Illinois’ 1st Congressional District House Race 2026

Illinois' 2nd Congressional District, stretching from Chicago's South Side through the south suburbs to Kankakee and Danville, is holding an open-seat race after Democrat Robin Kelly, who held the seat since 2012, gave it up for an unsuccessful Senate bid. Democrat Donna Miller, a Cook County commissioner and former healthcare executive, won her primary over candidates including former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Republican Mike Noack, a truck driver making his first political run, is campaigning on government dysfunction and immigration reform. Independent write-in candidate Ashley Banks, a former CTA bus driver and freelance journalist, says she entered the race to give downstate and rural voters a stronger voice. Early voting is underway ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.

Illinois Democrats are split on strategy ahead of potential midterm gains that could hand their party control of the House and possibly the Senate. Some, like Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is running for Senate, favor confrontation, including refusing to confirm Trump nominees or fund ICE and potentially ending the filibuster. Others, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Rep. Bill Foster, favor combining aggressive oversight of Trump officials and businesses with legislative wins, while downplaying quick impeachment. Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump himself, warn that a Democratic majority would mean relentless investigations and a renewed impeachment push.

The debate reflects broader uncertainty over Democratic strategy and control of Congress following the November midterms, a key variable for prediction markets tracking the 2026 elections and any renewed impeachment proceedings.

Chicago's City Council voted 46-3 to approve a $2.53 billion deal transferring the city's parking meter system to New York investment firm Stonepeak Partners. The agreement replaces the 2008 deal brokered under then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, which had allowed private investors, including some from Abu Dhabi, to recoup their original $1.15 billion investment more than twice over with 57 years still remaining. Under the new terms, Chicago will receive a $75 million transfer fee at closing, 5% of net income going forward, and 2% of any future resale price before the deal expires in 2084. The city also secured reduced penalties for taking meter spaces out of service.

Some alderpersons initially opposed the deal over Stonepeak's ownership stake in Omni Air International, an airline that has run deportation flights for the Trump administration. Stonepeak has agreed to sell that airline as part of the compromise that secured Council approval.

The former Charles Warrington Earle School, closed in 2013 under Mayor Rahm Emanuel along with 49 other Chicago schools, has reopened in West Englewood as the Earle School Apartments, a 50-unit affordable housing development. City leaders and developer Gorman & Company cut the ribbon this week on the roughly $35 million project at 6121 S. Hermitage Ave., which includes one- and two-bedroom units for households earning up to 60% of area median income, with nine units set aside at 15% AMI through a nonprofit trust fund program. The Phoenix Foundation will provide on-site supportive services for residents experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The historic 1897 building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, retains classroom doors and chalkboards as design features. Funding included city tax-increment financing, Chicago Recovery Plan dollars, and ComEd energy incentives. Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former organizer against the 2013 closures, called the project a model for repurposing shuttered schools. Gorman is pursuing similar conversions at other former Chicago schools, including Woods and Bontemps elementary buildings.

Illinois and California lawmakers have introduced legislation to block the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) from closing its Chicago and San Francisco/San Bruno facilities, a plan first disclosed to staff in a June email. The Chicago site, many of whose records are undigitized and accessible only in person, holds documents including Pullman Strike court cases, Bureau of Indian Affairs files, and naturalization and census records used by researchers, genealogists and citizenship applicants.

Rep. Jesús "Chuy" García sent a letter to the Archivist of the United States demanding the closure be halted, signed by 20 members of Congress including Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and backed by California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff. Durbin and Duckworth also introduced the National Archives Protection Act, which would require congressional approval before NARA can close or restrict access to regional facilities; a companion House bill was filed by Rep. Kevin Mullin. NARA has said records would be redistributed to facilities in Kansas City, Boston and Seattle. NARA did not respond to requests for comment. Archivists' advocates say the closures would harm access to records regardless of political affiliation.

Candidates seeking to succeed retiring Rep. Jesús "Chuy" García in Illinois' 4th Congressional District clashed in a televised debate, with three challengers accusing Democratic nominee Patty García of benefiting from insider maneuvering. García, the congressman's former chief of staff, faced no primary opposition after García announced his retirement just before the filing deadline, giving her sole advance notice to gather signatures for the ballot. She defended the outcome as a reflection of her organizing strength.

Independent candidate Chris Getty, the mayor of Lyons and her best-funded rival, said he would not caucus with either party and accused García of building her candidacy on "a lie." García countered by citing a 2019 FBI raid on Lyons Village Hall and alleged misuse of campaign funds, though Getty was never charged. Republican nominee Lupe Castillo and Working Class Party candidate Ed Hershey also participated, sparring over immigration, the minimum wage, and the Iran war. García positioned herself as a progressive who would fight Trump and push to abolish ICE.

Ald. Mike Rodriguez, a progressive fixture on Chicago's Southwest Side, announced Wednesday he will not run for a third term representing the 22nd Ward. In a release, Rodriguez cited family reasons, noting his daughter starting high school and his aging, ill father, saying he wants to "be present for my family the way they have always been present for me."

Rodriguez, who rose through Chuy García's 22nd Ward organization and Enlace Chicago before winning the seat following predecessor Rick Muñoz's corruption scandal, has been a close ally of Mayor Brandon Johnson and the City Council's progressive caucus. His tenure included work on the Fair Workweek ordinance, sanctuary ordinance protections, rideshare driver rights, and housing investment in his ward, alongside the fallout from the controversial Hilco demolition of the former Crawford coal plant, which spread toxic dust through Little Village.

Rodriguez will serve out his term and has not indicated who he might endorse as a successor, leaving the 22nd Ward race open ahead of the next municipal election.

Chicago voters head to the polls Nov. 3 to elect the city's first fully elected school board, including its first elected board president. Three candidates are running: Hilario Dominguez, a former CPS special education teacher backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Brandon Johnson, who prioritizes universal pre-K and opposes school closures; Jessica Biggs, a current board member and former principal, who emphasizes student outcomes and equitable, community-driven budget decisions; and Victor Henderson, an attorney and former Chicago Bar Association president, who wants a forensic audit of CPS contracts and a balanced budget. All three candidates say addressing the district's financial challenges is a top priority, though they differ on how to approach closures and spending.

Chicago residents and community activists are pressing city leaders for a stronger response after multiple street takeovers were reported across the city over the holiday weekend, part of a pattern activists say has continued through the summer. Incidents included a large ring of fire near Lake Shore Drive and Jeffrey Boulevard, plus crowds blocking intersections near 18th and Canal streets and 47th Street and California Avenue, with vehicles doing donuts as onlookers gathered. Tire marks remained visible on streets days later.

Chicago police did not provide details on arrests or enforcement actions tied to the incidents, and no major injuries or arrests have been confirmed. Activists, including Raul Montes, pointed to Los Angeles as a model, citing a recent LAPD operation that used over 150 officers and drones to arrest nearly 70 people and issue almost 600 citations. Montes and other residents want Chicago to adopt similar tactics. Mayor Brandon Johnson's office did not respond to requests for comment on the weekend incidents.

Illinois voters on Nov. 3, 2026, will decide more than candidate races, with several non-binding advisory referenda also appearing on ballots. In Chicago, questions ask whether the city should create a permanent festival and outdoor event space for large-scale gatherings and whether it should restart use of gunshot detection technology, an issue tied to the earlier removal of ShotSpotter under Mayor Brandon Johnson. Other statewide and local referenda gauge support for school funding measures, including using a millionaire income tax surcharge for public schools and charging owners of long-vacant commercial properties to help fund Chicago Public Schools. Though results won't enact law, experts say they signal public opinion to lawmakers and the broader community.