Democratic congressman Eric Sorensen is running for a third term in Illinois’ sprawling 17th congressional district. He is being challenged by Republican Dillan Vancil in the Nov. 3 general election.
TSPR asked the candidates why they are running, whether Congress should regulate AI, the war against Iran, and more.
About the candidates
Eric Sorensen
Age as of November 3, 2026:
Occupation: U.S. Congressman
Education: Northern Illinois University, BS. Communications, 1999
Community involvement:
For the last three and a half years, I’ve had the honor and opportunity to represent Illinois' 17th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Dillan Vancil
Occupation
- Founder & Owner, Dame Fine Coffee
Education
- West-Central High School
Community Service
- West-Central School Board, 2021–2025 (former Vice President)
- Board Member, Eagleview Community Health
- Board Member, Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce
Why are you running to represent your district in Congress?
Sorensen: For over twenty years, I was trusted by the people of Northwestern and Central Illinois to look out for them during the worst kinds of weather. But for the last 3.5 years, I’ve been working to protect them from a different storm—the one raging in Washington. Our neighbors deserve not only a protector, but a strong advocate for their needs, and I look forward to continuing to deliver on that promise with another term in Congress.
I spent my twenty years as a TV Meteorologist earning the people’s trust. I didn’t do it by getting the weather right every day; I did it by being reliable and honest when it mattered most.
And since I got to Washington, I’ve continued to build that trust by working with our communities directly to truly understand their needs and use the resources of the federal government to help address their most pressing issues. I’m proud to have secured tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and given it back to the people of the district, including bipartisan funding for substance abuse treatment, health care, local law enforcement, and education.
I am running for re-election to continue this work on behalf of the people I serve, not to satisfy any political party or particular ideology.
Vancil: I grew up on SNAP, raised by a single mom. I went to work on the railroad as an engineer, then started a coffee shop that has grown into Dame Fine Coffee, with locations across west-central Illinois and eastern Iowa. I've served on my local school board, and my wife Alyssa and I are raising our two boys here. I know what it means to stretch a paycheck and to sign the front of one.
I'm running because the families and retirees of this district have been left behind. Electric bills, groceries and health care keep climbing and politicians continue to get re-elected. I'm not a career politician. I've signed the term-limits pledge, and I'll put this district ahead of any party agenda. When my party is right for the 17th, I'll stand with it. When it's wrong, I'll vote the other way.
What is the most important issue facing your congressional district? How would you address it?
Sorensen: One of the most important challenges facing Illinois’ 17th Congressional District is that many of our rural communities have gone under-represented and under-supported for far too long, particularly when it comes to critical infrastructure like clean water and flood prevention and mitigation. It’s why I was proud to introduce the bipartisan Strengthening Access to Flood-resilient Environments for Rural Communities Act or the SAFE Rural Act in Washington. This bill would help give our rural communities dedicated flood resilience resources so they’re prepared for the next storm–and every storm after. Our neighbors also deserve the confidence of knowing that every time they turn on the tap, their water is clean and safe to drink. That’s why I’ve secured over $18 million in federal dollars for water infrastructure projects in my district, and I’m fighting for another $6.5+ million in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. Central and Northwestern Illinois is home to hardworking hometowns, and I’m committed to ensuring they have the same opportunity to protect their families and infrastructure before the next storm hits as anyone else.
Vancil: Affordability, and energy sits at the center of it. When energy costs rise, prices go up at the pump, on the utility bill and at the checkout line. Families here have watched electric bills soar while Governor Pritzker and Springfield pushed unreliable power and shut down the baseload plants that kept the lights on and the bills manageable.
I'd address it in three ways. First, unleash American energy: clean coal, expanded natural gas and safe nuclear, so families and manufacturers have dependable, affordable power. The war in the Middle East has shown why we can't let our energy bills depend on the Strait of Hormuz. Second, real tax relief: no federal income tax on the first $25,000 for individuals and $50,000 for married couples. Third, fix health care costs with real price transparency, so people know what care costs before they get the bill.
Do you believe Congress should regulate artificial intelligence? Why or why not? If you support regulation, what controls would you favor?
Sorensen: Artificial intelligence has the potential to be an incredible tool for good in our world. In fact, we’ve already seen its potential in numerous professional fields, such as business, economics, medicine, science, and–near and dear to my heart–meteorology. But even with this great potential for good, we are faced with equally incredible danger. AI models have shown the capacity to conduct increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, both when weaponized by bad actors and even, in particularly frightening cases, of their own accord, and it is critical we work to enact the proper safeguards before it’s too late. It is also important that we maintain our technological superiority over China so we can ensure Americans’ private data, crucial digital infrastructure systems, and our national security interests continue to be protected.
I’m disappointed that, still, it is the CEOs of our nation’s largest AI conglomerates who have been the most outspoken in this effort for proper regulation and not my colleagues in Congress. This is a critical opportunity for the United States to take a proactive position, rather than a reactive one.
