About Sam

A new generation of service leadership.

Never leave problems for other people to solve.  That’s been a guiding rule in Sam Polan’s life since his childhood days in his busy Wilmette home with four siblings and two dogs. Friday nights meant Shabbat dinners around a crowded table of family and friends. Summers meant sports, camps, and of course, hard work at the family school bus business hauling parts and learning to use power tools with the mechanics. After graduating from college, Sam’s first job was driving a school bus for his family’s business, helping to serve the same community that raised him.

At the age of 11, Sam Polan decided on September 12, 2001, that he would serve in the military, which he later did with distinction. Sam was deployed to the Middle East three times and rose to the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army. He served first with Army Air Defense, before passing one of the military’s most demanding selection processes to become an Airborne-qualified Special Operations Civil Affairs Officer. In Sam’s new role, he learned Arabic and completed multiple deployments with SEAL teams as part of a Joint Special Warfare task force. Sam earned numerous commendations, including the Meritorious Service Medal. Still, to this day, he considers his greatest honor to be the challenge coin, a form of informal recognition, bestowed upon him by his Soldiers in acknowledgment of his empathy and leadership. Alongside his operational duties, Sam served as a Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Victim Advocate, standing up for survivors and working to build a culture of respect and accountability.

After leaving the military in part due to injuries sustained in service, Sam transitioned to civilian service for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon. There, he served as an intelligence analyst and later as a strategy and policy advisor to NORAD and U.S. Northern Command. He regularly briefed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on threats in Africa and the Middle East, supported crisis teams during the Sudanese civil war and the 2023 Niger coup, and was manning the Middle East desk on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel where he was one of the first Americans to review raw footage from this gruesome terrorist attack. The work demanded quick judgment, calm under pressure, and a commitment to getting it right, qualities he found too often missing in Washington.

Sam was dismayed at the Trump Administration’s failures and attacks on those working tirelessly to keep our country safe. He began to feel he could have a greater impact elsewhere. Tired of seeing more political theatre and cheap shots than progress, Sam knew he could not sit idly by and leave the problems for someone else.

Sam is running for Congress as part of a new generation of leadership with a fresh perspective and real-life experience.  He’s running to show up, earn trust, and solve problems. Our community deserves someone who has lived service, a fighter who can do more than talk, and someone willing to run toward the fire, not away - it's time to end the divisive rhetoric and performative politics holding us back.

Sam holds a Master’s in International Relations from American University and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Washington College. He lives with his partner, her son, and two very entitled dogs. In his free time, he reads history, is a frequent concert-goer, and still loves seeking out the occasional adventure.

Sam Polan is a former member of the U.S. Army. Use of his military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement from the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense.

Sam Polan for Congress

PO Box: 60067

Chicago, IL 60660