Race for retiring US Sen. Dick Durbin's seat opens up contests for Chicago-area congressional seats
The still emerging race to succeed Dick Durbin in the U.S. Senate featuring candidates from within the state's congressional delegation has created a domino effect — a growing list of contenders now racing for suddenly open seats in the U.S. House.
With the potential of at least three sitting Democratic House members vying for Durbin's spot and the announcement that longtime U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston will not seek a 15th term, at least four of the state's 17-seat House delegation in Washington could open up to new faces.
On Thursday, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss became the latest but likely not the last congressional contestant, announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in Schakowsky's 9th Congressional District, which includes the city's Far North Side and numerous north and northwest suburbs.
In addition to Schakowsky's seat, candidacies in recent days have been announced to succeed Democratic Reps. Robin Kelly of Matteson in the 2nd Congressional District that includes parts of the city's South Side as well as many south suburbs and downstate areas, and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg in the northwest suburban 8th Congressional District. Both Kelly and Krishnamoorthi have declared they are running to succeed Durbin.
Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville is also considering a Senate bid, which would set off a scramble for her 14th Congressional District seat in the west suburbs. And 83-year-old Democratic Rep. Danny Davis of Chicago has yet to announce whether he will seek a 16th term representing the downtown, West Side and west suburban 7th Congressional District. The primaries will take place in March.
While the congressional turnover for the 2026 election is significant, it's also been a continuing trend through House elections over the last 15 years.
In 2010 — a Republican wave year in the first midterm election of President Barack Obama's administration — five of the state's then-19 House seats saw new GOP members, four of them defeating Democratic incumbents.
Two years later, following Democratic redistricting of the state's then-18 House seats and two retirements, five new House members were elected — four of them Democrats.
And only two years ago, again following a Democratic redistricting and two retirements, four new Democrats — Jonathon Jackson, Delia Ramirez, Nikki Budzinski and Eric Sorensen — were seated in what is now a 17-member Illinois House delegation.
Biss, who served eight years in the state legislature, was first elected mayor of Evanston in 2021. Like many of the Democrats running for Congress, Biss is vowing to fight the actions of President Donald Trump and Republicans who now control Congress.
'I think people are looking for solutions. I think people are looking for someone who can demonstrate the ability to actually use government to improve people's lives and create change and break through the cynicism,' Biss told the Tribune. He added that Trump's election was a reflection of people who have 'given up and they figure government's not going to fix any problems.'
'There's no question that we're in an emergency with the Trump administration and what they're doing to the country — whether it's dismantling the institutions we rely on or driving up costs for people while they're lining their own pockets,' he said. 'We need a fighter and what I have done throughout my career is pick tough fights and figure out how to win them.'
Other announced candidates for Schakowsky's seat include Biss' successor in the Illinois Senate, Laura Fine of Glenview, who joined the legislature in 2013, digital creator Kat Abughazaleh and Justin Ford of Chicago, an environmental health and safety professional.
Biss in 2018 made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination for governor, losing to JB Pritzker. On Tuesday, Biss' political director for that effort, state Sen. Robert Peters of Chicago, announced his candidacy for Kelly's seat. In a show of his progressive bona fides, Peters quickly gained the backing of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Peters, 40, a member of the state legislature since 2019 who is in the middle of his four-year term and won't risk losing his state Senate seat should he lose a congressional bid in 2026, is also a member of the Illinois Senate Democrats' leadership team and former chair of the chamber's Black Caucus.
Peters acknowledged that challenging Trump and Republicans is a consistent theme among many of Illinois' congressional candidates, but said, 'I have a record and I have a personal narrative that I think really touches on where we're at right now.'
Peters was born deaf and with a significant speech impediment to a biological mother addicted to drugs and alcohol. His adopted mother and father were a social worker and a civil rights lawyer. His adopted father's work led to Peters' support of criminal justice reform efforts involving police wrongdoing and the criminalization of addiction.
'I know that in this moment, in this time, we need people who really feel what people are going through and who have a track record of success,' he told the Tribune. He said the vast 2nd District, which stretches from the South Side to Danville, shares common concerns that include the fate of Medicaid and the impact of potential cuts on both urban safety net and rural community hospitals.
'This is one of the highest Medicaid districts in the country,' he said. 'An attack on Medicaid is taking health care away from people, no matter the ZIP code they're in.'
A South Side native who was previously a community organizer, Peters touts a legislative record that includes co-sponsoring the state's Reproductive Health Act to ensure abortion rights are protected in Illinois after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
He also led efforts to pass the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act, which ended bail for nonviolent crimes, as well as the Healthcare Protection Act to provide patients with greater rights in dealing with insurance companies.
If past history in the sprawling district is any guide, the race for Kelly's seat is only getting started.
When a special election was held for the seat in 2013 following the resignation of Jesse Jackson Jr., Kelly won a 15-way Democratic primary with 53% of the vote.
Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin and Yumeka Brown, the three-term village clerk of Matteson and a commissioner on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board, have both formed exploratory committees to run for Kelly's seat. And two-term Democratic Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller also said she was weighing whether to enter the race.
'It is imperative someone fills the possible void,' Chalmers-Currin told the Daily Southtown, though she cautioned that she hadn't made a decision yet. 'You don't want to go out and make an announcement until you know if there is a track and a desire.'
Brown said in a statement that the 2nd District 'faces a pivotal moment.'
'We must elevate the mission in Congress to protect Medicaid, Social Security, the rights of women, and to guard against Donald Trump's planned destruction of the Affordable Healthcare Act,' she said.
Miller, a Chicago native who now lives in south suburban Lynwood, told the Tribune last week that the open seat 'is a really awesome opportunity.'
'I understand the district,' Miller said. 'I understand the southland.'
For her part, Kelly said she plans to remain neutral in the primary race to select her successor.
'It's important to let the people have their say,' she told the Tribune after a Monday event with the City Club of Chicago. 'And also, just like I have to prove myself, other people running have to prove themselves.'
Another quickly developing race is for Krishnamoorthi's northwest suburban seat.
Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison of Mount Prospect announced earlier this week he would run in the Democratic primary for the post. In 2018, Morrison became the first openly LGBTQ+ and youngest-ever commissioner elected to the Cook County Board as well as the first Democrat to represent the county's 15th District, which includes Barrington and Hanover townships as well as portions of Elk Grove, Maine and Schaumburg townships.
'As the grandson of immigrants and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I never saw people like me in leadership growing up,' he said in his announcement. 'I'm running for Congress because I believe that if you work hard, you should be able to earn a living wage. I believe in advancing policies that support families, and that everybody deserves a fair shot to get ahead.'
Another announced candidate for the 8th District seat is Sanjyot Dunung, a small business owner who bills herself as 'the change candidate.'
'People are tired of career politicians who fail to deliver meaningful results,' she said in her announcement. 'As the candidate for change, I will deliver fresh, responsible ideas to tackle economic chaos and uncertainty.'
Dunung served on the National Small Business Association's board of directors and on President Joe Biden's Foreign Policy Working Group focused on international trade.
On Wednesday, Yasmeen Bankole, a former staffer for Durbin and Krishnamoorthi, entered the contest.
A native of Hanover Park, in 2021 Bankole became the first Nigerian American elected in Illinois when she won her race for Hanover Park village trustee.
'I'm running for Illinois 8th Congressional District because it's time for a new generation to lead the way and bring the change that we need,' she said in announcing her candidacy. 'The Trump Administration is making it harder than ever to serve the people of our district because he doesn't care if we succeed.'
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