Biography

Michael Bendas was the eldest of five children raised on the southeast side of Chicago in an 800 square foot home purchased by his father
after WWII using the GI Bill. He was raised in an environment of playing softball in the street and roaming the neighborhood from one end to the other without fear of being accosted. His parents taught their children the difference between right and wrong.

Before he graduated from Bowen High School, the family moved to Beverly. Mike completed high school at Bowen, then attended the University of Illinois in Champaign in the Chemical Engineering program. He was active in ROTC. After two years he was accepted at the US Military Academy at West Point.

Michael graduated from West Point, then completed the Army’s Ranger, Airborne, Jumpmaster and Aviator courses. He served in Cavalry units along the Korean DMZ, the East German and Czech borders during his eight years of active duty. He spent 22 years in our US Army Reserves culminating as the Brigade Commander of all Reserve aviation commanding 2100 soldiers, 400 full time personnel, 126 aircraft, $2 billion of equipment spanning 12 states. He retired as a Colonel with multiple awards including two Legions of Merits. Michael also graduated from the USC with a Masters Degree in International Relations and from the US Army War College.

Michael’s initial civilian challenge was an unsuccessful attempt to navigate the German bureaucracy to create the first European, non-governmental airline. He returned to the States as a bank officer at the First National Bank of Chicago, then managed an operation in Dallas. Mike also worked for Household International and The Signature Group (now GE). For the last 10 years, Mike has been working in consulting to help businesses become more productive and competitive through strategic and process improvement, something that he greatly enjoys. He is considered to be a document imaging and workflow expert having testified in two states as an expert witness.

Michael is running for Congress due to a sense that the governments at all levels are going the “wrong way” and that the nation needs a smaller government focused on the people, better educational and energy programs, and dramatically increased fiscal responsibility. He intensely dislikes nepotism in politics because it precludes the best people from representing our interests in Washington DC, Springfield, Cook County and Chicago.

Michael Bendas believes in giving people a Hand Up, but Not a Hand Out since a Hand Out ultimately makes people dependent on government and unable to muster up the drive to succeed on their own.

My Commitment to You

If you elect me as your representative in Congress, I WILL:

Never forget that I work for you, the people of the district and the nation.

Always remember that my mission is to represent your interests while working to keep our country great.

Pledge to do my best to make our nation a better place to live for all Americans regardless of economic status.

Remember that if you judge me inadequate that you can, and will, vote me out of office in the next election.

I began my commitment to this great nation of ours at West Point and proved it with my service both on active duty and as an Army Reserve senior officer and Brigade Commander of over
2100 reservist citizen-soldiers. Of this, I am most proud. I was very blessed to work with and to lead such fine citizens of all ranks, races, sexes, backgrounds, nationalities and religions. They are the true heroes.

We, as a nation, owe our military personnel our gratitude and thanks.

I believe that my work in the service of the nation is being undermined by our Congressmen, Senators and Presidents in Washington by members of both parties. They have failed to demonstrate responsibility for the finances of the country.

They continue to pass budgets that increase the cost and size of government rather than control spending. They are passing a health care policy that ignores true reform and crushes competition, but manages to increase the federal government’s control to nearly 40% of the our Gross National Product (GDP).

They passed a stimulus bill in which job creation is only incidental.

They are considering a cap and trade energy bill does not address the real problem that we need to revolutionize our energy production, but it does address our international competitiveness – by reducing it.

It is time for new leadership and innovative ideas. It is time to break the mold. It is time for a smaller, more responsive federal government.

It is time to elect MICHAEL BENDAS TO CONGRESS!


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