With dozens of Illinois Democrats vying for four open congressional seats next year, at least a half-dozen candidates — including a former U.S. representative mounting a political comeback — have poured six-figure personal loans into their campaigns as they strive to stand out in crowded primary fields, new federal campaign finance filings show.
Former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, a moderate Democrat who held Illinois’ largely northwest suburban 8th Congressional District seat for three terms before losing to a Republican in 2010, joined the 2026 primary Sept. 10, less than three weeks before the latest fundraising deadline.
On Oct. 2, Bean’s campaign touted “over half a million dollars” raised in just over two weeks as a “sign of the growing momentum behind her campaign.” What the news release left out, however, was that more than half of that — $299,000 out of a nearly $531,000 total — came from Bean herself via a personal loan made on the final day of the reporting period covering July through September, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The timing of Bean’s loan might be intriguing, but several contenders across the four open congressional districts — the 2nd, 7th, 8th and 9th — also have dug into their own pockets, campaign finance records show, reflecting the high-stakes races created by the coming retirements of two longtime House Democrats and the Senate ambitions of two others. Voters in these deep blue districts will soon decide whether to elevate new voices or, in two cases, restore former members of Congress, Bean in the 8th District and former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in the 2nd District.
As candidates begin filing petition paperwork on Oct. 27 to show they have enough support to secure spots on the March 17 primary ballot, here’s a look at how the top candidates in the four congressional districts fared in fundraising over the past three months.
2nd Congressional District
Progressive state Sen. Robert Peters of Chicago and Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller of Lynwood, both Democrats, lead fundraising in the 2nd Congressional District, which represents parts of Chicago’s South Side as well as many south suburbs and some areas downstate.
They face former Rep. Jackson, who officially launched his campaign last week to reclaim the seat he held for almost 17 years before resigning amid a corruption probe for which he was later convicted and sent to federal prison. The seat is open again as U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Lynwood runs for retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s post in the upper chamber.
Peters raised more than $275,000 last quarter and has $345,000 on hand, while Miller raised slightly less — about $240,000 — and has $150,000 left in her campaign bank account.
In his recent campaign launch, Jackson leaned into his status as the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the famed civil rights leader — and he alluded to what he called “self-inflicted pain and suffering” in his past.
In a video, Jackson quoted remarks he said his father made at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.
“My father said in that speech, ‘If in my low moments in word, deed or attitude’ — and I might add judgment — ‘through some error of temper, taste or tone, I’ve caused anyone discomfort, created pain or revived someone’s fears, that was not my truest self,’” Jackson said. The speech went on: “‘Please forgive me.’”
Jackson raised just under $100,000 and has approximately half of that amount on hand. The funds reported this month were all contributed prior to his official campaign announcement.
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State Sen. Willie Preston, also of Chicago, and three-term Matteson Village Clerk Yumeka Brown raised five-figure sums each last quarter.
7th Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis’ decision to retire at the end of his current term, which will mark 30 years in Congress, has created an opportunity for a new generation of leadership for the 7th District, which stretches from downtown Chicago through the West Side and into west suburbs such as Oak Park, Hillside and Broadview.
The 84-year-old Davis is backing longtime state Rep. La Shawn Ford of Chicago to be his successor among a field of at least a dozen contenders. But, so far, Jason Friedman, a political newcomer and former president of the property management and development heavyweight Friedman Properties, has dominated fundraising in the Democratic primary. Friedman, who previously contributed $36,750 to his own campaign, raised more than $416,000 from July through September, records show.
Friedman, who started the last quarter with nearly $906,000 in his campaign bank account, ended it with nearly $1.1 million remaining, more than all other candidates combined.
Another newcomer, Dr. Thomas Fisher, an emergency medicine doctor at the University of Chicago Medical Center and author of “The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER,” raised nearly $378,000 during the period and ended with more than $323,000 on hand.
Ford, meanwhile, raised nearly $257,000, including a $100,000 personal loan, and finished the quarter with more than $233,000 in his campaign account.
Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who finished a distant second to Davis in 2024’s five-way primary, raised more than $225,000 in the previous three months and began October with nearly $224,000. Her 2024 campaign was dogged by allegations of city ethics violations, and she agreed earlier this month to pay the city $30,000 to settle two related cases.
Other candidates who raised more than $100,000 in the third quarter include Richard Boykin, a former cook County Commissioner and Davis’ chief of staff; Reed Showalter, a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney; Anthony Driver, a union leader and political strategist who previously was president of Chicago’s Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability; and Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins, whose village lies within the district.
