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* The Sun-Times and WBEZ are pumping out live election updates. One snippet…

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who is running for Congress in Illinois’ 7th District, said he was initially unable to vote in person this morning at George Rogers Clark Elementary School in Austin.

“This has never happened to me,” he said.

Ford said when he placed his electronic ballot card in a voting machine, it said he had already voted. He had not, he said. He was given the option to vote with a provisional ballot, and he declined.

The Board of Elections eventually gave him approval to vote on a paper ballot and canceled the electronic process, he said. […]

“Imagine how many other people this could happen to and they’ll just walk away. This is an example that we have to make sure our systems are improved,” [Ford] said.

The New York Times will have live updates here.

* Chicago voter turnout as of noon…

250,364 total ballots cast (includes Early Voting and previously processed Vote By Mail)

1,554,337 active registered voters in Chicago

16.11% citywide turnout so far

Ballots Cast By Age Group:
18 -24: 9,278 ballots cast

25-34: 34,495 ballots cast

35-44: 36,710 ballots cast

45-54: 31,448 ballots cast

55-64: 42,982 ballots cast

65-74: 53,074 ballots cast

75+: 41,534 ballots cast

Ballots Cast By Gender:
Female: 140,744 ballots cast

Male: 109,019 ballots cast

Non-Binary/X: 294 ballots cast

Undeclared: 307 ballots cast

…Adding… Tribune…

Elections officials said Chicago voter turnout reached just over 16% around noon Tuesday as voters across the city came out in the cold to cast their ballots, citing concerns around affordability and excitement over the state’s first open U.S. Senate seat in 16 years. […]

More than 250,000 total votes have been cast so far in Chicago, bolstered by early and mail voting that outperformed the midterm primaries in 2022, according to the Chicago Board of Elections. Votes on Election Day so far have kept pace with day-of voting during the state’s June 28, 2022 primary, which by the end of the day saw a city voter turnout of about 23%, according to Max Bever, spokesperson for the elections board.

“We came into Election Day like a lion but looks like we might be exiting like a lamb,” Bever said. “I think we’ll likely fall somewhere in between 2018 and 2022’s turnout numbers.” In 2018, the city saw turnout just over 32%.

Bever said voting has gone relatively smoothly so far, with only minor problems reported in some precincts and no public safety incidents reported.

* Evanston Roundtable…

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss’ campaign admitted Tuesday that a 2004 relationship Biss had with a former undergraduate student of his at the University of Chicago was “ill-advised” after she posted about her experience to social media on Monday.

Megan Wachspress posted on both her Bluesky and Substack accounts that after she took an undergraduate topology course taught by Biss, he emailed her to “ask if I wanted to meet up, socially,” leading to a brief, consensual relationship between the two.

“After a few very intense evenings, he had second thoughts. It was wrong to date a student, of course, so we would have to stop making out,” Waschpress wrote. “Of course we could still hang out, and so we continued to spend time together in what to any external observer would look like dates, until gradually that stopped, too.” […]

Wachspress declined to comment on this story beyond what she wrote in her posts. When the RoundTable requested comment from the Biss campaign on this story, a spokesperson directed the RoundTable to a statement sent to The Daily Northwestern on Monday.

“In 2004, when Daniel was 26 and before he met his wife, Dr. Wachspress was a 20-year-old student in a course Daniel taught during his time as a postdoctoral instructor at the University of Chicago,” a Biss campaign spokesperson wrote to The Daily. “After the course ended, Daniel and Dr. Wachspress went on a handful of dates over the course of a few weeks. Daniel realized then, as he does now, that it was ill-advised, and he ended it.”

* New York Times…

The weekend on the eve of the election is traditionally jammed with activities around Chicago that are voter-rich targets for eager politicians. There were four parades around Chicago marking the holiday. The Irish Fellowship Club hosted an annual dinner on the Friday before St. Patrick’s Day, attended by more than 1,000 people, where a $100 raffle ticket bought a chance to win round-trip airfare for two to Ireland, courtesy of Aer Lingus.

