* Biss goes after Sen. Laura Fine in his own ad. Press release…
Today, Biss for Congress (IL-09) announced the release of “Not Standing With Us,” a new broadcast and digital ad highlighting the overwhelming amount of AIPAC and Trump donor money powering Laura Fine’s campaign for Congress.
Fine has taken more than $1 million from donors to AIPAC and nearly $60,000 from donors to Donald Trump, raising more money from Trump donors than she did from residents of the 9th District last quarter. Last week, she admitted at a forum that she is the only candidate for IL-09 who is taking contributions from donors to Donald Trump. Laura Fine won’t stand up to MAGA – because MAGA is funding her campaign.
Transcript:
Do you take donations from Trump supporters? [Fine holds up “YES” sign]
Laura Fine’s campaign is bankrolled by MAGA donors and hard-right groups.
Fine accepted over a million dollars from supporters of AIPAC, a Trump-aligned pro-Netanyahu lobbying group.
She’s taken $60,000 from Trump donors and a MAGA-aligned group even called her a fighter of her own.
Laura Fine doesn’t want you to know who’s standing with her because then we’ll know she’s not standing with us.
The Biss for Congress campaign released the following statement:
“Daniel Biss is running for Congress because he understands that this moment needs real leaders with a proven track record of fighting Donald Trump. Laura Fine is running for Congress to be a rubber stamp for AIPAC and her MAGA donors – just like she was a rubber stamp for Mike Madigan and the health insurance lobby in Springfield. Ninth District voters won’t be fooled by these slimy dark money ads, and they won’t allow right-wing special interests to pick our next member of Congress.”
Daniel Biss was one of the first leaders in Illinois to call for Mike Madigan’s resignation – Laura Fine stayed quiet. In 2018, Biss became the first legislative Democrat in Illinois to call for Madigan’s resignation as Illinois Democratic Party chair as sexual harassment allegations. In 2020, Biss was one of 53 Illinois Democratic leaders to call for Madigan’s resignation in an open letter. Laura Fine was notably absent.
The “Madigan-funded super PAC” referenced in AIPAC’s ad was an anti-Trump PAC funded by JB Pritzker, Illinois labor unions, and prominent Laura Fine donors. The PAC the ad attacks spent all of its funds on ads against Donald Trump in 2016. Its largest donors included JB Pritzker and prominent unions while its single largest donor was Michael Sacks (a donor to Laura Fine).
In 2012, Daniel Biss and the state legislature voted to save Medicaid from “the brink of collapse.” State legislators overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan legislative package to protect Medicaid for more than 99% of enrollees by bringing the program in line with other states and passing a $1 per pack tax increase on cigarettes. The National Association of Medicaid Directors said Illinois’ actions were considered “very consistent with what you’ve seen in other states.”
Laura Fine voted to cut Medicaid for 30,000 Illinoisans just last year. In 2025, Illinois passed a budget that eliminated the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program, which provided Medicaid-like coverage to immigrants in Illinois. While Laura Fine skipped the final vote, she voted for an earlier version of the budget just two days earlier. This program, which Fine voted to cut, had covered 30,000 Illinois residents.
In Springfield, Laura Fine voted with Republicans to kill health insurance reforms and then took tens of thousands of dollars from insurance and pharma companies. Fine was just one of just a handful of Democrats who split from the party, voting with every Republican and the insurance industry, to block HB 23, a bill to create an independent Office of the Consumer Health Insurance Counsel that would have represented the interests of consumers against health insurance companies. Perhaps that’s why insurance and pharma companies have given Fine tens of thousands of dollars worth of campaign donations.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 8:54 am:
There is so much othering there from Daniel I am livid.
First of all, a large portion of the politically giving Jewish community on both sides of the aisle have given to AIPAC, large and small gifts.
Secondly, it is dividing and angering people who once trusted Daniel and no longer can do so.
