<p>Next year’s congressional elections in three key Chicago-area districts will pit political newcomers against elected Democratic officials and even friends against friends.</p><p>It marks the first year in decades in which several congressional districts — and a high-profile Senate seat — are up for grabs in Illinois. And while the seats are reliably blue, the vacancies have set in motion competitive primary races.</p><p>Sen. Dick Durbin’s announcement last month set the stage for a game of political musical chairs, as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi quickly jumped into the race. That leaves their districts full of eager competitors. With U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood still deciding whether she’ll run for Durbin’s seat, the 14th District could also come into play. And U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s announcement earlier this month that she wouldn’t be seeking reelection opens her seat wide open.</p><p>There are several caveats to these runs, including that Kelly and Krishnamoorthi can collect signatures for both their House seats and Durbin’s Senate seat. If polling shows they’re down in the Senate race, they could hop back into their House seats — and could ultimately lose to brand-new challengers.</p><p>Here’s the state of political play so far, with plenty of time for other challengers to jump in.</p><h3>2nd Congressional District</h3><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Illinois State Sen. Robert Peters is running for the open U.S. House seat in the state's 2nd Congressional District." srcset="https://ift.tt/mfypjzr 1x,https://ift.tt/nyQpPw4 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>State Sen. Robert Peters is running for the open U.S. House seat in the state’s 2nd Congressional District.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file</p></div></div>
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</div><p></p><p>State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, announced his bid last week for the seat currently held by Kelly, and raised more than $175,000 from more than 3,000 individual donors within 72 hours. Peters’ influx of cash came on the heels of a nearly immediate endorsement from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whom Peters calls a “real inspiration.” </p><p>Peters, 40, took office in 2019. The South Side native was born deaf and with a speech impediment, and regained full hearing at age 8 and full speech at age 12. Peters worked on Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s 2010 election, and he currently serves as the chair of the Illinois Senate Black Caucus.</p><p>“I think that we need to see a shift in this party, whether in the majority or the minority,” Peters told the Sun-Times. “We’ve got to make sure we’re fighting for working people. … We need to fight, and we need to fight for people who feel like nobody’s been fighting for them.”</p><p>Former Kelly staffer Adal Regis is also running. Yumeka Brown, Matteson village clerk and a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioner, has formed an exploratory committee. So has Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin.</p><h3>8th Congressional District</h3><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="8th Congressional District Democratic candidates from left to right: Sanjyot Dunung, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison and Yasmeen Bankole." srcset="https://ift.tt/K2LZXwR 1x,https://ift.tt/zAE6fHp 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>8th Congressional District Democratic candidates from left to right: Sanjyot Dunung, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison and Yasmeen Bankole.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Sun-Times file and provided photos</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison at 28 was the youngest member ever elected to the board, defeating Tim Schneider, the former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, in 2018. He’s also the first openly gay member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.</p><p>“It feels strange to tell people I’m running for Congress,” <a class="Link" href="https://ift.tt/Hy93LEN" target="_blank" >Morrison wrote on X</a>. “I didn’t see myself represented in places of leadership growing up. But I believe in creating opportunity for people to thrive, and I believe in lifting up communities.”</p><p>Yasmeen Bankole, a Hanover Park trustee and staffer to Durbin who also worked for Krishnamoorthi, says her public service career has given her the hands-on experience needed to serve in Congress.</p><p>“It’s time for a new generation to lead the way and to bring the change that we need. And we do that by focusing on our neighbors and ensuring all of our residents can bloom where they’re planted,” Bankole said in a video announcing her run. </p><p>Sanjyot Dunung, a Des Plaines native and business owner and entrepreneur, is the daughter of Indian immigrants. Dunung said she’s running because of conversations she’s had in her own community that “things are not working right,” including concerns over Medicare and Social Security.</p><p>“I think that really what it is is I’m not afraid to go against not just Trump, but also the sort of sluggish bureaucracy that’s become D.C. People are tired of patronage politics. They’re tired of politics as usual,” Dunung told the Sun-Times. </p><p>Other Democrats have declared their candidacies but are still building out their campaigns, including Hanover Park resident Joseph Wentzel. Neil Khot, a Schaumburg resident, has also declared his candidacy. His website has limited information but says, “Something exciting is coming to IL-08 soon."</p><p>Republican Mark Rice, of Chicago, calls himself a “political outsider, common sense leader” on a campaign site announcing his bid. Rice is the former founder and CEO of an energy company. He also ran for the seat in 2024.</p><h3>9th Congressional District</h3><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="9th Congressional District Democratic candidates from left to right: Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, Kat Abughazaleh, Justin Ford and State Sen. Laura Fine." srcset="https://ift.tt/x4HB8wh 1x,https://ift.tt/cyCdIrS 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>9th Congressional District Democratic candidates from left to right: Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, Kat Abughazaleh, Justin Ford and state Sen. Laura Fine.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Sun-Times file and provided photos</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss has led the city since 2021 and previously served in the Illinois House and Senate. Biss also ran in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 2018 — and came in second to now-Gov. JB Pritzker.</p><p>A day after announcing his run to succeed Schakowsky, Biss amassed $350,000 in contributions, according to his campaign. He said he’s running to stand up to President Donald Trump, lower costs for working families and fight for civil rights.</p><p>“I think what we need is a fighter, someone who has demonstrated the ability to fight and win when the odds were against them,” Biss told the Sun-Times. “That’s what I’ve done throughout my career and so I believe I’m the right person for this moment. That’s why I joined the race.”</p><p>State Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, has been endorsed by 20 Democratic leaders, including state senators and representatives. Fine took office in 2019. A car accident that cost her husband his left arm prompted Fine to earn her insurance license to further understand the system, and helped to fuel her interest in healthcare access and consumer protection in the Illinois Senate.</p><p>“We are at a historical moment, where our rights are under attack by a president who is selling out working families to line the pockets of his wealthy cronies. I’ve spent my career fighting that fight, passing historic legislation that puts people over special interests,” Fine said in a statement.</p><p>Kat Abughazaleh, 26, launched her bid even before Schakowsky announced she wouldn’t seek reelection. Abughazaleh, who has amassed more than half a million followers across social media platforms, says she’s proven she can stand up to Trump and Elon Musk. She moved to Chicago last year after being laid off from the advocacy group Media Matters for America in Washington amid a suit filed by Musk.</p><p>“I say it’s time to drop the excuses and grow a f****** spine,” Abughazaleh says in a campaign video. “Unfortunately, this party has become one where you have to look to the exceptions for real leadership as the majority work from an outdated playbook. We need a makeover, which means we need a vision that’s bigger than what we’ve been told is possible.”</p><p>Justin Ford is an environmental health and safety professional who also worked in disability care and helped organize graduate student unions.</p><p>“This campaign is about working families — the ones juggling two jobs, caring for kids or elders, and trying to build a future in a system that too often ignores them,” Ford said on his campaign website. </p><p>State Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago; Bushra Amiwala, a Skokie school district board member; and Chicagoan David Abrevaya are also exploring runs.<br></p>
Politics
via Chicago Sun-Times – Politics https://ift.tt/fwI2vzF
May 19, 2025 at 05:02AM
Illinois Delivered 