* As expected, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez is running as an independent in the race for US Rep. Chuy Garcia’s seat. Press release…

Byron Sigcho-Lopez, a Democratic Socialist and Alderman of Chicago’s 25th Ward, today announced his candidacy for Illinois’ 4th Congressional District as an Independent candidate, launching a campaign rooted in progress and the unyielding belief that working families must come before corporate billionaires – and giving voters an actual choice rather than a handpicked successor. […]

“People are tired, overworked and overtaxed,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “Yet the human spirit is prevailing in the 4th District. We’re not waiting for the Democratic Party to give us permission. We’re not sitting still at the bottom tier of a hierarchy mapped out by corporate billionaires on both sides of the aisle.”

Sigcho-Lopez’s campaign is focused on the real problems people face every day: the cost to live in this economy, the cost of health care, affordable housing, access to education and standing up to a federal government that has no interest in preserving the foundations of our democracy. […]

Sigcho-Lopez’s vision for his work in Congress includes: housing, health care and mental health services for all, expanding Veterans health care access to include the families of Veterans, challenging corporate power in Congress and reforming the tax system to end tax breaks for billionaires, abolishing ICE and prosecuting federal agents who kidnapped, assaulted and murdered innocent people, ending the normalization of school shootings, and getting money out of politics. […]

To get on the ballot as an Independent, Sigcho-Lopez must collect at least 10,816 valid petition signatures between Feb. 25 and May 26, 2026. IL-04 includes Chicago and suburban Cook County and eastern DuPage County.

More from CBS Chicago…

Garcia, who has represented the 4th Congressional District in Illinois since 2019, announced in November that he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2026. He waited until just hours before the filing deadline for the March 17 primary election, clearing the way for his chief of staff, Patty Garcia (no relation) to be the only Democratic candidate on the ballot. […]

Sigcho-Lopez accused the congressman of intentionally orchestrating a maneuver to have his chief of staff as the only Democrat running for his seat.

“Patty and her mentor mapped out an old school establishment anti-democratic back room deal, and decided to hide the fact that this was planned all along for a retirement. Doing this intentionally kept other candidates out of the race and took away the will of the voters,” Sigcho-Lopez said.

* 9th CD candidate Bushra Amiwala is out with her first TV ad…

NEW – #IL09 candidate Bushra Amiwala out with her first TV ad today, with a nod to Obama's "yes we can."

She now joins Biss, Fine, Abughazaleh and Andrew on TV as early voting nears pic.twitter.com/hP5AZLDblO

— Matthew Eadie (@mattheweadie22) January 28, 2026

* Evanston Now’s Matthew Eadie…

Support for Medicare for All has been added to the website https://t.co/d0arj9f5Il pic.twitter.com/nW0EQmKCJR

— Matthew Eadie (@mattheweadie22) January 27, 2026

Daniel Biss’s congressional campaign seized on Eadie’s tweet in a press release.…

Yesterday, an Evanston Now reporter posted that Congressional candidate (IL-09) and state Sen. Laura Fine had updated her campaign “agenda” page, suddenly stating she now supports Medicare for All.

Let’s consider the timeline:

➡ Prior to her congressional campaign, Laura Fine has been a state lawmaker for more than a decade. In that time, she has never expressed support for Medicare for All in any public statement.

➡ In October, Fine was asked at a forum what she thought “the government’s role should be in providing health care as a human right.” Fine reponded that she had made it her “mission” to “make sure health care is more affordable and accessible” but said nothing about universal coverage, healthcare as a human right, or Medicare for All.

➡ In December, Fine launched her campaign “agenda” website outlining her policy platform, where she wrote she would “fight for a public option” on health care. Again, no mention of Medicare for All.

➡ Now, after weeks of broadcast TV ads promoting her health care record with no mention of Medicare for All, Fine suddenly changed course, telling a debate audience she supports Medicare for All and quietly updating her “agenda” website. In fact, Fine is now running paid digital ads touting her newfound support of Medicare for All and is directing AIPAC to promote this brand new position via her campaign redbox.

* Not a lot of doors to knock on in a corn field…

We’re out here in McHenry County! #HoanforCongress pic.twitter.com/0GOI2MEHGU

— Hoan Huynh (Hahn Win) (@HoanDHuynh) January 28, 2026

* Politico on last night’s 2nd CD forum…

With 10 candidates in the race, it could be anyone’s game. Also having established constituent followings are state Sen. Robert Peters (who has U.S. Sen Bernie Sanders in his corner), state Sen. Willie Preston and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Yumeka Brown. Also in the race: Toni Brown, Eric France, Patrick Keating, Sidney Moore and Adal Regis. […]

In a follow-up interview, Jackson said he’s up for the challenge of Congress. “I’ve learned to take better proactive care of my mental health. That has made a difference for me. I give a lot of credit to those who have challenged the stigma and changed the conversation on mental health, especially younger generations who have inspired me.”