Thirdly, Laura came as close to the truth as she can and she is paying for being honest. Daniel took money from Republicans himself and Fine highlighted it over the weekend.
Politics ain’t beanbag but losing the trust of donors and voters he once had will be hard to ever recover.
All the money ads are blending together. Nothing is standing out at this point. An ad has to be really, really compelling to do that and none of the commercials in Illinois are doing that.
Biss claimed 13 point lead two weeks ago. Where did it go? If you are up that much and going negative like this methinks it was a fabrication.
Plus, the attack ad is based on a grainy long distance video in which she raises her sign and then he yanks it down. That’s not very conclusive proof to me. Every campaign on TV right now is saying that their opponents are taking Maga money. I don’t think it resonates.
- Lawyers, Guns, and Money - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:25 am:
I realize that this race didn’t turn out the way that the third place candidate always expected it would. And I realize that she was desperate. But taking a million dollars from a group so fairly associated with Trump was never going to be a winning play. Just like everybody else, IL 9th CD voters share the view that too many members of congress have been bought and paid for by special interests, which is exactly why they are so proud of their outgoing congresswoman who only ever answered to her constituents. And which also helps to explain why she has now endorsed the current front-runner to be her successor — a guy who is so staunchly progressive that a flip-flopper attack was never going to stick.
- Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:25 am:
Voters in the 9th are fairly well-informed. I think they realize Biss will say anything to win whatever elective office he happens to be pursuing at the moment. BDS? Pensions? Taking money from Republican donors? Depends on the day and the race.
@48th Ward Heel - I suspect Biss is targeting Fine to try to get the primary voters who would prefer an establish local candidate over perceived carpet bagger and inexperienced candidate Kat. Seems like a more natural fit.
As a lifelong Bulls fan I was just waiting for an ex player who hasn’t lived here in 30 years to tell me who I should vote for in a democratic primary where every candidate has a) essentially the same position on gun control, and b) zero chance of passing any gun control laws that will get past this supreme court court.
Great use of everyone’s energy here in the 9th district!
The 9th district campaign has been enlightening. Fine has been a representative and then senator for a long time. She has been rarely seen in the district as opposed to other legislators who show up at community meetings. And when she would, she had little to contribute.
Nonetheless she would get re-elected because honestly few demands were made on her.
So, hooray for campaigns where issues are aired and discussed. And yes my vote has changed from my initial thinking.
=== Biss claimed 13 point lead two weeks ago. Where did it go? If you are up that much and going negative like this methinks it was a fabrication. ===
It is three weeks until election day.
He should be saving his ammo for what?
This is what winning campaigns do, and exactly what Fine and her supporters should have expected after accepting a million dollars from a pro-Trump organization, and launching that spurious personal attack on Biss suggesting he was somehow soft on anti-Semitism.
Biss is going to bury her political career and her public reputation in a deep, dark whole never to be found again.
When someone attacks your reputation, anyone with a decent reputation who values their reputation is going to drop their entire arsenal on you.
Bringing Madigan into the picture was just a boneheaded move by the Fine campaign. Read Biss’s response and then imagine that as a letter from Kelly Cassidy to Democratic women in IL-9 who live outside of Fine’s current Senate seat. Oof. More coming.
Fine might finish third, something I would not have predicted a month ago.
===If you are up that much and going negative like this methinks===
JB Pritzker beat his two opponents by almost two-to-one and was negative right up until the end.
I think Carville said once that when you put your foot on their neck you don’t let them up.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 10:50 am:
It’s a good ad from Biss, and I think it can work in the district. I know people can vote on whatever issues they want, but it concerns me that the most extreme voices in an intractable problem 5,000 miles away influence our campaigns so much.
- Boone's is Back - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 10:54 am:
I know that most campaigns are light on substance but this year’s campaigns seem to be the brutally worse than anything in recent memory. What are any of these candidates actual platforms or policy proposals?
