* Raja Krishnamoorthi is out with a new spot, “The Downstate Candidate”…

Rating?

* Raja is attacking Stratton’s pledge to not accept any corporate PAC money. Press release…

Despite repeatedly emphasizing her “no corporate PAC pledge” on the campaign trail, the latest round of FEC reports makes clear that Juliana Stratton’s hypocrisy on the issue has reached heights not previously disclosed.

Not only has Stratton accepted more than $200,000 in corporate contributions into her state campaign account and illegally funneled them into her Senate campaign account, but she also raised unlimited corporate money and then funneled it into a super PAC airing television ads on behalf of her Senate bid.

Follow the money:

FIRST: Stratton set up “Level Up Super PAC” so she could raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate and unrestricted money, $49,000 alone of which was from corporations and corporate PACs.

- LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS LATER: Stratton transferred $150,000 from “Level Up Super PAC” to Illinois Future PAC, a super PAC boosting her Senate bid.

“Juliana Stratton’s shameless hypocrisy is exactly why people hate politics: She condemns corporate PAC money but has accepted nearly a quarter of a million dollars in corporate contributions and illegally funneled them into her Senate campaign. She again collected tens of thousands of dollars in corporate money, which was funneled into a super PAC that ran illegal ads on her behalf,” said Raja for Illinois spokesperson Hannah Goss. “Illinoisans deserve better than cheap pledges that do nothing to help everyday families. Voters see through Stratton’s empty rhetoric, which is why she’s down 25 points in the polls.”

* The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association attempted to dress up some old polling in favor of Stratton. Inside Elections reporter Jacob Rubashkin…

The DLGA put out a PPP memo claiming Julianna Stratton is “surging” in IL-Sen, and now trails Raja, 34-23.

It compares the result to a Raja internal from January to make that case.

One problem: DLGA/PPP polled in December and had Raja ahead just 32-20 even then. So, what surge? pic.twitter.com/XXrg1TQTpN

— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) February 6, 2026

* St. Louis Public Radio…

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton believes that the status quo of her party has not served the American people well — and that she’s the Senate candidate to bring the fight needed to Washington, D.C.

“I’m not going to sit on the sidelines,” Stratton said on the latest episode of Politically Speaking. “I don’t shy away from a fight, and everything is at stake right now.” […]

Immigration and Customs Enforcement should also be abolished, Stratton said. What exactly would replace ICE is unclear, but Stratton said it’s important to remember that its work existed before the federal agency was created in 2003.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t want secure borders,” she said. “Of course I do, but that’s not what this is.”

* Spectrum News…

[I]n an interview with Spectrum News on Thursday, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly insisted she’ll have the resources she’ll need to compete down the stretch of the primary.

Kelly’s first TV ads in the campaign dropped last week. Her congressional district extends from Chicago’s eastern suburbs and hugs the eastern part of the state south into rural Illinois, but she said her message is one that plays statewide.[…]

“We will have the resources that we need, you know, to stay on the air. But I am a big one for campaign finance reform, because just because you have the most money doesn’t mean you’re the best candidate,” she said. “And just because you have the most money does not mean that you’ve done the most. I know I’m the most qualified person running.”

* The AP profiled 2nd Congressional District candidate Jesse Jackson Jr…

Ten Democrats are in, including Donna Miller, a county commissioner who leads fundraising. She brought in about $1 million in the last quarter and has that much on hand. Meanwhile, Jackson raised about $100,000 and has roughly equal to spend.

Jackson said fundraising in the district has always been tough. He sees a path to victory in part by registering new voters; he said his campaign has signed up roughly 2,000. He’s also reaching disenfranchised voters, including Black men who “abandoned” the party.

Jackson says he relates more to voters now.

He often starts events by asking who has been imprisoned or knows someone in jail. The show of hands is usually strong. He’s opened up about managing mental health, crediting his physician, tight social circle and martial arts.

* New York Times…

The country’s most powerful pro-Israel lobbying group threw its financial might against a moderate Democratic House candidate in New Jersey who is a longtime supporter of the Jewish state but has said that U.S. military aid should not be unconditional.

The move appeared to backfire. […]

[AIPAC] has sent fund-raising appeals for a handful of candidates in the last several months, including Laura Fine, an Illinois state senator running for the U.S. House in a suburban Chicago district that includes heavily Jewish areas such as Skokie and West Rogers Park.

Ms. Fine, who is Jewish and opposes any conditions on aid for Israel, said the Gaza war remained a “wedge issue” for many local voters. […]

One of her opponents, Daniel Biss, the Democratic mayor of Evanston, Ill., spent most of his childhood summers in Israel, where his grandparents settled after fleeing Europe shortly after the Holocaust.

