McLean County Times

Calvin Coleman, a 46-year-old small business owner, is running for Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District as a candidate of the Independence Party. 

Coleman, a mechanic who owns Coleman & Son Garage, a 24-hour towing and repair business in Dwight, brings a personal understanding of economic struggle and health challenges to his campaign, emphasizing rebuilding communities, government accountability and public health reform.

The Independence Party is a new to Illinois, formed in the wake of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign and connected to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.

Illinois' 2nd Congressional District candidate Calvin Coleman with wife Stephanie Kinzler-Coleman and former presidential candidate and current U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | calvincoleman.us

“We were all former RFK Jr. state leads, volunteers, and supporters,” Coleman told the McLean County Times. "When (RFK Jr.) suspended his campaign, we stuck together and decided to work to help independents get on the ballot, since Illinois has very burdensome ballot access rules, especially for new parties, third parties, and independents.”

Coleman is one of several candidates who have announced their candidacy in the 2nd District.

The candidate list includes Yumeka Brown, Eric France, Robert Peters, and Adal Regis from the Democratic Party and Ashley Ramos from the Republican Party.

“It’s kind of a rollercoaster ride,” he said. “There are days when you feel really downtrodden, trying to get the message out. Then there are other days when you feel great because it’s really taking effect with people. But at the end of the day, I may not be the best candidate this district’s ever had in terms of life experience or education, but what I really want to do is inspire people to know that it is okay to stand up, fight, and try to take your country back.”

Reflecting on the journey ahead, Coleman described how he measures success beyond just winning.

“If I go into this and lose, but my message is heard, then I don’t believe it will be all for loss,” he said. “I think if we can inspire even two people to run, whether for local office or anything, I will be able to feel pretty good. So many people feel disenfranchised by everything in our government, and they don’t feel like they can make a change. I’m just putting my feet forward. You have to take a step forward in order to make a change.”

Coleman’s platform for the district, which includes parts of Chicago’s South Side and surrounding industrial communities, centers heavily on economic revitalization and fighting for working families. 

Raised in poverty in a small town, with a single mother struggling to raise two kids, Coleman said his childhood shaped his passion for rebuilding Illinois’ struggling communities. 

“I’m running to rebuild our impoverished communities, bring back manufacturing, and bring back service industry jobs,” he said. “I grew up in a small town in poverty. I grew up with a single mom trying to raise two kids while we lived in government housing, relied on food stamps, and charity clothing drives. That was during the formative years of my childhood. I’ve known struggle, and I’ve seen how communities seem to lose more and more.”

Illinois’s 2nd Congressional District stretches south from Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood through the South Side and southern suburbs, and includes the counties of Cook, Kankakee, Vermilion, Will, Livingston, Iroquois, Champaign and Ford.

Coleman is critical of the Democratic Party’s long hold on the district which is currently held by U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) who is running for U.S. Senate rather than seeking re-election. 

“I feel she did what the party told her to do,” he said. “I don’t have anything personal against Robin Kelly; it’s a matter of policy. District 2 has never been controlled by anything other than a Democrat, and we are not getting better. It’s time to give failed policies a rest and try new ideas to revitalize this district." 

Coleman connected the struggle regular people endure in the 2nd District to his community. 

“In my community in Dwight, we used to have the Dwight prison, but the state shut it down,” he said. “That was a huge loss of jobs and revenue. We also had a printing factory that closed and moved away. All this happened on Robin Kelly’s watch.”

In regard to crime and public safety, Coleman tied social conditions to criminal behavior. 

“Especially in Chicago, my thought process on this is probably a little different than most,” he said. “I feel that people don’t inherently want to be criminals. But in a bad socioeconomic system, you get backed up against a wall and pushed to the point where you don’t feel like you have any other way out.”

Coleman said economic hardship and lack of opportunity can drive individuals toward desperation. 

“That’s one of the reasons why I want to push so hard to revitalize these communities, to give people an opportunity to make a decent living, a good honest one,” he said. “The violence is bad, but I really think that as someone who grew up poor for many years myself, when you feel trapped, you can become dangerous.”

Coleman describes himself as a MAHA candidate. 

“The corporate capture, the food industry that has control over the government, but I feel like things are changing since Bobby Kennedy is at HHS,” he said. 

Coleman's comments come as a leaked memo from the pharmaceutical lobby group BIO reveals a $2 million campaign to undermine RFK Jr. The memo outlines tactics including media manipulation and alliances with influencers to discredit Kennedy and fracture his support. Critics have warned that Kennedy's case is part of a broader strategy to silence dissent and preserve corporate power.

Coleman highlighted his personal commitment to health and nutrition reforms grounded in personal experience. 

“I’ve done a lot of looking into nutrition and trying to get the food supply corrected, especially dealing with issues related to ultra-processed foods,” he said. “It’s something I take to heart because I lived through it. I lived on a poor diet and understand the effects on mental and physical health. Once I started to change my eating habits and take the correct supplements, it completely changed my life. I’ve been able to get myself off virtually all prescription medications and have never been healthier.” 

Coleman also connected nutrition to mental health and social challenges. 

“A lot of the problems with lethargy or what some call laziness come from poor diet. Eating junk food causes blood sugar spikes and crashes, which affect mental health—depression, anxiety, ADHD. I dealt with that myself. Changing my lifestyle and diet helped me get off ADHD medication and greatly improved my health,” he explained.

On the topic of food and health, Coleman emphasized the impact of corporate profit motives on the nation’s diet.

“Our food industry is built off profit first. They cut corners to make more money, affecting what we eat at the grocery store and restaurants,” he said. “Look at Amish communities who grow their own food and have much better health and mental wellness. That’s a big part of our problem.”

Coleman mentioned his family as foremost among his motivation to run for office. 

“I have an 11-year-old son. Sometimes I look at him sleeping and wonder, what are we doing in this country?” he said. “He’s already burdened with debt because we can’t balance the national budget. I love my son more than anything, and that’s the biggest reason I’m running—so I can say I tried to make things better.”