==I talked to 2 friends this weekend who had been leaning Fine.==
Anecdotally I have gone from a solid Biss supporter to now likely Fine or possibly some other candidate who doesn’t stand a chance of winning like Andrew or Hoan or something. And have friends who have seen this nastiness from Biss and are now all in for Fine.
But all it is is anecdotal. Can’t draw too much from it. We all run in different circles.
This is a Democratic primary and the ads of course are targeted to Democratic voters. However, like it or not in the 9th there will be non-Democrats choosing to vote in this D. primary because they know a Democrat will win the general and they seek whatever small level of representation that may be available to them down the pike. How many of these cross-overs will vote obviously nobody knows. But just for the sake of argument try viewing the above two ads through that lens.
==the attack ad is based on a grainy long distance video in which she raises her sign and then he yanks it down. That’s not very conclusive proof to me.==
Huh? If you don’t think that clip is conclusive, you’re watching a different ad than I am
==First of all, a large portion of the politically giving Jewish community on both sides of the aisle have given to AIPAC, large and small gifts.==
Both sides of the aisle have donated to AIPAC in the past. AIPAC’s primary goal in 2026 is support not for the Israeli people, but for the actions of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, a far-right war hawk who has abused his power criminally and is clutching power as tightly as he can to avoid a looming trial for said criminality. No one supports Netanyahu more than Donald Trump and his band of far-right criminals, even some who are vociferous antisemites, so that’s who they’ve thrown in their lot with.
If you donate to or support the actions and motives AIPAC in 2026, you are distinctly on one side of the aisle, no matter what you tell yourself.
Leftists know what AIPAC is. Leftists and strong-left liberals will be voting in the primary, and may want someone as a candidate who shares their values and has experience in elected office and inside a governmental system. That’s Daniel Biss’ slot to fill.
==Politics ain’t beanbag but losing the trust of donors==
You should really speak for yourself. But it is clear that you’ve been in the tank for Laura since the beginning.
As for “othering” - Laura has chosen to take money from Trump donors. Laura has chosen to take directed money and support from an organization that is hugely unpopular in the district. There’s a reason why Laura has tried to hide from it. There’s a reason why AIPAC has tried to hide its involvement.
I know that you want to make this an anti-Jewish thing. But that’s an absurd attack on a Jewish elected official. AIPAC does not speak for all Jewish folks. AIPAC is an advocacy organization that takes very unpopular positions, especially among Dem primary voters.
Pointing out where the VAST majority of Laura’s financial support is coming from is totally appropriate.
- Ukrainian Village Usurper - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 12:12 pm:
Supremely disappointed by Laura Fine’s embrace of AIPAC. I’m not a voter in the 9th, but Biss’ ad is also pretty devastating. It’s gonna be an Abugazaleh/Biss race to the finish.
How is a “Trump Donor” defined? If defined broadly enough the other candidates could be caught up in a fib and then that visual with their “no” sign could be potentially devastating heading into the stretch run in early March. Silly season seems to be officially here. Just sayin’.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 12:40 pm:
Alabama Shake, I am a 9th resident who is supporting Laura, but I really would have considered Biss before this change. This is something I called the campaign on and begged them to reconsider using my real name. This is not the same Daniel that I knew and I work in the Jewish community so I do hear a cross section of opinions on this race from the community I am employed in.
Seems very notable that Fine and Biss are seemingly only attacking each other. It feels very much like this is basically a 2 person race. Of course anything can happen but neither feels particularly threatened by Kat.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 2:10 pm:
I do agree with you Cole. Nor do they feel threatened by Phil, Bushra, or Mike at this point either.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 2:19 pm:
Will be so glad when this one is over. Way too much negativity in my opinion….
