* From national Politico this weekend…

A Playbook review of campaign finance records shows that both the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from CoreCivic, a longtime ICE contractor and private prison company based in Brentwood, Tennessee.

A Nov. 9, 2023 email obtained by Playbook and sent by DLGA staff to CoreCivic shows that the group solicited a $50,000 contribution for 2024.

When contacted by Playbook regarding the donations, DLGA spokesperson Christina Freundlich said the organization would be “donating any 2024-2025 contributions from CoreCivic to the National Immigration Law Center, and will no longer accept contributions from them going forward.”

But the DGA told Playbook it would be keeping the money. “Every contribution to the DGA helps elect Democratic governors and none of them have any impact on policy decisions made by governors. We strongly condemn the Trump administration’s appalling immigration tactics, and the only way to stop them is by electing more Democrats.”

The DLGA is backing Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s US Senate campaign.

…Adding… More from national Politico about the DLGA’s unsuccessful attempt to donate the tainted money…

KEEP YOUR MONEY: The National Immigration Law Center is refusing a $50,000 donation from the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association after reading in Playbook that the money originated as a political contribution from CoreCivic, a longtime ICE contractor, Playbook’s Adam Wren writes in.

“On Friday, we received an email from staff at the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association asking to make a $50,000 contribution to NILC-IJF,” said NILC’s Will Dempster. “On Saturday morning, we learned for the first time in Politico that the proposed donation corresponded with an identical contribution the DLGA received from CoreCivic.” The NILC called on “every Democratic candidate and campaign committee to reject donations from CoreCivic and every other company that seeks to make money from the suffering of vulnerable immigrants,” Dempster said.

Yikes.

* Last year, after facing criticism from Stratton, Raja Krishnamoorthi donated campaign contributions he had received from Palantir’s chief technology officer to immigrant rights groups. The Raja campaign’s response to the Politico report…

According to a new report published by Politico this morning, Juliana Stratton’s Senate bid is being boosted by $135,000 from CoreCivic, a top ICE contractor and private prison company.

The FACTS:

The DLGA, a corporate-funded super PAC boosting Stratton, accepted $135,000 from CoreCivic, a longtime ICE contractor and private prison company.

CoreCivic donated $500,000 to Trump’s inaugural committee and was rewarded with a “55% increase in immigration detainee contracts” to the tune of over $544 million as the Trump Administration ramped up ICE operations.

Chicago connection: CoreCivic helped the Trump Administration operate the Broadview facility as “Operation Midway Blitz” ramped up across Chicagoland.

CoreCivic is facing hundreds of lawsuits as ICE detainees fear “‘imminent death’” in their facilities. Some sources estimate that over 600 detainees and inmates have died in CoreCivic facilities over the last few decades.

STRATTON IS BENEFITING BIG TIME FROM CORECIVIC: The DLGA is one of Stratton’s top backers, having pledged to spend “seven figures” boosting her campaign. They’ve already spent over $50,000 on mailers to directly communicate with voters on Stratton’s behalf, as well as funding at least four polls to direct her campaign, which cost $10,000 each.

“Juliana Stratton’s rampant hypocrisy simply knows no bounds. Now we learn that her struggling campaign is being propped up by a super PAC that’s funded by a top ICE contractor that helped Donald Trump’s DHS run the Broadview facility at the height of ‘Operation Midway Blitz,’” said Raja for Illinois spokesperson Hannah Goss. “Juliana Stratton must immediately disavow support from the DLGA and make a donation equivalent to every single dirty dollar the DLGA spent boosting her.”

Ouch.

…Adding… The Stratton campaign…

Juliana agrees with the DLGA’s decision to donate the money and reject any future contributions. This is not the same as Congressman Krishnamoorthi repeatedly soliciting and accepting ICE contractor money including in June 2025 when Chicago communities were under attack. He defended these contributions when called out and only returned the money after facing mounting pressure from community members, just as he did with a contribution from Space X — and he still has not returned the tens of thousands of dollars he’s taken from other MAGA allies.