Mr. Biss, who is also Jewish, said that his “commitment to Israel is deeply part of who I am” but that he wanted Congress to stop giving “a blank check to causing human suffering.”

* The American Prospect…

A look at [9th CD candidate Laura Fine, 2nd CD candidate Donna Miller, and 8th CD candidate Melissa Bean] filings betrays an impressively coordinated operation at work. Sixty-five donors who previously gave to AIPAC or its affiliated super PAC United Democracy Project (UDP) have given to both Miller and Fine. These donors delivered $88,066.66 to the Fine campaign. They also contributed $119,746.33 to Miller. A whopping 237 former AIPAC/UDP donors have given to both Miller and Bean, contributing $396,288.01 to Bean and $429,083.00 to Miller. Forty-four of these donors have given to all three candidates, sending a total of $208,753.33 to them.

Several of the donations were given to the candidates on the same day, by the same donors, for the same amounts.

“This coordinated effort by Trump and AIPAC donors to buy multiple congressional seats in Illinois should be alarming to anyone who cares about the integrity of our democracy,” said Matthew Fisch, campaign manager for Robert Peters, who is running against Miller in IL-02.

* 2nd CD candidate Willie Preston…

As her AIPAC-funded commercials blanket Chicagoland airwaves, maverick Illinois Senator Willie Preston accused Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller of lying to voters to get elected after she did just that when asked directly about receiving key financial backing from groups like the right-wing, pro-Israel super PAC at a packed Southland forum for Second Congressional District Democrats on Thursday evening.

“Donna Miller just lied to you. The American Israeli (sic) Political Action Committee raised her over a million dollars. They did not do it to build dulas for us poor Black people,” said Preston, chair of the Illinois Senate Black Legislative Caucus. He was referring to Miller’s original response when asked by a forum moderator whether she ever received support from ANY political action committees - and in a week in which AIPAC launched the major air campaign on her behalf.

“If you vote for Donna Miller, you’re voting for a forever war….She has been purchased,” Preston said to an unnerved hall at Southland College Prep for a forum sponsored by the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

“The truth of the matter is, people are tired of politicians like you,” Preston told Miller.

Watch Preston’s full comments on Miller’s AIPAC ties here. […]

Watch her full (non) response here.

* Negatives are coming soon in the 9th CD. Evanston Now’s Matthew Eadie…

Could they split the progressive vote and boost moderates?

Or find someone to rally behind?

Or just vote their conscious since the spread of candidates in #IL09 is simply so vast?

we shall see

— Matthew Eadie (@mattheweadie22) February 6, 2026

* A super PAC mailer for Sen. Laura Fine includes photos of her with Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, who has endorsed Rep. Hoan Huynh, and a group shot with opponent Daniel Biss…

* Some endorsements via Politico…

— In IL-08: Cook County Board member Kevin Morrison has been endorsed by the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the West Suburban Teachers Union Local 571 in his bid for Congress in IL-08.

— In IL-07: Richard Boykin has been endorsed by Chicago Ald. Silvana Tabares in his bid for Congress.

— In IL-07: Anabel Mendoza has been endorsed by the progressive Catch Fire Movement in her bid for the 7th District seat.

— In IL-08: Neil Khot has been endorsed by state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit in his bid for Congress.

* More…

* Press release | Father Michael Pfleger Endorses Robin Kelly for U.S. Senate,
Citing Unrivaled Leadership: Pfleger, a tireless advocate for peace and justice on Chicago’s South Side and across the nation, is backing Kelly for her proven track record in congress, bold leadership delivering for people across Illinois and dedication to gun violence prevention that set her apart as the only choice to represent Illinois in the Senate. “From the moment Robin entered Congress, she has been a local and national champion on not just gun violence prevention but issues that improve our communities,” Pfleger said. “Robin is present, available and always standing with us. We need Robin’s voice and proven ability to drive change in the U.S. Senate now more than ever. Robin Kelly doesn’t just talk about making people’s lives better. She gets results.”

* Sun-Times | What to know about Illinois’ 8th Congressional District Democratic primary: Junaid Ahmed, Yasmeen Bankole, Melissa Bean, Sanjyot Dunung, Neil Khot, Kevin Morrison, Dan Tully and Ryan Vetticad are running for the Democratic nomination to replace U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi in the 8th Congressional District, which is anchored in the northwest suburbs.

* Press release | Congressman Brad Schneider Endorses Laura Fine: “I’m grateful to Congressman Schneider for his support and his continued leadership in Congress as together we stand up for our communities against Trump’s lawlessness and corruption,” Laura Fine said. “I’ve taken on the biggest fights against the special interests in Springfield—which is why I’ve been named one of the most effective lawmakers in Illinois—and will continue that fight in Congress.”