Raja Krishnamoorthi

With Election Day a week away, Illinois Democrats are campaigning beyond state lines to aid party allies nationally. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi backed Texas Railroad Commissioner candidate Jon Rosenthal; Sen. Tammy Duckworth campaigned for Sherrod Brown in Ohio; Rahm Emanuel canvassed in New Hampshire; and Rep. Danny Davis and successor nominee La Shawn Ford campaigned for Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate David Crowley. Gov. JB Pritzker is focused on his own reelection, holding a large cash advantage and backing fellow Democrats financially.

Big money is also flowing into Illinois races, including Chicago school board contests, with GOP megadonors Dick and Elizabeth Uihlein and wealthy Democratic-aligned groups both spending heavily to shape outcomes from Springfield to Chicago.

Alexandros Paporakis, 19, of Palatine, Illinois, was arrested Sunday after a coworker at a Taco Bell in Arlington Heights alerted authorities to disturbing messages, including a video of an AR-style rifle and a photo of him in tactical gear. A search of his apartment turned up the rifle with no serial number, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, body armor, a gas can, and items bearing Nazi symbolism.

Prosecutors say Paporakis wrote an eight-page manifesto, referencing the Aurora, Colorado theater shooter, describing himself as a "sociopathic white supremacist Neo-Nazi" and expressing intent to kill as many minorities as possible before dying himself. He had allegedly been planning the attack for two years, targeting a Hindu place of worship in Aurora, Illinois, around October 11. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi later revealed he and his family were worshiping at that temple at the time of the alleged plot. He faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawful weapon possession and was ordered detained, with his next court date set for October 30. Officials including Krishnamoorthi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned the alleged plot amid concerns over rising anti-South Asian and anti-Hindu extremism.

Illinois voters will choose a successor to retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, who is stepping down after three decades in office. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a Democrat who defeated Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi in a contentious primary, faces former Illinois GOP chairman Don Tracy in the general election. Independent candidate Whitfield Harrington Jr. is also on the ballot. The winner will join Sen. Tammy Duckworth in representing the blue-leaning state.

The candidates offer a sharp ideological contrast. Stratton is campaigning on progressive priorities including abolishing ICE, Medicare for All, restoring federal abortion protections, stronger gun restrictions, and opposition to President Trump's agenda. Tracy, a Springfield attorney and former chair of the Illinois Gaming Board, favors stronger border enforcement, market-based health care reforms, Second Amendment protections, and has defended parts of Trump's agenda while saying he won't be a "rubber stamp" for either party. Tracy has criticized Stratton for skipping several debates and forums. The two are scheduled to appear together Oct. 20 for a WTTW forum, their only planned joint appearance before Election Day.

Former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, a centrist Democrat, is seeking a political comeback in Illinois' 8th Congressional District, facing Republican newcomer Jennifer Davis in the Nov. 3 general election. The seat is open after Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who has endorsed Bean, left to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate. An independent write-in candidate, Christopher Krumpac, is also running.

The district, which stretches from the northwest Chicago suburbs to Elgin and the Fox River Valley, leans solidly Democratic. Bean, who first won the seat in 2004 and served until 2011, has outraised Davis, aided in part by a super PAC tied to AIPAC that drew progressive criticism during the primary. Davis, a tech entrepreneur making her first run for office, has loaned her own campaign $1 million to stay competitive.

The candidates diverge sharply on abortion, immigration, and Trump-era policies, with Bean casting the race as a check on the administration and Davis positioning herself as a political outsider focused on small business and economic concerns.