* Evanston Now…

Bruce Leon, the 50th Ward Democratic Committeeman who temporarily suspended his campaign for Congress last week, said Thursday he will stay in the race to succeed Rep. Jan Schakowsky, resisting outside pressure to force him off the ballot.

In a call with Evanston Now Thursday, Leon said he would not pull his name from the ballot before the 5 p.m. deadline, despite a pressure campaign from the American Israel Political Action Committee, which is quietly working to throw support behind State Sen. Laura Fine as a more viable candidate.

“I don’t want my community just to be bullied by AIPAC that she’s the only choice,” Leon said, noting he was working with a mediator to communicate between his campaign and officials at AIPAC. […]

When asked whether Fine had knowledge of the ongoing effort to push Leon off the ballot or about what Leon described as ongoing “negotiations,” her campaign, in a statement Thursday, said it was “not aware of, or interested in, any discussion between outside groups and other campaigns.

* Evanston Roundtable…

[Leon] later added that he’d given Fine three conditions for him dropping out before the withdrawal deadline: disclosing her support from AIPAC, participating in a debate with Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and former FBI agent Phil Andrew for the area’s Orthodox Jewish community, and dropping out of the separate race for the 9th District’s Democratic State Central Committeewoman. “She rejected all three,” Leon wrote.

Leon first decided to drop out after a group of Orthodox rabbis who had previously endorsed him switched to asking him to drop out last month. He said last week that this group had joined AIPAC in arguing that a win by Fine’s leading opponents, Biss and Kat Abughazaleh, would increase the risk of antisemitic violence in his community.

“I need them to move back and to say, ‘At the end of the day, maybe we should just let everybody run,’” Leon told the RoundTable last week.

AIPAC did not respond to an email requesting comment on Leon’s decision to stay in the race, and on his description of the lobbying group’s argument concerning antisemitic violence if Biss or Abughazaleh won.

* Meanwhile, Evanston Now’s Mathew Eadie found that Leon wasn’t the only candidate who was pressured to drop their bid for the 9th CD…

A petition circulated Wednesday calling on Bushra Amiwala, a Skokie School Board member and one of the two Gen-Z candidates in the race to drop out and throw her support behind content creator Kat Abughazaleh.

The petition was quickly taken off the internet Wednesday (Don’t worry, Evanston Now saw it first) and raised concerns about a “fragmented progressive, anti-genocide field,” with Amiwala still in the race. […]

It’s unclear who actually signed onto the petition, but it was circulated by an organization called For The People Action, a group that describes itself as seeking to “amplify American Muslim voices.”

Amiwala’s campaign said it was unaware of the petition, but a source close to Amiwala told Evanston Now that last-minute conversations about the viability of Amiwala’s candidacy in the Muslim community were happening, with increasing concern about AIPAC’s influence in the race.

…Adding… Bushra Amiwala…

My campaign is making wealthy, out-of-state interests uncomfortable. The local Muslim community, including organizations actively working in this district such as the Muslim Civic Coalition Activate, the Northern Illinois American Muslim Alliance, the Glenbrook Muslim Civic Association, and the American Muslim Public Affairs Committee, stands firmly behind me because our community is tired of being told to compromise its values. Virtually every American Muslim municipal elected official in and adjacent to this district has endorsed my campaign, including respected leaders in Morton Grove, Niles, Arlington Heights, Maine Township, and Skokie.

Make no mistake, if this campaign were not building real grassroots momentum, there would be no pushback from outside interests. My opponents are attempting to manufacture the appearance of division within our community because they are worried about our growing path to victory. The voters who actually live here deserve representation rooted in accountability, integrity, and lived experience, not influence from outside the district. If you care about universal healthcare, affordable housing and ending the genocide, then join my campaign at
bushraforcongress.com

* Pastor Roosevelt Watkins claims he never endorsed Senate candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi, despite Krishnamoorthi saying he did. From his Facebook page…

In November, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi announced support from clergy, touting that he had widespread support from faith leaders in Illinois. My name was included on the list, however, I was not supporting Congressman Krishnamoorthi’s candidacy prior to this announcement, and I am certainly not supporting him now. We need a leader who will be transformational to our communities, not transactional. While I’m disappointed that my name is being used to manufacture support that has not been earned, it’s not surprising given that this is a pattern for this campaign. It is my belief that this problem extends beyond a campaign error and has impacted additional clergy across the state.

Click here for Krishnamoorthi’s original press release.

* Politico…

In IL-07: Melissa Conyears Ervin has been endorsed by Chicago Ald. David Moore in her bid for the 7th Congressional District seat now held by Danny Davis.

In IL-08: Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison has been endorsed by Barbara Flynn Currie, the former Illinois House majority leader, and Thomas Chiola, the former Cook County Circuit Court judge and the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to public office in Illinois.

* More…

* Forest Park Review | Rep. Underwood endorses Dr. Fisher in 7th District Dem. primary : One key endorsement came on Jan. 8 from Rep. Lauren Underwood — who represents Illinois’ 14th district that covers an area southwest of Chicago, including DeKalb and Joliet — when she declared her approval of Dr. Thomas Fisher in the race for the 7th district’s Democratic primary. She cited his credibility on health care policy and eagerness to address national threats to democracy and public health.

*Daily Herald | GOP congressional candidate falls one signature short, removed from ballot: A suburban congressional candidate’s name was struck from upcoming primary ballots Thursday after the Illinois State Board of Elections decided her petitions fell one signature short of the legally required 799. But Palos Park Republican Tedora M. Brown’s campaign in the 11th District may not be over. Thursday afternoon, her attorney announced he’s filed for a judicial review.

* Shaw Local | Sorensen challenger officially removed from Illinois 17th Congressional District race: The Illinois State Board of Elections on Wednesday upheld an objection to Montez Soliz’s candidate petition and officially removed him from the ballot. Soliz filed his nomination papers Oct. 27. A Peoria resident filed an objection to Soliz’s candidacy Nov. 10, reportedly claiming Soliz’s petitions were not properly notarized and that several signatures were from people who either were not registered to vote at the listed address or by people who resided outside of the 17th District.