At 33 years old, Joel Pollak has already written two books, worked as a journalist abroad and obtained a law and master’s degree. Now, he is trying his hand at politics.In November, Pollak, a Republican, will challenge six-term U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) for her 9th District congressional seat.
“I’m running because I believe that our country is in a point of crisis right now from which it may not return,” Pollak said, adding the left-wing policies Schakowsky has pushed have harmed the country. “By standing up to her, I’ll be doing something that’s good for the people of our district and our country.”
Pollak immigrated to Skokie from South Africa when he was 8 weeks old and attended Harvard University after graduating from Niles North High School. After college, he returned to South Africa, where he worked as a freelance journalist and a speechwriter. Pollak also received a master’s degree in Jewish studies from the University of Cape Town.
In 2006, he enrolled at Harvard Law School, where he wrote two books about politics and graduated last June.
Pollak identified as a Democrat as recently as 2006, but he made an ideological switch after questioning the effectiveness of Democrats’ policies.
ECONOMY
Pollak said job growth is the most important issue for voters.
“This is a district that used to be an economic powerhouse in Chicago, but there have been so many companies that have left our area,” he said. “Number one is getting back to basics and getting people back to work.”
He argues Schakowsky has not sufficiently advocated fiscal responsibility. He said this should motivate the younger generation, including students at Northwestern, to support him. Pollak said students should vote for him because the Democratic policies Schakowsky supports are only exacerbating a hefty national debt that younger generations will eventually be stuck paying.
“Students should vote for me because the higher debt that Representative Schakowsky is voting for and the higher debt that Congress is putting in place today, we are going to have to pay those,” he said. “We are going to be working our entire lives, paying higher taxes our entire lives, unless we stop Congress from spending our money away.”
To eliminate the debt, Pollak proposes freezing discretionary spending and better handling entitlement spending, which funds programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
HEALTH CARE
Pollak said he disapproves of Schakowsky’s support of the recently passed health care bill. Instead of completely redoing the system, Pollak said the government should tackle expensive costs such as malpractice lawsuits, adding competition to the insurance market and strengthening patients’ control over the system.
“The main problem with health care in the United States is not quality or coverage; it’s cost,” he said. “It would be easier to pay for the insurance of the uninsured than to overhaul the entire system because mostly the system works.”
Schakowsky said her “life’s work” is giving Americans health security, especially in a country where millions of people are unable to afford or obtain health insurance due to pre-existing conditions.
“(Pollak) is clearly out of touch with the people in our district who come into the office every week just distraught over their inability to get or afford the health care that they need,” she said. “This is a national crisis.”
FOREIGN POLICY
Pollak also supports a “zero tolerance policy” toward Iran. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons, Pollak said, he will support military intervention.
The U.S. should maintain sanctions until Iran surrenders its nuclear ambitions and better protects human rights, he said.
Pollak works for the Hudson Institute, a think tank that aims to counter the anti-American and anti-Israel initiatives of dictatorial members of the United Nations.
He said he supports a strong relationship between the U.S. and Israel. An Orthodox Jew who speaks fluent Hebrew, Pollak said he is concerned for “a secure and peaceful policy in the Middle East” and wants to be a leader on the issue in Congress.
He criticized the Democratic Party’s “clamor” to exit Iraq in 2006, arguing it would have precipitated civil war and genocide.
CAMPAIGNING
Though Pollak has never run for political office, he said that will not deter voters. Casting himself as “a fresh start,” Pollak said his inexperience will work to his advantage come November.
“Inexperience is something voters want because they’re so tired of having the same people in office over and over again who treat their congressional seats as if they own them,” he said. “The overwhelming response to the idea that someone would run from outside politics has been a very positive one.”
Schakowsky said she is currently focusing on immigration reform and addressing issues related to the national debt, not campaigning.
“I’ve never run unopposed since I’ve been elected, and I certainly welcome a race,” Schakowsky said. “I think in general his views, as someone who has been endorsed and participates in the Tea Party movement, are not consistent with the vast majority of the district.”
Pollak said he will continue his political career regardless of the result of the November election.
“I’ll keep fighting for the ideas I’m fighting for now-free markets, strong foreign policy, for strong U.S.-Israel relationship and for human rights in the Constitution as they are intended to be,” he said. “Those are the principles motivating me for what I’m doing now.”
[email protected]@u.northwestern.edu
