The practice is both brazen and breathtakingly simple. To work around the prohibition on directly coordinating with super PACs, candidates are posting their instructions to them inside the red boxes on public pages that super PACs continuously monitor.
The boxes highlight the aspects of candidates’ biographies that they want amplified and the skeletons in their opponents’ closets that they want exposed. Then, they add instructions that can be extremely detailed. […]
Red boxes are typically hidden in plain sight in “Media Center” or “Media Resources” sections of campaign websites that operatives know how to find.
Red boxes aren’t static. Candidates update their messaging guidance, essentially scripting super PAC ads for different stages of the campaign.
* A lot of the pro-Fine ad content appears to come straight from her “media center.” Evanston Now’s Matthew Eadie…
Super-PAC Elect Chicago Women goes positive in its first ad supporting Laura Fine in #IL09
Also Melissa Bean in #IL08 and Donna Miller in #IL02 via "Affordable Chicago Now" (below)
Likely Democratic primary voters under age 65 across the 9th should spend the next several weeks should hear the following message:
When Democrats are under attack, they need fighters who get results. Laura Fine gets results. More than ever, Democrats need fighters in Washington who have a real record of taking on bad actors and getting results. In Springfield, Laura is one of the most effective legislators, passing over 200 laws and winning big fights against the insurance and drug industries.
No other candidate here has done more to protect abortion rights. Years before the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, Laura voted to ensure abortion was a fundamental health care right in Illinois. This protected people in Illinois once federal protections under Roe disappeared.
And in Washington, she’ll keep fighting the insurance lobby and supporting a Medicare for All plan that provides quality care for more Americans who are tired of dealing with insurance companies that care more about their share prices than your well-being.
Now she’s taking that same fight to ICE and their masked agents who think they’re above the law.
* Daniel Biss’ redboxing page, updated this week, is here. Evanston Roundtable recently wrote about the super PAC backing Biss…
At time of writing, 314 Action has reported spending over $158,000 on Jan. 16 and 21 for two mailer campaigns supporting Biss. These are the only independent expenditures reported in the 9th District race so far, and the resulting mailers help illustrate how red boxing works.
Biss’ red box states it was last updated on Jan. 8, and starts its specific directions with, “Democratic primary voters who voted in either 2018 or 2022 primaries across the district need to know that,” before listing off talking points. Two directions are clear: target people who voted in the last two midterm primary cycles, and target the entire 9th District, rather than a specific area.
The phrase “need to know” doesn’t immediately specify a format, but further down the page, it’s called critical for voters to “read mail” that gives them a set of talking points, signaling the desire for a mailer campaign.
At least two versions have been mailed out so far, and both carry language directly from the red box’s talking points both verbatim and with small edits. This includes the “proven progressive” descriptor and rigged system phrasing, as well as quotes from U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to help plug their endorsements of Biss. After Schakowsky’s quote is a link to a Chicago Sun-Times article reporting on her endorsement, and one mailer includes the article’s headline under the Sun-Times’ masthead.
* Kat Abughazaleh’s media kit can be found here. From her redboxing page…
Democratic primary voters need to first see on TV, online, and then in the mail that Kat Abughazaleh is the only candidate in this race who is willing to take on the tough fights and can take that fight to the House.
Her opponents, including Daniel Biss and Laura Fine, have had meetings where they have sought support from MAGA-funded PACs such as AIPAC, as well as asking for endorsements from an organization funded by MAGA megadonors and that has endorsed 109 insurrectionists, including Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Speaker Mike Johnson.
There haven’t been reports yet of a super PAC supporting Abughazaleh.
Other candidates getting super PAC support today include 2nd CD candidate Donna Miller (ad here, redboxing here) and 8th CD candidate Melissa Bean (ad here, media center here).
* In the 2nd CD, Robert Peters’ redboxing page goes after Donna Miller…
Donna Miller overrode fierce objections from immigrant rights groups and voted for a million-dollar law enforcement deal that exposed Cook County residents’ personal records and private data to be used for ICE’s raids — and took thousands of dollars from the company’s lobbyists. Miller also voted to let every county agency, including Stroger Hospital, share people’s records with ICE for them to use to hunt people down. Now her campaign is being backed by tens-of-thousands of dollars from MAGA donors who back ICE’s agenda – we can’t trust Donna Miller to stand up to Trump.