* GOP US Senate candidate Don Tracy…

U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy’s US Senate campaign demonstrated its growing momentum with a series of endorsements from Republican county and township chairs, along with leaders of prominent statewide grassroots organizations. […]

Dianne Barghouti Hardwick, Sangamon County Republican Chairwoman
Michael Bigger, Stark County Republican Party Chairman
Michael Butler, St. Clair County Republican Party Chairman
Andrew Chesney, Stephenson County Republican Party Chairman
Kevin Coyne, DuPage County Republican Party Chairman
Aaron DeGroot, Christian County Republican Party Chairman
Michael Dittmar, Jo Daviess County Republican Party Chairman
Blake Jones, Jefferson County Republican Party Chairman
Mike Koolidge, Ogle County Republican Party Chairman
Kelvin Kunath, Pope County Republican Party Chairman
Shaun Murphy, Worth Township Republican Party Chairman
Myles Nelson, Madison County Republican Party Chairman
Jim Patrick, Williamson County Republican Party Chairman
Bruce Pillsbury, Macon County Republican Party Chairman
Bruce Rodely, Perry County Republican Party Chairman
Jim Rule, Tazewell County Republican Party Chairman
Larry Smith, LaSalle County Republican Party Chairman
Dan Patlak, Wheeling Township Republican Party President
Kathy Penner, Wheeling Township Republican Party Chairwoman
Eleanor Sweet McDonnell, Cuba Township Republican Party Chairwoman
Carol Davis, Illinois Conservative Union Chairwoman
Paul Caprio, Illinois Family PAC Directo

* Tribune…

Opponents are focusing on Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller after she landed a large fundraising haul. And they continue to pounce on comeback-seeking former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., the best-known name in the campaign for the 2nd District Democratic nomination. Rep. Robin Kelly, who holds the seat now, is not seeking reelection as she instead runs for U.S. Senate. […]

“The American people are sick of seeing people in Washington because they’re famous, like Jesse Jackson Jr.,” said state Sen. Willie Preston, 16th District. “Or because a bunch of wealthy people gave a candidate some money and bought them, like Donna Miller is being currently purchased.” […]

Miller has not rejected the claim that she has received money facilitated by the powerful organization, but told the Tribune Editorial Board Friday that AIPAC has not endorsed her.

“I have supporters who might support AIPAC, and some who don’t,” she said. “I have worked very hard in my professional and governmental career to build a broad coalition of donors, and those individual donors are the ones donating to my campaign, and I think that the coalition of support speaks to the work that I’ve done.”

* The Daily Herald…

The eight Democrats seeking to succeed Raja Krishnamoorthi in the 8th Congressional District recently discussed how they would curb what they see as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement exceeding its legal authority under President Donald Trump.

Vying for their party’s nomination in the March 17 primary are Junaid Ahmed of South Barrington; Yasmeen Bankole of Hanover Park; Melissa Bean of Barrington; Sanjyot Dunung of Des Plaines; Neil Khot of Hoffman Estates; Kevin Morrison of Mount Prospect; Dan Tully of Carol Stream; and Ryan Vetticad of South Barrington. […]

Bean, who served three terms in House from 2005 to 2011, said it’s not surprising Trump would put someone like Noem in charge of DHS and redirect funding from health care to ICE. She also wants Noem gone and ICE officers made liable for actions exceeding their legal authority. […]

Ahmed, a tech firm owner who challenged Krishnamoorthi in the 2022 primary, said he has experience from six years ago successfully lobbying the state to close an ICE detention facility in McHenry County. He added officers must be held accountable for their actions and Noem impeached.

* Evanston Now’s Matthew Eadie…

Evanston Township High School student Ryan McComb (@bayes_pr) built a really cool real-time aggregator site that collects data points on prediction markets, fundraising data and a bunch of other stuff for #IL09

?? Super cool stuffhttps://t.co/RytKDvVfbf

— Matthew Eadie (@mattheweadie22) February 7, 2026

* Politico…

— In IL-08: In Palatine on Saturday, Democratic candidates running for the 8th Congressional District came out swinging against Melissa Bean, who’s running for the office she held from 2005 to 2011. Bean wants it back, and her younger opponents used the forum to call out her record, criticizing that a super PAC tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is supporting her campaign. Bean didn’t respond to the attacks that came from Junaid Ahmed, Kevin Morrison and Yasmeen Bankole. […]

— In IL-07: State Sen. Willie Preston is out with endorsements, including from Rev. Corey Brooks, a Republican who speaks out about crime and violence. Preston is running in the Democratic primary. The full list of endorsements is here.

