Bill with his mother, son Billy, wife Aesook, and daughter Christine on Christmas Day 2012
Bill Foster comes from a long line of inventors, scientists, and political activists.
Bill’s father was trained as a chemist but spent much of his career as a civil rights lawyer. He wrote many of the federal regulations behind the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – specifically, the part that denied federal funds to school systems that refused to desegregate.
Bill’s mother came from a long line of inventors, and worked in her career to help law enforcement officers get college degrees, and to help college students become cops.
Bill’s maternal grandfather Fred I. Raymond was a pioneer in “green technologies,” inventing the energy-saving “DuoStat” thermostat that he manufactured at his plant in downtown Chicago. He also developed the Raymond Whirlwind separator, a key part of “Clean Coal” technology that is still manufactured under the Raymond name in the Combustion Engineering plant in Warrenville.
Bill’s maternal great-great grandfather invented the Raymond Windmill, a main competitor to the windmills manufactured in Batavia a century ago.
In 1865 Bill’s great-great grandfather was put in charge of the first regiment of freed slaves — and promptly found himself facing courts-martial for “drawing white man’s rations” for the troops in his command.
Bill’s wife Aesook recently retired after spending her professional career managing construction and operation of large scientific facilities. After 16 years of research at Fermilab, she worked for the Office of Science in the Department of Energy managing its national program for 5 years. From 2008 until 2013, she managed the construction of a next generation light source facility located in Long Island, NY. During this time, Aesook commuted to the construction site on Long Island every week while making sure to maximize their time together at home in Illinois. Bill and Aesook live on Aurora Avenue in downtown Naperville.
Bill and Aesook on their way home after voting in Naperville November 2012
Bill’s children Billy and Christine were both raised in the Fox Valley.
His son Billy was born in 1984 and attended the 4th St. School in Geneva, J.B. Nelson Elementary School in Batavia and Batavia Middle School, graduated from Batavia High school, and received a BA in Math and Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006. He worked for a leading medical imaging and radiation therapy firm until 2009. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 2012, Billy now works as a patent attorney at a major Chicago law firm.
In 1994, Billy made an unbelievable stop and clothesline throw home for the tag-out while playing shortstop in the Batavia Little League All-Stars game. That memory will always make his mom and dad smile.
Bill’s daughter Christine was born in in 1987 and went to public schools in Batavia and attended the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA) in Aurora. After graduating from Stanford University, she worked for a company in California developing educational software. She recently graduated from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs in the University of Texas at Austin, worked in India for a nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving healthcare delivery, and worked at Yale University and now with the State of Massachusetts analyzing healthcare cost and quality.
Bill and his grandson May 2021
For many years Bill coached Christine’s tri-cities soccer team with co-coach Dick Brunton. Bill is pretty sure that they ended up with a winning lifetime record.
Both of Bill’s children are now married, and Bill welcomed his first grandchild in April 2021!
Bill’s ex-wife Annie recently retired after working as a software engineer for Bill’s company in Wisconsin. After they divorced in the mid-nineties, Bill and Ann agreed to live within a few blocks of each other in Batavia, and the kids grew up in both houses. Bill and Ann are both very proud of remaining on good terms and making things as easy as possible for their kids, who seem to be doing well in life!
Ann Foster on Bill’s service in Congress: “I’m a huge fan of Bill’s and very proud of Bill’s record in public service. He is, and always has been a wonderful father to our two children. He’s a gentleman, who cares deeply about his family, the people in Illinois, and America. He is a fine businessman, a great scientist and a thoughtful elected official, and I can think of no one who would be a better Congressman. He holds a deep commitment to his family, to people, and to our country. I trust him and his judgment completely. And most importantly, I trust him with the people I cherish most in my life: our children. I totally support him and his service as a member of US Congress.”