. Fundraising is an extremely time commitment that results in a less accessible representative for their constituents. I believe the limit should raised to 4 years.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I think it takes time to achieve power and allies in Washington D.C. I don't think that trajectory to achieving those tools should be prohibited by any longer term limit than 16 years. I would also support Grandfathering in all of the current office makers that were elected under unlimited terms.

While out signature gathering, I encountered a family of African Americans. They wanted to discuss a few issues before they signed my petition. The first was the Democrats message of "Defunding the Police." They explained to me that this actually caused a bigger rift between them and law enforcement and that their messaging was off. It always should have been "Reform the Police," according to my constituents.

Tell us your favorite joke.

I met a voter while grocery shopping at Jewel-Osco in Moline who told me how much she missed seeing me on Channel 8. “You really had a knack of explaining how things worked.’”

For the next few minutes, she talked about how Washington seems so far away from the everyday life of a Moliner. That there seems to be more problems than solutions these days. As we wrapped up and she was about to push her cart away, she said “I just can’t wait until you’re in Congress and you can explain to us how everything works.” I stood there for a minute, thinking about what she said. What did “explain how things work” mean?

Honestly, it isn’t something I thought about much before that moment. But it’s something I’ve been thinking about constantly since. The people we elect to represent us need to show us their work. Less of the “trust me” and more of the “let me show you.”

When elected to Congress, I'll be able to do just that - explain the inner workings and demystify the legislative process for the people of IL-17. And it’s what I’ve been doing for the past 20 years in our community: explaining the weather in a way that made sense for our viewers, and then communicating that information to keep our families safe.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Q. Why did the housewife cross the road? A. I'm not sure, she's supposed to be in the kitchen.

As a pro second amendment proponent, I am also a mass shooting survivor when I was 16. This issue made me wish back then that there were better assessments on individuals buying guns so quickly, but it did not make me wish to stomp on the rights of legal owners. I believe the only way through this issue is to have true compromise. Waiting periods and raising the legal age limit on when you can buy an assault rifle are where both parties are going to have to meet in the middle. Compromise is the only path through the divisive times we live in.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

I do believe that compromise is necessary for policy making. Any piece of legislation passing through the House is going to need 218 Representatives supporting it. That’s 218 perspectives, experiences, and opinions. It’s great if all 218 can agree on the exact same piece of legislation, but realistically there’s going to need to be compromises to get legislation across the finish line.