* More…

* Tribune | Illinois 9th District race tests long Jewish legacy in 15-way Democratic Party fight to succeed Schakowsky: At the center of that tension are two Jewish candidates, state Sen. Laura Fine and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who lead the field in terms of campaign cash entering 2026. Their rivalry has drawn national attention in part because of the role of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and broader divisions within the Democratic Party over U.S. support for Israel. Fine has emerged as the candidate most visibly benefiting from donors aligned with AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group that has notably backed both Republicans and Democrats. Biss, meanwhile, has the endorsement of the more liberal pro-Israel organization J Street and he’s publicly criticized AIPAC’s influence in Democratic primaries.

* Press release | Alderman Debra Silverstein Endorses Laura Fine for Congress: “Laura Fine has a backbone of steel and she’s a leader who listens and gets things done. At a moment when our community needs to come together to tackle the threat of rising antisemitism, Laura is exactly the kind of leader we need standing up for our community,” Ald. Silverstein said. “We know she will always keep her word and be a voice for everyone she represents.” Silverstein represents West Ridge and most of Rogers Park, home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the Chicagoland area.

* Daily Northwestern | New super PAC, reportedly tied to AIPAC, spent more than $570K to boost Fine, filings show: New super PAC Elect Chicago Women spent $400,000 on television advertisements and more than $50,000 on mailers this week in support of State Sen. Laura Fine (D-Glenview)’s campaign to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, Federal Election Commission filings show. The group spent at least $285,000 on Feb. 3, one week after its creation, to air its first TV commercials in support of Fine.

* Daily Herald | More than $12 million pouring into 9th Congressional District race: Five of the 14 active candidates running to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston have reported at least $1 million in receipts, reports show. One of them, Chicagoan Kat Abughazaleh, crossed the $2 million threshold during the last quarter of 2025.

* The Daily Northwestern | Democratic congressional candidates discuss immigration, anti-AAPI racism at PAVE forum: Fifteen percent of people living in Illinois’ 9th district are Asian, according to 2024 American Community Survey data. Over 50 audience members representing various local advocacy groups attended the event. […] Biss, Abughazaleh and Amiwala were the only candidates to call for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Huynh, however, who identified himself as the “only refugee in this race,” said he wants to “dismantle” the agency. All candidates criticized ICE activity and supported some kind of immigration reform.

* The Daily Northwestern | Congressional candidates face off at NAACP forum, marking start of Black History Lecture Series: Throughout the forum, Simmons invoked his personal experience as the race’s leading Black candidate. In 2021, he became the first Black person to represent his Chicago-based district and the first openly gay member of the Illinois Senate. “I don’t read about these struggles. I don’t hear about these struggles,” he said. “These are struggles that me and my communities have survived.”

* Daily Herald | Most GOP candidates for 9th Congressional seat oppose Trump’s suggestion to nationalize elections: Of the four GOP candidates, only Rocio Cleveland — an ardent Trump supporter who called the president “a real solid man, a real alpha male” — backed the idea. Candidates John Elleson, Paul Friedman and Mark Su opposed Trump’s proposal. The candidates discussed Trump’s proposal, immigration and other issues in a group video interview with the Daily Herald last week. The Democratic candidates in the 9th District participated in separate group interviews.

* WGLT | Despite concerns, LaHood doesn’t break with administration over vaccinations: “I do. I would tell my constituents to rely on their own doctor, their own medical advice that they get. This is a personal decision. They ought to be able to have the right to do that,” said LaHood. He stopped short of saying physicians and the government should largely agree on the question.

* WGLT | Rep. LaHood praises federal immigration policy: “That has been a success, also, of focusing on people that are currently in our federal and state jails, that have been convicted, that are illegal immigrants, sending them back to their country of origin, whether that’s Venezuela, whether that’s El Salvador, whether that’s Guatemala. That has been, I think, working well,” LaHood said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas. He expressed reservations about some enforcement activities in urban areas such as Minneapolis and Chicago. “I don’t think the optics have been very good,” said LaHood.