This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Last updated Jan. 6 at 7:53 p.m.

Several Democratic primary candidates for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District released a joint statement condemning “organized efforts” seeking “to pressure a fellow Democratic candidate to withdraw from the race” on Tuesday afternoon.

Skokie school board member Bushra Amiwala, Mayor Daniel Biss, former FBI negotiator Phil Andrew, ex-tech strategist Nick Pyati, economist Jeff Cohen, public health professional Justin Ford and Chicago 50th Ward Committeeman Bruce Leon signed the statement, which was released in an email from Amiwala’s campaign. 

“Recent reports and conversations within our communities suggest that organized efforts are underway to pressure a fellow Democratic candidate to withdraw from the race,” the candidates wrote in Tuesday’s statement. “While vigorous persuasion and debate are part of politics, coordinated pressure campaigns aimed at forcing candidates out undermine the democratic process and erode trust among voters.”

Ford provided The Daily with an updated version of the statement featuring progressive content creator Kat Abughazaleh’s signature Tuesday evening. He told The Daily that candidates who did not sign the letter don’t necessarily disagree with its message.

Ford added that although he was one of the statement’s “first drafters,” it was a “team effort.” He added it represents “a sign of unity” among Democrats in the district, who — despite some disagreements — have not enjoyed a competitive primary in decades. 

“Let’s show them how to do it right,” he said. “I think that’s what that letter was about.” 

In a phone interview with The Daily Tuesday evening, an Amiwala campaign spokesperson said the statement was created in coordination with other candidates who “shared the same concern” over lobbying groups. 

They said the statement purposefully avoided directly mentioning any organization or candidate.

“It was intentional because we want this message to be bigger than any one individual case or candidate. We want it to be a message in general about the way money operates in American politics, and by design, we don’t know who we’re up against,” the spokesperson said.

The statement comes one week after Leon told the Chicago Tribune he planned to suspend his campaign under pressure from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the country’s largest pro-Israel lobbying group.

A supporter of Israel, Leon indicated that AIPAC pressured leaders from his own Orthodox Jewish community to retract their endorsements if his campaign continued.

In an email sent to his supporters last week, Leon said he decided to pause his campaign for one week, criticizing unnamed “Washington D.C interests.”

“They worry that a strongly pro-U.S.-Israel and small-business friendly candidate cannot win a Democratic primary in the 9th Congressional District,” Leon wrote. “I respectfully disagree with their political analysis and am certain that I have a viable, if unconventional, pathway to victory in this stratified race.”

With a Jan. 8 deadline to remove his name from the March 17 primary ballot looming, Leon has yet to make a final decision on whether to continue his campaign, according to reporting from the Evanston RoundTable.

Leon was not immediately available for comment following the release of Tuesday’s statement.

“I know that Bruce Leon has been being pressured by his community to get out of the race. I know that because Bruce Leon told me,” Ford said.

He added he believes that Democrats “are weaker without his voice in this race.”

The signatories emphasized that Democratic voters deserve to know who is spending money, who is influencing messaging and if “national interests are attempting to shape a local election.”

“We therefore call for full transparency regarding outside political spending and influence in this primary, and for an immediate end to any efforts to pressure Democratic candidates to withdraw from the race,” the statement read.

A spokesperson for Biss’ campaign declined to provide additional comment on Tuesday’s statement, and the Andrew and Abughazaleh campaigns did not immediately respond to The Daily’s requests for comment.

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