I would guess the math goes like this: Some Fine leaners are persuadable to vote for Biss. Others will vote for a candidate polling in the single digits, which can be (and the Biss beancounters hope is) the same thing as not voting at all. An exceedingly small number of Fine leaners might vote for Kat, certainly not enough to worry about. But with so many candidates it is possible someone is going to to be tempted to get too cute about this kind of thing, sloshing around money to boost a single digit candidate to peel off a few percent from a front-runner.
Regardless of whether Biss’s ad is effective or not. Who is going to see it? Enough to make a difference? How much money is he going to put behind this?
Fine has received tons of positive ad time for the last 5-6 weeks. How many people will tune out any negative ads or political ads in general at this point?
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 8:54 am:
There is so much othering there from Daniel I am livid.
First of all, a large portion of the politically giving Jewish community on both sides of the aisle have given to AIPAC, large and small gifts.
Secondly, it is dividing and angering people who once trusted Daniel and no longer can do so.
Thirdly, Laura came as close to the truth as she can and she is paying for being honest. Daniel took money from Republicans himself and Fine highlighted it over the weekend.
Politics ain’t beanbag but losing the trust of donors and voters he once had will be hard to ever recover.
- Montrose - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 8:54 am:
Fine and her lone “Yes” sign in response to Trump donations is a devastating visual for her.
- Steve - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:00 am:
The Biss ad attacking Laura Fine is pretty effective for the 9th. A lot of anti-Zionists live in the 9th.
- 48th Ward Heel - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:01 am:
I’m a solid Biss vote, but that’s a pretty heavy salvo against someone who’s “trailing badly in the polls” three weeks before the election.
- Torco Sign - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:03 am:
All the money ads are blending together. Nothing is standing out at this point. An ad has to be really, really compelling to do that and none of the commercials in Illinois are doing that.
- Bacchus - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:09 am:
There could be an angle for Kat to sneak in while these two bash each other…but she’ll need to stay awake.
- Evanstonian - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:19 am:
Biss claimed 13 point lead two weeks ago. Where did it go? If you are up that much and going negative like this methinks it was a fabrication.
Plus, the attack ad is based on a grainy long distance video in which she raises her sign and then he yanks it down. That’s not very conclusive proof to me. Every campaign on TV right now is saying that their opponents are taking Maga money. I don’t think it resonates.
- Paul - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:22 am:
Kind of surprised that the ad Steve Kerr cut for Phil Andrew isn’t getting more attention:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHJH3I6U9wc
- Lawyers, Guns, and Money - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:25 am:
I realize that this race didn’t turn out the way that the third place candidate always expected it would. And I realize that she was desperate. But taking a million dollars from a group so fairly associated with Trump was never going to be a winning play. Just like everybody else, IL 9th CD voters share the view that too many members of congress have been bought and paid for by special interests, which is exactly why they are so proud of their outgoing congresswoman who only ever answered to her constituents. And which also helps to explain why she has now endorsed the current front-runner to be her successor — a guy who is so staunchly progressive that a flip-flopper attack was never going to stick.
- Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:25 am:
Voters in the 9th are fairly well-informed. I think they realize Biss will say anything to win whatever elective office he happens to be pursuing at the moment. BDS? Pensions? Taking money from Republican donors? Depends on the day and the race.
- Homebody - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:35 am:
@48th Ward Heel - I suspect Biss is targeting Fine to try to get the primary voters who would prefer an establish local candidate over perceived carpet bagger and inexperienced candidate Kat. Seems like a more natural fit.
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:48 am:
As a lifelong Bulls fan I was just waiting for an ex player who hasn’t lived here in 30 years to tell me who I should vote for in a democratic primary where every candidate has a) essentially the same position on gun control, and b) zero chance of passing any gun control laws that will get past this supreme court court.
Great use of everyone’s energy here in the 9th district!
- Keyrock - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 9:58 am:
I talked to 2 friends this weekend who had been leaning Fine. The AIPAC stories - and Fine’s equivocation about them - moved them to solid Biss votes.
