Five Illinois congressional seats, Senate seat open in historic election year

Sen. Dick Durbin’s decision last year to end his storied political career set off a seismic shift in Illinois politics that promises to turn over a third of the state’s congressional delegation.

Durbin wasn’t the only longtime member of Congress to call it quits. U.S. Reps. Danny Davis, Jan Schakowsky and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia also announced their retirements.

Some of the outgoing Democrats faced criticism for staying in office too long, with one for boosting an heir apparent. Another ambitious set found an opportunity to launch their long-plotted runs for higher office, leaving six highly coveted seats open in a rare game of political musical chairs.

It also left Gov. JB Pritzker with the task of finding a new running mate in his bid for a third term, though few doubt that the billionaire governor is thinking ahead to the 2028 presidential election — or is at all worried about which of four Republican governor candidates emerges to face him in November.

Political musical chairs

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a prolific fundraiser, immediately propped up a Senate campaign some eight months before the March 17 primary, with Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton jumping into the race for Durbin’s seat within 24 hours of his announcement, followed soon after by U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly.

That opened the seats in Krishnamoorthi’s 8th Congressional District and Kelly’s 2nd, where ex-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is making a congressional comeback attempt more than a decade after pleading guilty to misusing his campaign funds. He’s among 10 Democratic candidates running in the South Side and south suburban district.

With Stratton eyeing the Senate, Pritzker turned to a South Side former state representative and deputy governor, Christian Mitchell, to join him on his third straight gubernatorial ticket — which doesn’t have any primary challengers this time around.

That cinches up a general election showing that could end up as a rematch against the downstate former state senator who was clobbered by Pritzker. Darren Bailey is running it back in a GOP primary field that also includes conservative commentator Ted Dabrowski, video gambling mogul Rick Heidner and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick.

Massive fields jumped out of the gate in the 7th and 9th congressional districts, where Davis and Schakowsky respectively capped careers after almost three decades apiece in Washington. Thirteen Democrats are vying for Davis’ West Side-anchored seat, with 15 seeking Schakowsky’s seat to the north. Schakowsky has endorsed Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss in the race, while Davis is trying to pass the baton to State Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago.

There was no wave of candidates clamoring for “Chuy” Garcia’s seat, though, mostly because the longtime Southwest Side congressman didn’t publicly announce he was retiring for health reasons until the end of the candidate filing period last fall. Patty Garcia, the congressman’s chief of staff, is the lone Democrat on the primary ballot. But two Democrats running as independents, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Mayra Macias, are now vying to land a spot on the November ballot.

New faces

David Hogg, a political activist and former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, raised eyebrows last year when he said the party must rid itself of a “culture of seniority politics.” That stance divided many Democrats, and Hogg opted to step aside from his position after the party voted to force him to run again.

Anger aside, his stance resonated with many Democrats, who had grumbled that veteran Illinois lawmakers had lost touch with the party’s growing and changing base.

The Illinois congressional delegation will look a lot different in 2027, with at least five new members of Congress. U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley, elected in 2009, and Rep. Bill Foster, elected in 2013, likely will become the most senior members of the delegation. Rep. Mike Bost, elected in 2015, is poised to become the most senior member of Illinois’ Republican delegation.

Cook County’s heated rivalries

Longtime Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is aiming to prevent any turnover in the office she’s held since 2010. She’ll have to fend off an energetic primary challenge from downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), who has criticized the length of her tenure and slammed growing county budgets. Preckwinkle calls him President Donald “Trump’s man in Chicago.”

The same goes for Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, who is trying to hold on for a third term over opposition from the Preckwinkle-led Cook County Democratic Party, which is endorsing his challenger, Lyons Township Assessor Patrick Hynes.