* 8th CD candidate Junaid Ahmed may have the most detailed redboxing I’ve seen…
The page also goes after Bean for being “Wall Street’s favorite Democrat.”
* Anyway, what are your thoughts on these ’little boxes’…
That decision was decades in the making. If we wind up not being able to keep our Republic it will be due to the fact that the wealthiest among us did everything in their power to end it. What’s really unfortunate about that is the same thing occurred in the late Roman Republic even though the Optimates technically lost the civil war. Even just talking about that decision ignores that the culprits behind the fall of our Republic are the millionaires and billionaires who have been funding the effort to destroy it and started that effort well before most of us were born.
Citizen’s United is useless. And it would take an act of Congress to legislate around it. Good luck.
Misquoting Jurassic Park, Money finds a way. In a way, I prefer when the candidate has raised money on their own. At least I know they have had to make their pitch themselves and if enough individuals are donating the candidate must have wide appeal.
I just checked Stratton’s and here’s what it says:
- In Chicago, voters should see that Juliana Stratton is the strongest candidate in this race to stand up to Donald Trump and stop the terror and cruelty he’s inflicting on America. And she’s been outspoken about what she will do about it. -
Not that I’m a fan of the practice, but they are really phoning it in over there.
People who claim they “dont take corporate PAC money” werent going to get it in the first place.
- Remember the Alamo II - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 9:59 am:
I think this entire cycle has shown that, despite the open faucet created by Citizens United, it is still incredibly difficult for candidates to raise sufficient amounts of money to win a Congressional primary election.
What is interesting to me is that so many on the progressive wing of the Democratic Party still want to further limit the amounts of money that candidates can raise under the current legal landscape.
Can you imagine what these races would look like if no candidates were able to raise sufficient funds to even send out a mailed district-wide? It would almost be like picking a name out of a hat.
And no - I do not support public financing of elections as it would divert critically important funds from safety net programs, infrastructure projects and the public servants that make government work.
In another example of the excellent local journalism covering the Ninth District race, the use of redboxing in the IL-9 race was covered in detail by Eadie last month:
===Likely Democratic primary voters under age 65 across the 9th should spend the next several weeks should hear the following message:===
===Democratic primary voters who voted in either 2018 or 2022 primaries across the district need to know that===
===Democratic primary voters need to first see on TV, online, and then in the mail that===
Call me old fashioned, but I wouldn’t want to contribute to a SuperPAC that needed instructions this pedantic. The level of communication being given here should be unnecessary and suggests that someone in the campaign staff really wants to control every aspect of this to the point where they’re giving truly unnecessary discussion.
If someone is being put in charge of a SuperPAC they should be trusted to be sophisticated enough to review what the campaign is saying publicly, in their own media, in their own literature, and understand what the campaign wants emphasized about their own candidate by what the campaign is emphasizing about their own candidate.
I don’t care if this is a common practice, I don’t care if there’s some legal opinion out there that says that this communication is fine, but good lord. Do you think the SuperPAC is incompetent?
Do you really want to be stuck with arguing the distinction between colluding and coordinating or stuck trying to testify under oath that these instructions were not intended for the SuperPAC and you were just putting it out there for everyone to see?
I don’t have the level of self delusion to be able to participate in whatever this scheme is and I certainly wouldn’t want to hire or work for someone that thought this was necessary. I’m really starting to worry about the next generation of democratic consultants if this is the product we’re seeing.
It’s like they’re putting the underwear with the streak marks on a clothes line in front of their house to dry.
There are so many things that are accepted practices in so many fields that everyone pretends are legal, when they are obviously workarounds for things that are supposed to be expressly prohibited.
As an attorney, it is the same complaint I have about how no court ever seems to enforce the ethical rules against making filings for the purpose of delay, even thought every litigator knows that attorneys specifically do that pretty frequently.
- Jack in Chatham - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 9:15 am:
The US Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case was probably the last nail in the coffin for our Republic.
- May soon be required - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 9:27 am:
==The US Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case was probably the last nail in the coffin for our Republic.==
Agreed
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 9:27 am:
===Citizens United===
That decision was decades in the making. If we wind up not being able to keep our Republic it will be due to the fact that the wealthiest among us did everything in their power to end it. What’s really unfortunate about that is the same thing occurred in the late Roman Republic even though the Optimates technically lost the civil war. Even just talking about that decision ignores that the culprits behind the fall of our Republic are the millionaires and billionaires who have been funding the effort to destroy it and started that effort well before most of us were born.
