* US Senate candidate Juliana Stratton…

Juliana Stratton raised over $1 million dollars in her second fundraising quarter as a candidate for U.S. Senate. This marks two consecutive million dollar quarters and brings Juliana’s total raise for the cycle to over $2 million.

Juliana is not accepting a dime of corporate PAC money in this race, and she has challenged her leading opponents to do the same. 92% of Juliana’s contributions for the quarter were under $200.

“Juliana’s campaign is about Illinoisans, not corporate special interests. It’s why she is refusing corporate PAC money in this race, and this quarter’s strong fundraising momentum reflects the powerful grassroots coalition that is uniting behind Juliana to send a true fighter to Washington,” said Juliana for Illinois spokesperson Allison Janowski.

Last week, Raja Krishnamoorthi’s campaign said it pulled in $3 million in the third quarter. Still waiting on Robin Kelly’s numbers.

* Capitol City Now…

It’s time to start holding “ICE” accountable. That’s according to most of the candidates running for a seat in the U.S. Senate from Illinois in next year’s election — the seat incumbent Dick Durbin is retiring from.

Among the nine candidates participating in the forum, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton says given recent incidents in Broadview, and given that President Trump is sending National Guard Troops to Illinois against Gov. JB Pritzker’s wishes, it’s important to continue to stand up and speak out. […]

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi says the filing of a federal lawsuit Monday by the Pritzker administration against the Trump administration is a great start, but…

“I have also proposed legislation in Congress that would bar the deployment of National Guard without the consent of the governor or the mayor in which they’re trying to deploy,” said Krishnamoorthi. “It doesn’t make sense for ICE — which is the 15th largest military force in the world — to come to Chicago and perform domestic law enforcement duties.” […]

Congresswoman Robin Kelly says she’s been paying attention to what has happened in the Chicago suburb of Broadview when federal ICE agents came in. Kelly says she was in her own district when she started to notice what was happening there.

“That was my district where the helicopters came down, and they did the gestapo tactics. My comments made me get on Donald Trump’s most favorite people list. I think I am number four for talking about gestapo tactics,” said Kelly. “We need to have immigration reform, and ICE needs to be a part of it. They are just doing what the leadership is telling them to do.”

* Tina Sfondeles at the Sun-Times…

As former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. stages a comeback that will upend the open race for the 2nd Congressional District, his competitors are prepared to pounce on his past. […]

Declared candidates in the race include State Sen. Robert Peters, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, State Sen. Willie Preston, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Yumeka Brown, businessman Eric France, policy strategist Adal Regis and youth pastor and advocate Jeremy Young. […]

“I want him to run. I love it because it gives us an opportunity to be able to have real discussions about where Black Americans see themselves, and the type of leadership that we are craving, this year at this point in our history, in this country,” Preston said. “So I welcome him into the race. He’s frolicking with D.C. consultants. He is hosting fundraisers. He’s asking everyone to give him money. Something he’s familiar with doing, but he hasn’t announced. He hasn’t even set up a PAC, but he’s hosting fundraisers. So it’s going to be interesting to see if he’s drawing outside the rules again, like he did when he left.”

Preston, who has pushed Gov. JB Pritzker for a state commutation for Gangster Disciples co-founder Larry Hoover, said he believes in “redemption,” but said he doesn’t believe Jackson Jr. has fully acknowledged his actions.

“I believe in redemption. I come from a place where I felt for this state to be a state that recognizes that people do, and can, change. But I can tell you, when someone isn’t fully acknowledging the wrongs that they did, that’s not redemption,” Preston said.

* During a press conference in response to ICE staging at Yards Plaza, 7th Congressional District candidate Anthony Driver allegedly accused his opponent, Jason Friedman, of cooperating with federal agents. The Friedman campaign…

Members of the Chicago-area media, 

At a news conference this morning, 7th Congressional District candidate Anthony Driver accused Jason Friedman and Friedman Properties for cooperating with ICE at Yards Plaza. The problem? Driver had the wrong Friedman, something a quick Google search could have revealed. 

If you plan to cover this false attack, please contact the campaign or see the response below from Friedman for Congress:

”Jason’s family business, Friedman Properties, has zero affiliation and nothing to do with Friedman Real Estate, the owner of Yards Plaza, other than sharing a common last name. Neither Jason nor Friedman Properties condones Trump’s brutalizing of immigrant communities. We understand and share the deep concern over ICE’s harmful presence in Chicago, but Mr. Driver is mistaken.”

* Politico…

In IL-08: Dan Tully has been endorsed by Chicago Ald. Bill Conway in his campaign for Congress in the’ 8th District. Both Conway and Tully are attorneys who served in the military.

* Daniel Biss for Congress…

The Daniel Biss for Congress campaign announced it raised more than $600,000 in the third quarter of 2025 in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District primary. The campaign ended the quarter with more than $1 million on hand.

“Since the beginning of this race, the support we’ve received has been overwhelming,” said Daniel Biss. “Folks all across this district have made it clear that they want someone they can trust to not only take on Donald Trump, but also who has a proven track record of actually winning tough fights. I’m humbled that so many people see me as that candidate, and are ready to do what it takes to get us across the finish line to victory.”

* More…

* Evanston Now | If Mr. Biss goes to Washington: Given the strong likelihood that whoever wins the Democratic primary on March 17 will go on to win the 9th District Congressional seat on Nov. 3, a risk-taking candidate might decide to resign the mayor’s job before the general election. A more cautious candidate would likely wait until after the general election to resign the mayoralty. The absolute deadline for Biss to resign would be the day he would take office in Washington on Jan. 3, 2027.