* The Sun-Times…

U.S. Senate candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi is running a TV ad about his plans to “stop” President Donald Trump, but he has also accepted more than $90,000 in contributions from key Trump and MAGA donors.

The fundraising leader in the Senate Democratic primary race to replace outgoing Sen. Dick Durbin has also taken in more than $120,000 in corporate PAC contributions from the same companies that are helping to fund Trump’s new $300 million White House ballroom construction, including Google, Amazon, Booz Allen Hamilton, Microsoft, T-Mobile, NextEra Energy, Union Pacific and Lockheed Martin.

Krishnamoorthi’s donors include Marc Andreessen, a Trump adviser and venture capitalist, Michael Pillsbury, Project 2025 contributor and Heritage Foundation senior adviser and Shyam Sankar, a Trump adviser who donated at least $260,000 to Republican causes this year alone.

Asked for comment, Krishnamoorthi’s campaign told the Sun-Times the donations from Trump allies represent just .2% of the more than $24 million he has raised. And a campaign spokesperson said Krishnamoorthi, a U.S. representative and a Democrat from Schaumburg, “welcomes anyone who supports” his mission.

* Capitol News Illinois…

[T]he three top Democrats vying to become the party’s nominee for U.S. senator in Illinois have released proposals detailing how they plan to make life more affordable for Americans. […]

Each candidate announced substantial proposals to address housing affordability.

[Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s] plan calls for creating tax incentives to encourage construction companies to build homes below the median price point, creating a tax penalty for hedge funds that buy single family homes in hopes of keeping them affordable, and restricting the ability of artificial intelligence to set rents and screen applicants.

Krishnamoorthi said he wants to reestablish an Obama-era refundable tax credit for qualified first-time home buyers in their first five years of ownership. He also called for opening more land for residential development by rezoning vacant commercial buildings.

[U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly] supports capping annual rent increases. She and Krishnamoorthi also generally support policies that limit a corporation’s ability to buy single family homes.

Both Stratton and Kelly say they support the concept of “Medicare for All,” which would establish a single-payer, government-run health insurance program that all Americans would have access to. Stratton’s plan also calls for Medicare to cover long-term care home services, hearing and vision, while Kelly only said it should cover dental and vision. […]

Krishnamoorthi’s plan does not indicate he supports the Medicare for All plan popular among many progressive Democrats. Instead, he calls for allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for more drugs each year and for passing legislation to regulate pharmacy benefit managers in hopes of reducing drug prices.

* Politico…

— In IL-09: State Sen. Laura Fine has raised more than $800,000 so far in the fourth quarter in her bid for the 9th Congressional District, her campaign told supporters in an email. […]

— In IL-07: State Rep. La Shawn Ford has been endorsed by fellow state Reps. Natalie Manley, Suzanne Ness, Lisa Davis and Anthony DeLuca in his bid to succeed Congressman Danny Davis, who has also endorsed him.

— In IL-07: Anthony Driver Jr. has been endorsed by Maywood Mayor Nathaniel George Booker, and Maywood Trustees Asia Ousley, Ray Williams, Steven Smiley and Antonio Sanchez, and Clerk Tori Love-Garron.

* Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 have endorsed Mellissa Bean for the 8th Congressional District. Press release…

Today, Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 endorsed Melissa Bean in the race for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District seat.

Statement from Pat Cleary, President of Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2:
“Labor needs allies in Washington now more than ever. Melissa Bean showed up for the men and women of organized labor in Congress, and she’s ready to show up for us once again. Just like fire fighters do every single day, Melissa has demonstrated what it looks like to deliver for her district, her community, and our entire state – and we are proud to endorse her campaign for Congress.”

Statement from Melissa Bean:
“Chicago fire fighters put their lives on the line for their neighbors each and every day, but their work doesn’t stop at the frontlines. The men and women of organized labor fight day and night because they care about the wellbeing of their communities. That’s what our movement is about, and I’m honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 in the fight to improve the quality of life for families all across our communities.”

* More…

* Tribune | Illinois’ US Senate primary race shows candidates still must court shrinking downstate Democratic base: Although ballots cast outside the six-county Chicago region accounted for less than a quarter of the overall vote in the past two contested Democratic Senate primaries, in 2010 and 2016, the announcement last week that Simon was backing U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi‘s candidacy serves as a reminder that all three top-tier candidates in the March 17 primary know building credibility beyond Chicago and its increasingly Democratic suburbs is essential. Simon’s backing does, of course, carry some modest political weight. Now a law professor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, she’s the daughter of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, the man Durbin replaced in the Senate in 1997. She also remains a recognizable and well-connected figure in a region where her family name is tied to the identity and history of local Democratic politics.

* 8th CD candidate Dan Tully | Pete Hegseth’s contempt for military rules of engagement on display in the Caribbean: I served as a judge advocate, or military lawyer, for eight years in the Army Reserve, including 3 1/2 years on active duty. As a national security law attorney in Iraq, I advised commanders on the application of the rules of engagement and the law of armed conflict to the full spectrum of operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. I’ve also been involved with shaping rules of engagement requests during the planning of operations in other theaters. Even a freshly minted judge advocate out of the basic course might identify Operation Southern Spear’s strikes as violations of U.S. obligations under international law, not to mention Department of Defense policy. Hegseth’s argument that the boats are manned by drug traffickers doesn’t change the legal analysis.

* Evanston Now | Who’s endorsed whom so far in IL-09: This story has been updated to reflect Lake County Commissioner Esiah Campos having been inaccurately listed as endorsing Bushra Amiwala’s campaign. In an Oct. 6 post on social media, Amiwala shared that Campos had endorsed her. Campos told Evanston Now on Thursday that he is not endorsing Amiwala and is instead endorsing Daniel Biss.

* Daily Herald | Ninth District congressional candidate was convicted of sex crime against a juvenile, records show: A Republican running to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky in the largely suburban 9th District was convicted of a sex crime against a juvenile decades ago. Paul S. Friedman, 55, of Chicago, was charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct while living in Michigan in 1998, public records show. The crime occurred in Washtenaw County that year when Friedman was 27 and the victim was 13, records indicate.