- Banish Misfortune - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 10:18 am:
The 9th district campaign has been enlightening. Fine has been a representative and then senator for a long time. She has been rarely seen in the district as opposed to other legislators who show up at community meetings. And when she would, she had little to contribute.
Nonetheless she would get re-elected because honestly few demands were made on her.
So, hooray for campaigns where issues are aired and discussed. And yes my vote has changed from my initial thinking.
- Uptown Sinclair - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 10:32 am:
=== that’s a pretty heavy salvo ===
=== Biss claimed 13 point lead two weeks ago. Where did it go? If you are up that much and going negative like this methinks it was a fabrication. ===
It is three weeks until election day.
He should be saving his ammo for what?
This is what winning campaigns do, and exactly what Fine and her supporters should have expected after accepting a million dollars from a pro-Trump organization, and launching that spurious personal attack on Biss suggesting he was somehow soft on anti-Semitism.
Biss is going to bury her political career and her public reputation in a deep, dark whole never to be found again.
When someone attacks your reputation, anyone with a decent reputation who values their reputation is going to drop their entire arsenal on you.
Bringing Madigan into the picture was just a boneheaded move by the Fine campaign. Read Biss’s response and then imagine that as a letter from Kelly Cassidy to Democratic women in IL-9 who live outside of Fine’s current Senate seat. Oof. More coming.
Fine might finish third, something I would not have predicted a month ago.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 10:35 am:
===If you are up that much and going negative like this methinks===
JB Pritzker beat his two opponents by almost two-to-one and was negative right up until the end.
I think Carville said once that when you put your foot on their neck you don’t let them up.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 10:50 am:
It’s a good ad from Biss, and I think it can work in the district. I know people can vote on whatever issues they want, but it concerns me that the most extreme voices in an intractable problem 5,000 miles away influence our campaigns so much.
- Boone's is Back - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 10:54 am:
I know that most campaigns are light on substance but this year’s campaigns seem to be the brutally worse than anything in recent memory. What are any of these candidates actual platforms or policy proposals?
- Alton Sinkhole - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:20 am:
==I talked to 2 friends this weekend who had been leaning Fine.==
Anecdotally I have gone from a solid Biss supporter to now likely Fine or possibly some other candidate who doesn’t stand a chance of winning like Andrew or Hoan or something. And have friends who have seen this nastiness from Biss and are now all in for Fine.
But all it is is anecdotal. Can’t draw too much from it. We all run in different circles.
- Responsa - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:23 am:
This is a Democratic primary and the ads of course are targeted to Democratic voters. However, like it or not in the 9th there will be non-Democrats choosing to vote in this D. primary because they know a Democrat will win the general and they seek whatever small level of representation that may be available to them down the pike. How many of these cross-overs will vote obviously nobody knows. But just for the sake of argument try viewing the above two ads through that lens.
- AlabamaShake - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:23 am:
===If you are up that much and going negative like this methinks===
Do you also think Raja isn’t winning right now?
- AlabamaShake - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:25 am:
==the attack ad is based on a grainy long distance video in which she raises her sign and then he yanks it down. That’s not very conclusive proof to me.==
Huh? If you don’t think that clip is conclusive, you’re watching a different ad than I am
- Norseman - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:26 am:
Rich @ 10:35 am beat me to it. There’s no 10-run rule in politics.
- Candy Dogood - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:28 am:
===Bringing Madigan into the picture was just a boneheaded move by the Fine campaign.===
*ahem* Madigan was brought into the discussion by a Super PAC that has had absolutely zero coordination with Laura Fine’s campaign for congress.
/snark
- Roadrager - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:34 am:
==First of all, a large portion of the politically giving Jewish community on both sides of the aisle have given to AIPAC, large and small gifts.==
Both sides of the aisle have donated to AIPAC in the past. AIPAC’s primary goal in 2026 is support not for the Israeli people, but for the actions of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, a far-right war hawk who has abused his power criminally and is clutching power as tightly as he can to avoid a looming trial for said criminality. No one supports Netanyahu more than Donald Trump and his band of far-right criminals, even some who are vociferous antisemites, so that’s who they’ve thrown in their lot with.
