Melissa Bean (née Luburich; born January 22, 1962) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district from 2005 to 2011.

Her strong showing in 2002 led the national party to pump a large amount of money into her campaign.

Faced with having to campaign for what was previously thought to be a safe seat, the Republicans tried their best to keep Crane in office.

Bean's reelection became a top priority of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

Bean faced the winner of a competitive six-candidate Republican primary, David McSweeney, in the general election.

[3] Although she was one of forty-four Democrats in the House who voted to condemn the MoveOn.org group for their controversial "General Betray-us" ad in 2007, he criticized her for accepting over $80,000 in campaign donations from them three years earlier.

Bean was a member of the Small Business and Financial Services committees for her entire House tenure.

[13] Bean's business and financial record includes opposing a bill that would have allowed for drilling for oil in Lake Michigan which is a large source of drinking water for her district.

Similarly, she is one of only 15 Democrats to vote in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

[16] On other issues, Bean opposed President Bush's troop "surge" in Iraq.