ILLINOIS (TIP): Nikhil Bhatia, an Indian American math teacher from Illinois, has announced his run for the US Congress from the state 7th District challenging Democrat Representative Danny Davis who intends to seek a 15th term. “I’m excited to share a big new step in my life: I am officially a candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 7th Congressional District,” Bhatia stated LinkedIn. The district covers the South and West Sides of Chicago as well as the western suburbs.
Bhatia, a teacher in Grand Crossing and an elected Local School Council member at Galileo Scholastic Academy on Chicago’s Near West Side, has “worked in urban education for 11 years, including five years as a middle school principal,” according to his website. He “recently received” his master’s from University of Chicago‘s Harris School of Public Policy “in order to study how we can tackle the systematic issues that oppress many of our communities,” it adds. “I would like to combine my passion for social justice and expertise in leadership and data analysis to make a social impact.”
Explaining the reasons for running for the US Congress on his LinkedIn profile, Bhatia said that although he’s spent his “entire career in urban education, the obstacles all of our kids face — underfunded schools, gun violence, climate change, and rolling back rights for women and LGBTQ students — are overwhelming. We need a solution that goes well beyond the classroom. And to do that, we need to change who we are sending to Washington. Change can’t wait.”
Bhatia notes that providing a better future for our children means “we can’t keep sending the same career politicians to Washington and hope for a different result. We need leaders who can relate to today’s challenges and have fresh ideas for creating a better tomorrow.”
“My issue isn’t with Danny’s age (81 years), but with his lack of action,” he says of the long-term representative currently holding the seat. Bhatia’s parents moved from India to the US and worked as physicians. He and his wife Alison are parents of two young children.