If you donate to or support the actions and motives AIPAC in 2026, you are distinctly on one side of the aisle, no matter what you tell yourself.
Leftists know what AIPAC is. Leftists and strong-left liberals will be voting in the primary, and may want someone as a candidate who shares their values and has experience in elected office and inside a governmental system. That’s Daniel Biss’ slot to fill.
- AlabamaShake - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 12:01 pm:
==Politics ain’t beanbag but losing the trust of donors==
You should really speak for yourself. But it is clear that you’ve been in the tank for Laura since the beginning.
As for “othering” - Laura has chosen to take money from Trump donors. Laura has chosen to take directed money and support from an organization that is hugely unpopular in the district. There’s a reason why Laura has tried to hide from it. There’s a reason why AIPAC has tried to hide its involvement.
I know that you want to make this an anti-Jewish thing. But that’s an absurd attack on a Jewish elected official. AIPAC does not speak for all Jewish folks. AIPAC is an advocacy organization that takes very unpopular positions, especially among Dem primary voters.
Pointing out where the VAST majority of Laura’s financial support is coming from is totally appropriate.
- Ukrainian Village Usurper - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 12:12 pm:
Supremely disappointed by Laura Fine’s embrace of AIPAC. I’m not a voter in the 9th, but Biss’ ad is also pretty devastating. It’s gonna be an Abugazaleh/Biss race to the finish.
- Mary Ann - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 12:30 pm:
How is a “Trump Donor” defined? If defined broadly enough the other candidates could be caught up in a fib and then that visual with their “no” sign could be potentially devastating heading into the stretch run in early March. Silly season seems to be officially here. Just sayin’.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 12:40 pm:
Alabama Shake, I am a 9th resident who is supporting Laura, but I really would have considered Biss before this change. This is something I called the campaign on and begged them to reconsider using my real name. This is not the same Daniel that I knew and I work in the Jewish community so I do hear a cross section of opinions on this race from the community I am employed in.
- P. - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 1:32 pm:
I guess they are not going out at the Green Mill any time soon.
- Cole - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 1:40 pm:
Seems very notable that Fine and Biss are seemingly only attacking each other. It feels very much like this is basically a 2 person race. Of course anything can happen but neither feels particularly threatened by Kat.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 2:10 pm:
I do agree with you Cole. Nor do they feel threatened by Phil, Bushra, or Mike at this point either.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 2:19 pm:
Will be so glad when this one is over. Way too much negativity in my opinion….
- granville - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 3:22 pm:
I would guess the math goes like this: Some Fine leaners are persuadable to vote for Biss. Others will vote for a candidate polling in the single digits, which can be (and the Biss beancounters hope is) the same thing as not voting at all. An exceedingly small number of Fine leaners might vote for Kat, certainly not enough to worry about. But with so many candidates it is possible someone is going to to be tempted to get too cute about this kind of thing, sloshing around money to boost a single digit candidate to peel off a few percent from a front-runner.
- 9th Enthusiast - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 3:25 pm:
Regardless of whether Biss’s ad is effective or not. Who is going to see it? Enough to make a difference? How much money is he going to put behind this?
Fine has received tons of positive ad time for the last 5-6 weeks. How many people will tune out any negative ads or political ads in general at this point?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 3:27 pm:
===How many people will tune out any negative ads or political ads in general at this point? ===
Maybe some, but, c’mon. This is a crowded primary with a whole lot of undecideds and a bunch going on elsewhere. They’ll tune in.
- 9th Enthusiast - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 4:36 pm:
Again, I repeat my earlier question, “How much money is he going to put behind this?”
If it isn’t a lot, all of this is a moot point. The crowded airwaves will drown him out.