A recent entrant, who’s yet to report receiving any contributions, is activist Kina Collins, who is making her fourth bid for the seat. She finished in third place two years ago after losing to Davis by just 6 percentage points in the 2022 primary.
8th Congressional District
With the $299,000 loan to her campaign, Bean raised the most money in the third quarter among the nine Democrats who’ve filed federal paperwork to seek the seat five-term U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg is giving up to run for Senate. Bean, who has worked for JPMorgan Chase and financial services firm Mesirow since leaving Congress, began October with just under $497,000 in her campaign account, federal records show.
When it came to cash on hand, Bean — who received an endorsement Friday from U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, another former occupant of the 8th District seat after she defeated former Rep. Joe Walsh, the Republican who had beaten Bean — still trailed two other candidates.
Junaid Ahmed of Barrington, a tech entrepreneur who unsuccessfully challenged Krishnamoorthi in the 2022 primary, raised a little more than $500,000 from June through September, ending with $660,000 in his campaign fund, the most of any candidate in the race.
Dan Tully, a veteran and lawyer from west suburban Carol Stream, also made large loans to his campaign. He made four personal loans in late September totaling $362,000, records show. That’s on top of $128,500 in loans during the previous quarter. Separately, Tully raised about $68,000 last quarter, and he started the month with nearly $505,000 on hand.
Bean spokeswoman Emily Soong said the “campaign is focused on raising the resources necessary to bring her winning message in front of Illinoisans across the 8th District.”
“When voters are reminded of Melissa’s track record of working with President (Barack) Obama to pass Obamacare, she wins,” Soong said.
Another Democrat who made a six-figure loan to his campaign was Neil Khot, president and CEO of Schaumburg-based outsourcing firm Rely Services. Khot lent his campaign $120,000 in September in addition to raising nearly $115,000, records show. At the end of September, he had nearly $496,000 remaining in his campaign account.
Two current elected officials running for the seat also had six-figure fundraising totals from July through September.
Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison of Mount Prospect, the first openly LGBTQ member of the County Board, raised more than $199,000 and ended the quarter with more than $201,000 in his campaign fund.
And Hanover Park Trustee Yasmeen Bankole, a former Durbin staffer whom the retiring senator endorsed in August, raised more than $183,000 and had a little more than $162,000 remaining on hand.
Democrats aren’t the only ones making large-dollar loans to their campaigns. On the Republican side, Jennifer Davis, who co-founded software firm Davisware with her husband, made a $500,000 loan Sept. 30, three weeks after entering the GOP primary race. Davis raised about $58,000 more and ended the quarter with more than $556,000 in her campaign account.
Also seeking the Republican nomination is Mark Rice, who has also unsuccessfully challenged Krishnamoorthi in the 2024 general election.
9th Congressional District
In the North Side and north suburban 9th Congressional District, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and progressive content creator Kat Abughazaleh lead a crowded field in terms of cash on hand, with both candidates amassing more than $1 million.
The chance to succeed longtime but retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky has attracted close to 20 hopefuls, and the field has barely been culled heading into the upcoming petition deadline; a dozen candidates reported they raised $25,000 or more between July and September.
Biss, a former state senator and former Democratic primary candidate for governor, and Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old relative newcomer to Illinois who has proven to be a formidable fundraiser, each raised close to the same amount — just over $620,000 – last quarter.
Phil Andrew, a former FBI special agent and crisis negotiator, raised more on paper than Biss or Abughazaleh, though he bolstered his numbers with a $200,000 loan to the campaign. Gen Z Skokie School District 73.5 board member Bushra Amiwala and economist Jeff Cohen both cracked well over $400,000 in receipts; however, Cohen was similarly boosted by $200,000 he lent his campaign.
Several members of the Illinois General Assembly also found themselves in the six-figure-raised club: state Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview, state Rep. Hoan Huynh of Chicago and state Sen. Mike Simmons, also of Chicago, as did former federal prosecutor and former strategist at Microsoft Nick Pyati. Army veteran Sam Polan and Cook County Democratic Party Committeeman Bruce Leon each lent themselves six-figure amounts and raised tens of thousands of dollars outside of those loans.
Biss, Abughazaleh and Amiwala each saw their profiles boosted in recent weeks as they protested at the ICE facility in Broadview, where they were sometimes met with a harsh response from federal officers. Abughazaleh’s campaign has said specifically that it saw a spike in contributions on a day when a widely viewed video showed a federal agent throwing her to the ground at one of the protests.
All of the highest fundraisers in the heavily Democratic district were Democrats. Software engineer Mark Su raised the most of any Republican, about $5,000.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/17/illinois-fundraising-congressional-races/