I believe proactivity is the key to fast-tracking American digital innovation and maintaining our edge over China. We must provide clear and comprehensive national regulations to help create a level playing field for newcomers, minimize catastrophic risk, protect vulnerable populations from the misuse of the technology, and eliminate any legal ambiguities. When our government, but especially Congress, regulates an industry effectively, they enable it to grow and become more competitive. If we want to win the AI race with China, we need to enable innovation in the domestic artificial intelligence market, and comprehensive regulation lets us do just that.
Vancil: Yes, but with a light touch and a clear purpose. AI is one of the greatest opportunities of our lifetime and a serious national security issue. Whoever leads in AI will shape the global economy and modern warfare, and that cannot be China. Heavy-handed red tape would only hand them the advantage.
Congress should set one national framework so startups aren't buried under 50 different state rulebooks. That framework must not create a barrier to entry. Regulations that only the biggest tech companies can afford to comply with would lock out small innovators and entrench the giants. Within it, I'd support targeted protections against real harms, including deepfake fraud and scams aimed at seniors, along with strict safeguards on AI in critical defense systems. I'd also make sure big tech's new data centers pay their own way for power, so families in this district aren't stuck with higher electric bills to fuel them.
Do you support the war against Iran? What are the goals for the war? What steps should be taken to end it?
Sorensen: No, I do not support Donald Trump’s unauthorized and unwanted War in Iran. Trump has dragged the United States into yet another costly and dangerous war in the Middle East, and with no end in sight, it risks becoming the latest “forever war” in the region. He went to war with Iran with zero military strategy, no plan to handle the costs of the effort, and without the consent of Congress. The Leadership of the House of Representatives should be actively calling for Trump’s justifications for this conflict as well as greater transparency around the true costs of the war–how it's affecting our military budgets, how everyday American’s costs of living have been affected, and what the long-term ripple effects could be. As a Member of the House Armed Services Committee, I continually urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to speak out against this chaos, and I’ve voted numerous times to pass War Powers Resolutions that would put an end to the War in Iran. I will only redouble my efforts if this war continues until I return to Congress in January because the President does not deserve to be free of accountability.
Vancil: For decades, Iran has been run by a radical terrorist regime that sponsors terrorism, threatens our allies, and holds the world's economy hostage. We're watching that happen right now in the Strait of Hormuz. A regime like that leaves no real room for negotiation, and it cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
Our forces have done their job. We have destroyed much of Iran's nuclear capability, and the President has declared victory more than once. Now this war must come to an end. Every decision from here should rest on one question: what is in the best interest of America?
Ending this war requires two conditions. The Strait of Hormuz must be fully reopened, restoring the free flow of energy and commerce and relieving the costs families here are paying at the pump. And Congress must reject any open-ended commitment. Nation-building hasn’t worked in the past is not in America's interest for the future .
What can the federal government do to bring down consumer prices?
Sorensen: Despite representing a district where fifth-generation farmers in Knox County, Illinois State University students in Bloomington-Normal and lifelong union autoworkers in the Quad Cities all cast the same federal ballot, the issue I hear about time and again is how expensive life has become across the board. Everything, from groceries and prescription drugs to gasoline and housing, has gone up in price, saddling families of all backgrounds with impossible financial decisions. As the 17th District’s only voice in Congress, I’ve worked tirelessly to lower costs across the board for our communities, and there’s no avenue I’m unwilling to explore to continue providing relief for our families.
I’ve crafted legislation to tackle each major component of the cost of living crisis and worked with my colleagues across the political spectrum to garner support for my efforts. On the Agriculture Committee, I fought to include a provision in the House Farm bill permitting the year-round distribution of E15 to lower gas prices at the pump and support Illinois farmers. And when that provision was voted down by Committee Republicans, I kept fighting and got it passed as its own provision on the House Floor. I’ve also worked to slash the cost of prescription drugs and increase the availability of generics with my Stop Games Act; cut through red tape and address the housing crisis with the 21st Century Housing Act; address the near-tripling of fertilizer prices for Illinois farmers with my Homegrown Fertilizer Act; and support the reinstatement of key federal programs ensure every American has access to affordable, clean drinking water.
But even with this incredible progress, in the face of challenging political conditions, there is still so much more work to be done. The larger cost of living crisis people are facing at home is not due to any policy implemented by the state of Illinois or some sudden and unprecedented domestic failure of the agricultural or manufacturing sectors, it’s the result of the Trump administration’s devastating failures on the global stage. To build a better, more affordable future for middle-class families in Illinois’ 17th district, we need to end Trump’s War in Iran, work with our allies to rebuild our global supply chains, and bring a close to the haphazard and seemingly endless trade wars that have shaken markets at home and threatened relationships with our closest allies abroad.
Vancil: Start with energy, because it's built into the price of everything. Expanding coal, natural gas and nuclear production lowers costs from the gas pump to the grocery aisle. Next, stop the deficit spending that fuels inflation. Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Let working families keep more of their paychecks by not taxing the first $25,000 of income for individuals or $50,000 for couples.
On health care, require real price transparency and build on Most Favored Nation drug pricing, so Americans stop paying more than other countries for the same medicine. On housing, limit Wall Street firms from buying up starter homes. And on trade, pursue stable deals that keep farm input costs down, so farmers aren't waiting on the next bailout check.
