Sean Casten

DemocratU.S. Representative, IL-6

Age	54 (b. 1971-11-23)
Gender	Male
In office since	2019-01-03 (~7 yrs)
Religion	Atheist / non-religious (member of Congressional Freethought Caucus; publicly self-identified)
Education	B.A. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Middlebury College (1993); M.S. in Biochemical Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College (1998); M.E.M., Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College (1998)
Prior occupation	Scientist (Tufts University School of Medicine); energy consultant (Arthur D. Little, 1997-2000); President and CEO, Turbosteam Corporation (2000-2007); Co-founder and President/CEO, Recycled Energy Development LLC (2007-2016)
Military service	No
Birthplace	Dublin, Ireland (foreign-born)
Languages	English
Marital status	Married — Kara Casten (married 2000)
Children	2
Residence	Downers Grove, Illinois
Notable relatives	Tom Casten (father), businessman, co-founder of Recycled Energy Development and clean energy entrepreneur

Wikipedia · Ballotpedia · OpenSecrets · Official site

Pending research: race / ethnicity · openly lgbtq.

Career & politics

First elected	2018
Committees	House Committee on Financial Services (Vice Ranking Member, 119th Congress) · Joint Economic Committee
Caucuses	New Democrat Coalition · Congressional Freethought Caucus · Congressional Equality Caucus · Black Maternal Health Caucus · Congressional Ukraine Caucus · House Pro-Choice Caucus · Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (Vice-Chair) · Rare Disease Caucus · Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus (Co-Chair)
Leadership	Vice Ranking Member, House Financial Services Committee (119th Congress) · Vice-Chair, Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition · Co-Chair, Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus
Ideology	Consistently liberal voting record; 99% alignment with Biden administration positions (117th Congress); Heritage Action scorecard: 0% (116th and 117th Congresses). Member of New Democrat Coalition (centrist-to-progressive Democratic caucus). Described as pragmatic on energy policy.
Signature legislation	Climate Risk Disclosure Act · End Oil and Gas Subsidies Act · Clean Industrial Technology Act of 2019 · Equal Voices Act · Restoring Judicial Separation of Powers Act · Ceasefire Compliance Act (2026, regarding Israel-Gaza)

Financial

Net worth: disclosed $1,894,048–$4,510,000 (2018) · estimate

Myno Carbon Corp. (via family investment vehicle)

other · $127,008–$380,000 · 2021-2023

Top donors: Nancy Pelosi For Congress (PAC transfer) ($50,000 (2022 cycle combined)) · MoveOn.org Political Action ($5,000 (2022 cycle)) · International Union of Painters and Allied Trades PAC ($5,000 (2022 cycle))

Top industries: Securities & Investment · Real Estate · Lawyers & Lobbyists · Environment · Education

Scandals & crimes ledger

resolved — Investor lawsuit over mismanagement of Recycled Energy Development (RED) business

financial/corruption · 2015 · In 2015, investor George Polk, through entities Tulum Management USA LLC and RED Capital Investments LP, filed suit (Tulum Mgmt. USA LLC v. Casten, Delaware Court of Chancery, C.A. No. 11321-VCN) against Sean Casten, his father Thomas Casten, and other managers of RED Parent LLC, the parent of the energy-recycling firm Recycled Energy Development (RED) that Sean Casten co-founded and ran as CEO. The suit alleged breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract, including claims of self-dealing via intercompany loans, unauthorized payments exceeding budgeted amounts without Investment Committee approval, inflated executive/managerial payouts, and obstruction of an independent valuation by limiting an outside auditor's access. A related action covering similar facts was also filed in Illinois. Casten publicly rejected the allegations as false and characterized the suit as a 'hostile takeover attempt.' The case was settled out of court by September 2016 without any admission of wrongdoing; RED paid roughly $46.35 million plus $1.5 million in legal fees to preferred investors (the Tulum/Polk side), while a separate group of about 36 common-interest holders reportedly received little or no return on their investments. Casten sold RED shortly after the settlement. The matter predates Casten's 2018 election to Congress. · Settled out of court (no admission of wrongdoing); RED paid approximately $46.35 million to preferred investors plus $1.5 million in legal fees; company subsequently sold

A Delaware Court of Chancery lawsuit filed by investors in 2015 alleged Sean Casten and other managers of his family energy company, Recycled Energy Development, breached fiduciary duties through mismanagement and self-dealing; the case was settled in 2016 without admission of wrongdoing, with the company paying roughly $46.35 million to the suing investors while other investors reportedly lost most of their stakes. The matter predates Casten's congressional service.

Sources: Wikipedia · Justia (Delaware Court of Chancery) · Crain's Chicago Business