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Daniel Behr

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Daniel Behr
Candidate, Illinois House of Representatives District 57
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Next election
March 17, 2026
Education
High school
New Trier East High School
Bachelor's
Northeastern Illinois University, 1983
Ph.D
University of Antwerp, 2022
Personal
Birthplace
Chicago, IL
Religion
Catholic
Profession
Business owner and president
Contact

Daniel Behr (Republican Party) is running for election to theIllinois House of Representatives to representDistrict 57. He is on the ballot in the Republican primary onMarch 17, 2026.[source]

Behr completed Ballotpedia'sCandidate Connection survey in 2026.Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Daniel Behr was born inChicago, Illinois. He graduated from New Trier East High School. He attended Northwestern University, earned a bachelor's degree from Northeastern Illinois University in 1983, and a Ph.D. from the University of Antwerp in 2022. His career experience includes establishing various railroad enterprises including a locomotive and railcar renovation business and conducting railroad evaluation, analyses, and prospects for various markets in the U.S. and Germany. He has been affiliated with the Traffic Club of Chicago, East Troy Electric Railroad, and World Chicago.[1]

Elections

2026

See also: Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 57

IncumbentTracy Katz Muhl (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 57 on March 17, 2026.

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Republican primary

Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 57

Daniel Behr (R) is running in the Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 57 on March 17, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Daniel Behr
Daniel Behr Candidate Connection

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There are noincumbents in this race.

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Endorsements

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2024

See also: Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Illinois House of Representatives District 57

IncumbentTracy Katz Muhl defeatedDaniel Behr in the general election for Illinois House of Representatives District 57 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tracy Katz Muhl
Tracy Katz Muhl (D)
 
59.5
 
28,812
Image of Daniel Behr
Daniel Behr (R) Candidate Connection
 
40.5
 
19,586

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Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 48,398
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 57

IncumbentTracy Katz Muhl advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 57 on March 19, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tracy Katz Muhl
Tracy Katz Muhl
 
100.0
 
8,125

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Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,125
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Behr in this election.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Daniel Behr completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Behr's responses.

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I have a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the University of Antwerp and am an entrepreneur. I have worked in transportation, logistics and economic development in the US and around the world. I run a transportation and economic development consulting firm that also supplies rail exports to clients in Europe and Australia. I’m running for the Illinois House of Representatives to advocate for responsible budgeting, enhance economic competitiveness and implement policies that improve affordability for both residents and employers. My approach is grounded in data and emphasizes measurable outcomes, transparency, and long-term fiscal stability. I’m practical, data-driven and focused on outcomes, because in business, if something doesn’t work, you don’t get to pretend it worked.
  • Improve Affordability and Fiscal Stability. I support disciplined state budgeting, increased transparency and structural reforms that strengthen Illinois’ long-term financial position. My focus is on improving the business climate and addressing cost drivers that affect families and employers.
  • Strengthen Education Outcomes. I support policies that emphasize measurable academic achievement, workforce readiness and curriculum transparency. The goal is to improve student performance and prepare graduates for higher education, skilled trades or careers.
  • Enhance Public Safety. I support data-driven public safety policies that target repeat offenders and enhance community safety.
Transportation infrastructure, economic development, education performance, health care sustainability, government accountability and elder care policy.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.


2024

Candidate Connection

Daniel Behr completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Behr's responses.

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I am a serial entrepreneur with broad and varied experience, with a PhD in Applied Economics from the University of Antwerp in Belgium. I have a lot of international experience, as well domestic. I am empathetic, yet practical. I am also imaginative and can develop creative and unconventional solutions to thorny problems, being a proven problem solver.
  • Reduce taxes through reduced government spending, elimination of duplicate administrative layers, which would make the state fiscally healthier, which would enhance the economic opportunities and business climate to stem the mass migration away from the State of Illinois.
  • Reduce crime; no more excessive or politically gratuitous leniency.
  • Enhance education, through focusing on foundational subjects such as STEM topics, with NO state mandates or political messages to distract children from the basic subject skills.
Transportation, economic development, education, health care and infrastructure.
The ability to put oneself in the position of your constituents, clearly understand their problems and find solutions, conventional or creative.
Extensive experience in a wide variety of businesses within multiple sectors.
To fairly represent your constituents and their needs and effect policies that address those needs in a financially responsible way.
That I did some good for our District, State and Country and its citizens
Howard Johnson’s Restaurant in Wilmette, as a teenager. I had it for a few months, until I curtailed it for studies.
"Atlas Shrugged", Ayn Rand
Establishing several business enterprises and the work that it took to get the PhD.
An impartial and dispassionate governor that is non-partisan and takes both parties’ concerns into account, rather than be partisan stalwart.
Solving the pension crisis and the mass exodus of businesses and residents from Illinois.
Not necessarily. Often, it’s important to have someone who looks at issues with a fresh set of eyes and ideas.
Yes, of course it is. All parties must be able to understand their respective views.
I would certainly consider it. I do have considerable international experience and am able to view issues from a macro, overall policy perspective, as well as on a local and granular level. But, for the present, I am focused on the 57th District of Illinois.
Given my background and strong interest in transportation matters, the proposal of merging CTA, Metra & Pace caught my attention & decided to research. The numbers:

CTA has a $6.9 billion debt related to long term pensions, employee retirement benefits and claims (personal injury) - ($2 billion) and $4.9 billion in rough, rounded bonded debt.
Metra has only $312 mm in debt, related to long term pensions, employee retirement benefits & claims
Pace has even less, at $138 mm in debt, similarly related.

In addition, there would be numerous operational problems, as CTA & Metra operate two different technologies, with unique designs & supply chain issues for maintenance of large systems. There would be no capitalizing on economy of scale, due to vastly different operating scenarios and methods, technology, training, facilities, physical dimensions & weight, rolling stock operational characteristics, different speeds, along with operating culture. Metra has no buses, so no similarities there. Pace does have buses, but they are smaller, better maintained and operate over different, higher speeds in suburban territories. I see no system interoperability between Metra & CTA or Pace, other than as feeders to/from stations. There are no operational reasons to consolidate & all the suburbs that are part of the collar counties that are the taxing district funding of Metra do not favor this at all. The rationale for merging the 3 agencies is for overall ticket consolidation, leading to, in effect, integrated ticketing for convenience to the riders. That goal could be accomplished with existing technology, without the risks of merger disruption. This appears to be an effort to bail out the CTA, as the City of Chicago has no funds for bailing out the CTA. The merger would constitute establishing another patronage army within Chicago, which has a long history of these practices. My answer would be no to consolidation of the respective systems.
I would support a balanced approach, where the executive can initially act swiftly but must seek legislative approval within a set timeframe (often days or weeks). This ensures both effective crisis management and democratic accountability.
Legislation to help solve the pension issues.
The local and state Republican organizations, Illinois Family Action
Anything to do with transportation, cities & villages, local government, counties and townships, ethics & elections, judiciary, labor & commerce, revenue & finance. state gov administration
I would want to know where the money will be spent, what are the sources of the funding (without debt), knowing how to measure the efficacy of the policies and what incentives can be put into place to encourage good financial stewardship.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia LogoNote: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Daniel Behr campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024Illinois House of Representatives District 57Lost general$55,824 $51,518
Grand total$55,824 $51,518
Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

See also


External links

Candidate

Illinois House of Representatives District 57

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2024


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