For the first time since 1999, Illinois’ 9th Congressional District will have a new representative, and voters choosing between Daniel Biss and John Elleson face two candidates who disagree on almost everything, from immigration enforcement to the role of the executive branch. The general election is set for November 3, and the stakes are high in a district Democrats have held since 1949—77 years—with only two representatives apart from one brief interruption.
Biss, the 49-year-old Democratic nominee and Evanston’s mayor, is considered the favorite in a seat Democrats have controlled since World War II, according to the Chicago Tribune. A former University of Chicago mathematics professor who went on to serve in the Illinois House and Senate before becoming Evanston’s mayor, Biss has said the election arrives at a pivotal moment for the country. He resigned from the mayor’s office at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, as the Evanston RoundTable reported, clearing the way to focus on the congressional race ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
His Republican opponent, Elleson, is a 64-year-old Arlington Heights resident who has spent his career as a pastor, leading nearby Lakewood Chapel. Elleson has said he keeps his pulpit and his politics separate, insisting he does not campaign at church or make politics an issue on Sundays. He has framed his candidacy around the idea that district voters are ready for a change after decades of Democratic representation.
A Seat Schakowsky Held for Decades
The seat is open because longtime Rep. Jan Schakowsky is retiring. The Tribune and the Daily Herald differ slightly on the length of her tenure — the Tribune and CBS Chicago put it at 27 years, while the Daily Herald cites 28 years of congressional service — but both agree she is stepping away from a district she won by 37 points in her last election. Biss has described Schakowsky as an icon. The 9th District itself is sprawling, stretching from Chicago’s Far North Side up through the North Shore before cutting sharply west to Crystal Lake and Algonquin, according to CBS Chicago.
Getting to this point required surviving crowded primaries. CBS Chicago reported that Biss beat 14 other candidates in the Democratic primary, while the Loyola Phoenix reported he won with 29.6% of the vote after defeating seven opponents on March 17 — the two outlets differ on the size of the field. Elleson, meanwhile, won the Republican primary with 49% of the vote after beating three opponents, per the Loyola Phoenix. Primary spending in the Democratic race was fierce: candidates raised nearly $14 million and spent nearly $11 million through late February, the Daily Herald reported.
Money, or the Lack of It
The financial contrast between the two campaigns has been stark heading into the general election. Elleson has not reported raising any campaign money and has said he is not soliciting contributions, according to the Tribune. Biss, by comparison, raised $115,000 between April and June alone and had roughly $262,000 in cash on hand at the start of July. This is not Elleson’s first run at the seat; he lost to Schakowsky by a lopsided 73%-to-27% margin as the Republican nominee back in 2018.
Elleson has said he does not consider himself a major supporter of the MAGA movement, even as he has said Donald Trump has served the country well. His platform centers on fighting crime, limiting government and addressing the national debt, themes echoed in his broader emphasis on fiscal responsibility, addiction treatment, community engagement, public safety and bipartisan cooperation, the Loyola Phoenix reported in its profile of the candidates’ visions.
Clashing Over ICE and Immigration
The sharpest divide between the two men emerged at a 9th Congressional District debate hosted by the League of Women Voters of Evanston on September 24 at the Skokie Public Library, where about 100 people — including many students from Niles Township High School District 219 — watched the candidates spar, per the Tribune’s coverage of the debate. Elleson said undocumented people attend his church and that he does not turn them in: “We have a lot of undocumented people in our church, and I like it. I don’t turn them in.” He added that he believes ICE plays an important role and that whoever wins should work with the agency: “I think we have to work with ICE.”
Biss took the opposite position, declaring at the same debate, “So we need to abolish ICE.” The two also split over data-center development, with Biss backing a national moratorium — “that’s why I support a moratorium,” he said — while Elleson argued the country should keep building data centers, just carefully.
Health Care, Executive Power and Foreign Policy
Biss has said restoring health care cuts would be his top priority if elected, and he has pledged to take the oath of office just three days into those cuts if he wins. His broader platform, as outlined to the Loyola Phoenix, centers on strengthening worker protections, addressing income inequality, tackling climate change and limiting executive power. Biss has argued Congress has ceded too much constitutional authority to the president, saying, “They have relinquished their authority and created a power vacuum.”
On foreign policy, Biss told CBS Chicago that U.S. military aid to Israel should be phased out and that American leverage should be used to push changes in Israeli policy. Elleson, for his part, has discussed Social Security and the national debt.
Biss has framed his campaign around immigration, affordability and protecting democracy, while Elleson has said his race is about curbing violence, immigration and stopping democratic socialism, per CBS Chicago. With Election Day arriving Tuesday, the 9th District is set to send a new voice to Washington for the first time in more than a quarter-century.
