While local political attention is dominated by candidates vying for the 9th Congressional District Democratic nomination the primary in a different 9th District is quietly heating up.

Because State Sen. Laura Fine, who represents all of Evanston and portions of the north shore in Springfield is leaving her 9th District state senate seat to run for Congress, two Democrats are looking to replace her, and they faced off at a forum Thursday night in Glenview, hosted by the League of Women Voters.

Who’s running?

Rachel Ruttenberg, an Evanston Democrat, is a lawyer and former deputy chief of staff for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Her background includes work at the Chicago Public Schools and work in shaping policy at nonprofits, the Heartland Alliance and the Family Defense Fund.

Ruttenberg is endorsed by several local elected officials, including House Majority Rep. Robyn Gabel of Evanston, Reps. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and Tracy Katz Muhl, the Chicago Teachers Union and the Illinois Nurses Association.

In Glenview on Thursday, Ruttenberg pitched herself as an experienced policy professional who’s worked in Springfield and shaped policy over her career, ready to get out from behind the scenes and take public office with a “wealth of experience.”

“There’s only one [candidate] who has a lot of relevant direct experience,” Ruttenberg said Thursday.

Her opponent is Patrick Hanley, a Democrat from Winnetka whose background is grounded in advocacy, community organizing and business. Hanley holds several roles on local nonprofits and community organizing groups and helped lead Operation Swing State, a multi-state get-out-the-vote program launched in Illinois to try and win Michigan and Wisconsin for Democrats.

In Glenview, Hanley pitched himself to voters as the voice of a new generation looking to usher in new ideas and new leadership in Springfield at a time of historic unpopularity for the Democratic Party.

“Now is the time for new leadership, for fresh perspective,” Hanley said.

Hanley is endorsed by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, along with the Illinois Teachers Federation, the Sierra Club and the AFL-CIO.

Fine told Evanston Now this week she does not plan on endorsing a successor, calling both Hanley and Ruttenberg good candidates and not wanting to tip the scales with her endorsement.

On policy, they largely agree

If you’re looking for policy differences between the candidates, you’ll find few.

During Thursday night’s forum, both Ruttenberg and Hanley seemed to find common ground on most of the issues.

Both agree on the need for a progressive property tax system, even if unsuccessful before. Both said local agencies need to be strengthened as a stopgap between the federal government and communities, be it to protect SNAP benefits or upcoming and future elections.

Both candidates also agreed that using public funds to help the Chicago Bears build a stadium is the wrong use of taxpayer dollars, though both indicated they’d consider supporting infrastructure funding in Arlington Heights if the Bears seek to build the stadium there.

Even on the topic of affordable housing, something Hanley described directly as a “crisis,” both seemed hesitant to throw their support behind a broad-based state-wide upzoning plan, though Hanley said he supports increasing housing supply “where it makes sense” and expressed support for increasing housing statewide.

Ruttenberg, citing Evanston’s intense and ongoing housing and upzoning debate, noted that many communities across the district have “unique” housing needs, and indicated she’d support policies that address housing costs while keeping in mind the vast difference in housing types across the district.

Ruttenberg goes negative

While the two candidates remained completely cordial on stage, even choosing not to use their rebuttals allotted by moderators, Ruttenberg’s campaign did send out the first flyers this week, trying to draw distinctions between her and Hanley.

In it, Ruttenberg wrote that Hanley had “no applicable experience,” when it comes to healthcare policy, also seeming to take a shot at Hanley living in Winnetka in a section about “community leadership.”

Hanley posted on Instagram a response to the flyer, criticizing Ruttenberg for going negative in what’s been a largely positive campaign to date, writing, “politics don’t have to be like this,” describing the attacks as “soaked in negativity and misdirection. Misleading and self-serving.”

Hanley listed a response to several of Ruttenberg’s points about her background while listing some of his positions and experience.

While the flyers didn’t come up at Thursday’s forum, it may be a sign of what’s to come.