- TNR - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 9:30 am:
Seems to me like some of the candidates are hoping for an independent expenditure savior who may never come.
- Glen Ellyn - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 9:34 am:
Citizen’s United is useless. And it would take an act of Congress to legislate around it. Good luck.
Misquoting Jurassic Park, Money finds a way. In a way, I prefer when the candidate has raised money on their own. At least I know they have had to make their pitch themselves and if enough individuals are donating the candidate must have wide appeal.
- Excitable Boy - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 9:40 am:
I just checked Stratton’s and here’s what it says:
- In Chicago, voters should see that Juliana Stratton is the strongest candidate in this race to stand up to Donald Trump and stop the terror and cruelty he’s inflicting on America. And she’s been outspoken about what she will do about it. -
Not that I’m a fan of the practice, but they are really phoning it in over there.
- low level - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 9:45 am:
People who claim they “dont take corporate PAC money” werent going to get it in the first place.
- Remember the Alamo II - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 9:59 am:
I think this entire cycle has shown that, despite the open faucet created by Citizens United, it is still incredibly difficult for candidates to raise sufficient amounts of money to win a Congressional primary election.
What is interesting to me is that so many on the progressive wing of the Democratic Party still want to further limit the amounts of money that candidates can raise under the current legal landscape.
Can you imagine what these races would look like if no candidates were able to raise sufficient funds to even send out a mailed district-wide? It would almost be like picking a name out of a hat.
And no - I do not support public financing of elections as it would divert critically important funds from safety net programs, infrastructure projects and the public servants that make government work.
- Skokie Man - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 10:02 am:
In another example of the excellent local journalism covering the Ninth District race, the use of redboxing in the IL-9 race was covered in detail by Eadie last month:
Outside groups start spending on IL-9 race
https://evanstonroundtable.com/2026/02/04/prosecutors-drop-charges-against-evanston-protesters-at-ice-facility/
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 10:13 am:
===Likely Democratic primary voters under age 65 across the 9th should spend the next several weeks should hear the following message:===
===Democratic primary voters who voted in either 2018 or 2022 primaries across the district need to know that===
===Democratic primary voters need to first see on TV, online, and then in the mail that===
Call me old fashioned, but I wouldn’t want to contribute to a SuperPAC that needed instructions this pedantic. The level of communication being given here should be unnecessary and suggests that someone in the campaign staff really wants to control every aspect of this to the point where they’re giving truly unnecessary discussion.
If someone is being put in charge of a SuperPAC they should be trusted to be sophisticated enough to review what the campaign is saying publicly, in their own media, in their own literature, and understand what the campaign wants emphasized about their own candidate by what the campaign is emphasizing about their own candidate.
I don’t care if this is a common practice, I don’t care if there’s some legal opinion out there that says that this communication is fine, but good lord. Do you think the SuperPAC is incompetent?
Do you really want to be stuck with arguing the distinction between colluding and coordinating or stuck trying to testify under oath that these instructions were not intended for the SuperPAC and you were just putting it out there for everyone to see?
I don’t have the level of self delusion to be able to participate in whatever this scheme is and I certainly wouldn’t want to hire or work for someone that thought this was necessary. I’m really starting to worry about the next generation of democratic consultants if this is the product we’re seeing.
It’s like they’re putting the underwear with the streak marks on a clothes line in front of their house to dry.
- Homebody - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 10:31 am:
There are so many things that are accepted practices in so many fields that everyone pretends are legal, when they are obviously workarounds for things that are supposed to be expressly prohibited.
As an attorney, it is the same complaint I have about how no court ever seems to enforce the ethical rules against making filings for the purpose of delay, even thought every litigator knows that attorneys specifically do that pretty frequently.
- Excitable Boy - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 10:36 am:
- I’m really starting to worry about the next generation of democratic consultants if this is the product we’re seeing. -
You’re worried about the next generation? The current generation is horrifying enough for me.
- Skokie Man - Thursday, Feb 5, 26 @ 10:41 am:
Sorry… wrong link!
https://evanstonnow.com/outside-groups-start-spending-on-il-9-race/