Residents of Illinois’ 9th congressional district have gotten used to seeing something this election that many have never seen in their lifetimes:  a legitimate Republican nominee to challenge the Democrat incumbent.  In fact, it is hard to miss evidence of Joel Pollak’s campaign wherever you turn.  Whether it is yard signs throughout the district, billboards on buses, ads on radio and television, or even a fleet of “Pollakmobiles,” the Republican’s campaign has become almost ubiquitous.

So who is Joel Pollak and where did he come from?  How did a political neophyte and virtual unknown put together an insurgent campaign that’s raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from around the country to challenge a six-term incumbent in what was thought to be one of the safest districts in America?

Pollak was born in South Africa and his family immigrated to Skokie when he was an infant; he became a citizen when he was ten.  He attended Solomon Schechter Day School and Niles North High School where he was the valedictorian of his graduating class, captain of the swim team, president of the math team, and an All-State Scholar-Athlete.  His portrait still hangs at Niles North commemorating his high school achievements.  He went on to Harvard where he was the first student to combine the fields of Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy and graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Two years ago he was toiling away at Harvard Law School, just another bright young man at a place where bright young men are the norm.  Then he met Barney Frank.

The Massachusetts Democrat and powerful Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee was at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and submitted to student questions after a speech.  Pollak, dressed in jeans, a sweater, and yarmulke stood up and calmly asked what responsibility, if any, Frank had for the financial meltdown.  Frank was not amused.  He blustered, spun, and ridiculed his young inquisitor, but Pollak was undeterred.  He asked again and again, but the Congressman never answered the question.  The confrontation became a YouTube sensation, Pollak appeared with Greta Van Susteren on the FOX News Channel, and soon the calls for him to make a Congressional run began.

That Pollak should find himself in this position was highly unlikely.  A long-time Democrat, Pollak had never voted for a Republican for President until he actually volunteered for John McCain in 2008.  Before that he had served as an intern for liberal Democrat Carol Mosely Braun and voted against George W. Bush twice.  Pollak’s politics had always been motivated by a desire to help the poor, however, and eventually a light went on.  While serving as a Rotary scholar and free-lance journalist in South Africa, he began to see that well-meaning government programs in that country were actually creating a cycle of dependency and hurting the nation’s economy and potential for growth.  He said, “What was eye opening to me is the damage that big government can do to the very people that it says it is trying to help.  Which is a reality that hadn’t dawned on me before.” He returned to America a changed man, looking “at social problems and political problems in a different light.”

Even with his new found notoriety though, Pollak wasn’t sure that a run against long-time Rep. Jan Schakowsky in his home district was in the cards for him.  That changed when he attended a Schakowsky health care forum last year.  Instead of using the event to hear constituents’ views of the health care situation and to educate them on hers, Schakowsky instead let union organizers and Democrat interest groups block participation by district residents.  Pollak captured on video staff from Healthcare for America Now instructing supporters how to block out people asking questions critical of Schakowsky’s favored public option.  This landed him on FOX news again, this time to make his announcement that he was running for office.  Schakowsky, he said, “Was representing Washington to the people.  I want to represent the people to Washington.”

Unlike past Republican campaigns in the 9th, Pollak is putting up more than token opposition to the Democrat.  His campaign has reached out beyond the Republican base to the various groups in the diverse district and it is not uncommon to see supporters in ethnic enclaves wearing Pollak for Congress campaign buttons in Russian, Korean, or Hindi.  He’s also attracted endorsements from around the country and brought in political and show business celebrities to make his case for him including Paul Ryan, Alan Dershowitz, Vivica Fox, Amy Jacobson and Gary Sinise.  Dershowitz, whom Pollak did research for at Harvard and who had never before endorsed a Republican, said of Pollak, “I have never in my 46 years at Harvard seen a more promising political leader.”

Because of his background as a Democrat, Pollak’s positions on many social issues are much more nuanced than that of the average Republican and make him much more acceptable to voters in the liberal-leaning district than previous GOP candidates.  His real strength, however, is in his strong commitment to fiscal responsibility, constitutional principles, and the free enterprise system.  These stances have made him a hero to the local Tea Party movement (which his opponent has deemed “shameful and despicable”) and given him a ready supply of boots on the ground willing to canvass neighborhoods and make telephone calls on his behalf.

He’s also a stalwart defender of Israel, creating another chink in the armor of the once-invincible Schakowsky.  Schakowsky has been a reliable vote in Congress for the Israel lobby, but her association with the liberal pressure group J Street has caused many to question her leadership on the issue.  At a recent candidate forum on the matter, Pollak bested her on the issue and wrestled away a key endorsement that Schakowsky had earned for years previously.

Now, as predicted by Mr. Pollak, Rep. Schakowsky is “playing dirty.”  This is actually the continuation of a pattern by the rarely challenged incumbent.  At a recent League of Women Voters candidate forum, Schakowsky had her staff pass out literature to those waiting to enter the event in direct contradiction of the rules she had agreed to and stood idly by as her supporters heckled Pollak during his closing remarks.  She continues to describe her participation in a limited number of such forums as “debates” even though she has consistently refused to debate Pollak and let him directly challenge her on her policies or ethical lapses like involvement with the failed Shore Bank or the foreclosure scandal where she intervened on behalf of wealthy contributors.  Her supporters have been photographed removing or defacing Pollak campaign signs and she was videotaped electioneering outside an early voting polling place.  Finally, last week she sent out a campaign mailer that blatantly misrepresents Pollak’s positions on key issues.

In the closing hours of the campaign, Pollak still has a steep hill to climb but it no longer seems insurmountable.  Internal campaign polling shows Schakowsky, who has regularly won with 75% of the vote, at only 48%.  If anti-incumbent sentiment propels independent voters to break his way, he stands the best chance of a Republican winning in generations.  As his campaign slogan says, he may be in a position to give this district “A Fresh Start.”

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