The American Federation of Government Employees has endorsed six candidates running to represent Illinois in the U.S. House in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, the union announced Thursday.

The newly endorsed candidates are Donna Miller in the 2nd Congressional District, La Shawn Ford in the 7th, Melissa Bean in the 8th, Daniel Biss in the 9th, Jennifer Todd in the 15th and Paul Nolley in the 16th.

"AFGE is proud to support these U.S. House candidates who will stand up for AFGE members, federal workers and the essential services they provide to the public," said AFGE District 7 National Vice President Jason Anderson.

The endorsed candidates

  • Donna Miller (CD-2) is a health care professional and community advocate who chairs the Veterans Committee on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the union said. AFGE said she has a 100% voting record on union contracts as a commissioner.
  • La Shawn Ford (CD-7) is a former Chicago Public Schools teacher and coach now serving as a state representative. The union said he focuses on social justice, small business and health care access and has stood on picket lines with striking workers.
  • Melissa Bean (CD-8) is a former member of Congress. AFGE said that in Congress she helped pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Wall Street reform and the Affordable Care Act.
  • Daniel Biss (CD-9) is the mayor of Evanston and a former state representative and state senator, as well as a former University of Chicago mathematics professor. The union credited him with delivering campaign finance reform in Evanston.
  • Jennifer Todd (CD-15) is a nurse whose priorities include affordability, farming, health care, veterans' care and education, according to AFGE.
  • Paul Nolley (CD-16) is executive director of Project First Rate. The union said he supports blue-collar apprenticeships and is dedicated to protecting Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

AFGE said it previously endorsed Juliana Stratton for the U.S. Senate and nine candidates seeking reelection to the U.S. House in Illinois.

The union said nearly 90,000 federal employees live in Illinois. According to the release, AFGE represents more than 820,000 federal and D.C. government workers nationwide, including nearly 43,000 in District 7, which covers Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.

AFGE is the largest federal employee union in the country and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, according to its Wikipedia entry.