Randall Mark Hultgren[1] (/ˈhʌltɡrən/; born March 1, 1966) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 14th congressional district from 2011 to 2019.

[6] Hultgren, whose grandfather was a Baptist pastor, then became the third generation of his family to attend Bethel College & Seminary in Arden Hills, Minnesota, where he earned a B.A.

[2][7] He next moved to Washington, D.C. to work as an aide to Republican U.S. Representative Dennis Hastert (IL-14) from 1988 to 1990, where he rose from intern to office manager.

[15][16][17][18] In the November 1994 general election Hultgren and incumbent Republican DuPage County District 4 board member Pat Carr of Wheaton easily defeated their two Democratic opponents.

In 1998, incumbent Republican State Representative Peter Roskam of Illinois's 40th House District decided to retire to run for Congress.

[23] After redistricting, Hultgren decided to run in the newly redrawn 95th House District and defeated Democrat Dirk Enger 61%–37%.

[31][32] During his first term, Hultgren represented a hybrid suburban-rural district that stretched from the outer western suburbs of Chicago through Dixon all the way to Cambridge on the other side of the state.

The redrawn 14th included areas previously part of the neighboring 8th district, represented by fellow freshman Republican Joe Walsh.

In the general election, Hultgren won reelection to a second term, beating Democratic candidate Dennis Anderson with 59% of the vote.

Others receiving votes were Matt Brolley, Jim Walz, Victor Swanson, John Hosta, George Weber, and Daniel Roldan-Johnson.

[73] In 2010, Hultgren signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, promising to vote against any climate-change legislation that would raise taxes.

Hultgren said the bill was intended “to cut the overall small business tax rate to 25%,” a change he said would “provide much-needed relief to the engine of Illinois's economy.”[87] In June 2018, Hultgren and Roskam expressed their disapproval of Trump's plan to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and the European Union.

[89] Hultgren and Andy Barr (R-KY) introduced legislation that would compel the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the privacy risks associated with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rule.

“The role of smaller financial institutions is especially important in more rural areas, such as in my district, where larger banks tend to not have as many branches”, said Hultgren.

[92] Hultgren supported the Financial CHOICE Act, another Republican-backed bill to dismantle Dodd-Frank; the legislation would have eliminated the Treasury Department's Office of Financial Research, killed the Volcker Rule (which bars certain banks from particular risky trades); killed the Orderly Liquidation Authority (which allows the federal government to shut down failing banks that post a systemic risk to the economy); and removed a provision imposing greater oversight on "systemically important financial institutions.

[98] In 2013 he joined with fellow U.S. Representative Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) in securing the signatures of 137 House Republicans and Democrats in a letter urging congressional leaders to "reject any proposal to cap or eliminate the deduction on tax-exempt municipal bonds used to finance the vast majority of infrastructure projects in America’s communities.

[101] "Immigration is a foundational part of who we are...to be a place of refuge," Hultgren told the Chicago Tribune in September 2017.

"[102] In December 2015, citing religious freedom, Hultgren criticized presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. “Singling out any faith community for the actions of extremists is not conservative, it is hostile to our founding,” he said.

[103] In September 2017, Hultgren hosted a screening of Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei's film Human Flow, about the refugee crisis in 23 countries.

The Chicago Tribune wrote that Hultgren had "taken up the cause of Zhu Yufu, a Chinese dissident poet jailed for publishing pro-democracy poetry.

"[104] On February 14, 2018, Hultgren delivered a statement on the House floor wishing a happy birthday to Zhu Yufu, a prisoner of conscience in China, and calling on Chinese authorities to release him from detention.

Hultgren had “adopted” Zhu Yufu to highlight his plight as part of the Defending Freedoms Project, a joint effort by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and Amnesty International USA.

“These actions send a clear message that our electoral system is not to be tampered with, and the United States will respond when we or our allies are attacked”, Hultgren said.

[73] Hultgren sponsored legislation to allocate $110 million per year in federal grants for abstinence education in schools.

[110] Hultgren was described by the American Physical Society as an "outspoken advocate for basic scientific research and STEM education.

"[111] According to NBC Chicago, "the conservative Republican has carved a reputation as a pro-science, pro-STEM education supporter.

We’ve found an incredibly powerful combination, wedding education and research by incorporating universities, user facilities and Department of Energy resources.