But there are limits to how much St. Patrick’s Day merriment is permitted to seep into the voting process, a city official warned.

No longer do dozens of taverns double as polling places all around Chicago, where it was once considered acceptable to cast a ballot and sidle up to the bar for a tipple of Jameson afterward, said Max Bever, a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections.

“We urge voters that once they get their civic duty done, get your ‘I Voted’ sticker, take that selfie,” he said, “and then go have that adult beverage.”

* More…

* MS Now | A major Senate primary consumed by old feuds and new money: Despite lagging in most polls, Kelly — who appeared at a fundraiser last week with congressional heavyweight Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C. — has shown no interest in leaving the race before primary day. “I feel great on the ground,” Kelly told MS NOW on Sunday. “They have a lot of the money, and to me, are trying to buy the race. But I know I’m the most qualified candidate running.” Some political observers have attributed Kelly’s decision to remain in the race to lingering resentment over Pritzker’s role in ousting her as state party chair four years earlier. She has publicly rebuffed that sentiment.

* Sun-Times | Early front-runner Melissa Bean seeks to reclaim 8th Congressional District seat she lost in 2010: With a moderate platform, and preaching pragmatism over polarization, Bean says she wants to confront President Trump over his administration’s policies. Since losing the seat in 2010, a loss Bean has pinned on her vote for the Affordable Care Act, she has worked at private finance firms. Bean’s campaign has benefited from $3.4 million from groups associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The pro-Israeli group has been flooding local congressional races with cash for candidates who are most friendly to Israel.

* NY Mag | Crypto Cash Fuels Democrats’ Divide in Illinois Senate Race: Stratton’s reputation in crypto-land is made even worse by her support from Warren, who is the industry’s least favorite politician (rivaled only by Warren protégé Katie Porter, whose 2024 U.S. Senate race in California was demolished by heavy crypto-financed negative ads). Overall, the Krishnamoorthi-Stratton contest is in danger of becoming a surrogate fight between the money and influence of crypto and Pritzker.

* Politico | AIPAC makes a $22 million gamble in Illinois: Interviews with a dozen Democratic elected officials, candidates and strategists — including both supporters and critics of Israel — revealed growing concerns about AIPAC’s interventions. Strategists warn that AIPAC’s attacks on Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, created an opening for progressive social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh, a Palestinian-American who is a vocal critic of Israel and appears to have late momentum in the race, over AIPAC’s preferred candidate, more moderate state Sen. Laura Fine. In the past week, the group has pulled down all of its anti-Biss messaging, but it could prove too late. “There’s been a strategy shift,” said a person directly familiar with AIPAC’s thinking, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. “Our primary goal in Illinois is to prevent potential ‘Squad’ members from being elected to Congress.”

* NYT | Illinois Primary Shows Rising Political Influence of Indian Americans: Mr. Krishnamoorthi’s campaign comes at a moment of growing influence for Indian Americans in politics and government. Six Indian Americans are in Congress — the most ever. Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, and Usha Vance, the vice president’s wife, have high profile roles in President Trump’s administration. Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York is among the most prominent Democrats in the country. And Representative Ro Khanna of California is seen as a likely Democratic candidate for president in 2028.

* The Guardian | Illinois heads to elect next senator and five congressional district candidates: Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who challenged Davis in the 2024 primary, is making another run for the seat. She is currently treasurer for the city of Chicago, an elected position, after serving in the state house. The United Democracy Project, an Aipac-affiliated group, has run ads supporting Conyears-Ervin. La Shawn Ford, a state representative who ran for Chicago mayor in 2019, has Davis’s endorsement.

* Reuters | Five US House primaries to watch in Illinois on Tuesday: River North developer Jason Friedman is the top fundraiser for Illinois’ 7th congressional district. His $2.5 million fundraising haul is more than three times as much as his nearest competitor in the Democratic primary. But Friedman’s campaign has been outspent by more than $4 million in advertising supporting Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin. United Democracy Project, a pro-Israel super PAC, has spent more ​than $3 million to boost Conyears-Ervin.