He also acknowledged that he continues to receive a congressional disability payment — more than a decade after leaving office for mental health reasons and before his legal troubles emerged. “If elected, I would move back under the health insurance offered to members of Congress,” he said. […]

Jackson brushed off criticism as an unavoidable feature of modern politics. “If you can’t take it here, what do you think when Donald Trump starts tweeting about you? You’re going to have to deal with it,” he said.

* This is the second time I’ve seen Jackson reference President Trump’s tweets…

* More…

* Evanston Now | Spring trial eyed for ‘Broadview Six’ case: Congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh and five others charged by the federal government with conspiracy to prevent federal agents from discharging their duties in a high-profile federal prosecution will go to trial in the spring, attorneys agreed on Wednesday, but not until after the March 17 Democratic Primary she’s participating in. The specific trial dates were not set at a hearing at Chicago’s federal courthouse Wednesday morning, in a hearing before Judge April M. Perry, but the defense counsel pushed for a trial that could begin as early as May.

* Evanston Now | Gabel endorses Biss in U.S. House race: In a message to her own supporters Tuesday, Gabel wrote there were “multiple, well-qualified and inspiring candidates, and in any other election, I would be proud to support all my friends in this race,” but called the election “unlike any other.” Gabel’s endorsement comes just days after she led the Democratic Party of Evanston’s endorsement session, where the group of local Democrats failed to reach a supermajority consensus of who to support in the crowded March 17 Democratic primary.

* Lake County News-Sun | US Rep. Brad Schneider cancels visit in guest-list dispute with Indivisible McHenry County: “At 4 p.m. Friday, I got a call canceling,” Rose said. “He is no longer interested in speaking at the event due to his discomfort over some of the people who registered to attend the event,” she added, using language from an email informing registrants of the cancellation. [..] Cait McNamee, a spokesperson for Schneider’s campaign, said in an email Monday that it is unfortunate the event fell apart after several conversations between both sides. “It is disappointing that some are trying to mischaracterize the facts,” McNamee said.

* STLPR | More farmers would qualify for federal loans under bill proposed by Illinois lawmakers: “Very simply: It will help provide access to this much-needed capital to help farmers, the next generation of farmers, to get out and get in the field and do what they need to do to keep agriculture going in this country,” said Christy Seyfert, president and CEO of Farm Credit Council, a national trade association representing lenders who offer credit to farmers. Local Illinois lawmakers who sit on the House Committee on Agriculture, U.S. Reps. Mike Bost and Nikki Budzinski, introduced the legislation late last year.

* The Loyola Phoenix | Congressional Catch-Up: Mike Simmons: He thinks ICE should be dismantled, and the funding currently going into the organization should instead go to bringing down the cost of healthcare and funding medicaid, educational assistance programs and housing. As the son of an asylum seeker, Simmons believes the country should be a haven for persecuted people from all over the world. His vision of immigration reform includes increasing H-1B1 visas, increasing the number of refugees who can be resettled in the U.S., reversing Trump’s restrictions and expanding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

* Austin Weekly News | Anthony Driver Jr. runs for Congress in 7th District: “I’m a labor organizer. I build coalitions. I bring people together,” said Driver, who was political coordinator of SEIU and the executive director of the SEIU Illinois State Council, where he led policy initiatives, legislative and political strategy for the common good. “I’ll be a person who brings the rest of the Illinois delegation together and fights for things that are going to move the needle for the average person.”  Currently, SEIU is working on reversing the freeze that the Trump administration has put on child care funding in Illinois, pushing state legislation that would help unionize 100,000 rideshare drivers, and that which would provide basic protections to workers in extreme heat. 

* Press release | Trailblazing Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez Endorses Mayra Macías for Congress: Today, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, endorsed Mayra Macías, independent candidate for Illinois’s 4th Congressional District. Macías, a lifelong Democrat and Back of the Yards native, is running as an independent candidate to ensure voters have a choice at the ballot box this November. Congresswoman Velázquez joins a growing list of Macías’s endorsers, including Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández, Moms Fed Up PAC, and Nuestro PAC.