Crane was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1969, where he still serves. He was the head of the American Conservative Union from 1977-79, and unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1980. Crane currently is vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, chair of the Subcommittee on Trade, and he serves on the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Democratic challenger Melissa Bean, 40, grew up in Park Ridge, and makes her home in Barrington. She earned an Associates degree from Oakton College and a Bachelor's degree from Roosevelt University in 2002. She has held positions at a number of Chicago-area technology companies, including vice president of Sales at Dataflex Corp., area manager at SynOptics Communications, and district manager at UDS/Motorola. In 1995, she founded Sales Resources Inc., a consulting firm serving high-tech Fortune 1000 industries. This is her first campaign for public office.

Crane was a strong supporter of the 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act, has spoken out against excessive taxation and wasteful spending. He supports tax incentives to help businesses purchase new equipment and modernize their plants. Crane is also an advocate for easing regulations for small businesses, and supports a moratorium on regulations. In addition, Crane supports increasing the personal exemption to $5,000, a line item veto, and a balanced budget amendment.

In education, Mr. Crane supports parental choice for public and private schools, and greater emphasis on vocational and technical training. He has also voted to increase preventive benefits under Medicare. Mr. Crane opposes abortion and supports the death penalty.

Ms. Bean is pro-choice and favors what she calls reasonable gun control measures. She calls herself a fiscal conservative and supports targeted tax cuts, but opposes across-the-board tax cuts if they would hurt Social Security or increase the national debt. Ms. Bean supports the use of RICO anti-racketeering laws to confiscate the assets of corporate criminals, and favors measures to protect pensions and 401(k) plans from corporate fraud.

In education, Bean supports teacher recruitment programs and reduction of class sizes. She also supports a Patients' Bill of Rights, and a prescription drug benefit administered under Medicare. In addition, she supports the reinstatement of the Superfund law, and opposes drilling for oil in lake Michigan.

In the area of campaign finance, as of Oct. 16, Crane had raised $577,946 and spent $443,807. Contributions from individuals accounted for 21% of the funds ($123,212) and money from PACs (Political Action Committees) accounted for 77% ($445,763). Business contributions were 95.6% of the PAC funds, with labor contributions at $5,500. The top industries contributing to Crane's campaign were insurance; health professionals; pharmaceuticals; accountants; electric utilities; automotive; beer, wine, and liquor; and securities and investment. Top contributors included the National beer Wholesalers Assn., Philip Morris, American Physical Therapy Assn., Hubbard Broadcasting, PricewaterhouseCoopers, AFLAC Inc., Northrup Grumman, and the National Rifle Assn.

Also as of Oct. 16, Bean had raised $260,189 and spent $195,372. Contributions from individuals accounted for 64% of the funds ($166,294) and money from PACs (Political Action Committees) accounted for 28% ($72,065). Labor contributions were $61,000 of the PAC funds. The top industries contributing to Ms. Bean's campaign were industrial unions, building trade unions, lawyers/law firms, transportation unions, Democratic/Liberal causes, real estate, and securities & investment. Top contributors included the United Auto Workers, Intl. Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Carpenters & Joiners Union, Plumbers/Pipefitters Union, Sheet Metal Workers Union, and Great Lakes Loan Centers.