Who's running in Illinois's 7th congressional district
2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Affordability as the district's central problem: health care, housing, child care, retirement security and wages.
Public education funding, drawing on his years teaching in Chicago Public Schools.
Criminal justice reform, an area he has worked on in Springfield.
Economic development on the West Side.
A two-state settlement in the Middle East; he is endorsed by JStreetPAC.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Illinois state representative for the 8th district since 2007, first elected by defeating the Democratic incumbent in a primary.
Has chaired the Illinois House appropriations committee and sits on its higher education appropriations committee.
Candidate for mayor of Chicago in 2019.
Taught social studies and coached basketball at Bridge Elementary in Chicago Public Schools before entering the legislature.
Won the March 17, 2026 Democratic primary against twelve other candidates.
Pleaded guilty in 2014 to a misdemeanour count of filing a false federal income tax return for 2007, and was sentenced to six months' probation, a $1,000 fine and community service.
Arguments in favor
The retiring incumbent endorsed him to succeed him, as did a former West Side congressman and a slate of state legislators.
— U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, former U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, and Illinois state senators and representatives
He won a thirteen-candidate primary against far better funded rivals, which the West Side's local paper reported as a win over big outside money.
— Austin Weekly News
Arguments against
He was indicted in 2012 on 17 federal felony counts of bank fraud, over allegations he drew down a $500,000 business line of credit from ShoreBank and spent it on personal and campaign costs including car loans, credit card bills, mortgage payments and gambling. Prosecutors dropped the felonies in 2014 in exchange for a guilty plea to a single misdemeanour tax count.
— U.S. Attorney's office indictment, reported by CBS Chicago and NBC Chicago
The Chicago Tribune's editorial board looked at the same thirteen-candidate field and endorsed a different Democrat, emergency physician Dr. Thomas Fisher, rather than Ford.
— Chicago Tribune editorial board, 2026 primary endorsements
What we couldn’t verify
His campaign website could not be confirmed against a live page.
The Tribune's reasoning for endorsing Fisher over Ford was not located, so only the fact of the endorsement is reported.
No National Republican Congressional Committee material naming Ford could be found.
Ford's own account of the 2012 case, and what he has said about it since, was not established from sources read.
Limited federal government and lower federal spending.
Local control of schools, drawing on decades on school boards.
Constitutional conservatism, the platform he has run on across several campaigns.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Member of the Kane County Regional Board of Education, 2007 to 2019 and again since 2025; board president 2015 to 2019.
District 300 school board member, 1987 to 1991; Rutland Township trustee, 1983 to 1987.
Retired Delta Air Lines captain and farmer.
Candidate for U.S. Senate in 1996 and 2008, for governor of Illinois in 1998, for the 8th district in 2022 and for this district in 2022 as a write-in, in 2024 and in 2026.
Lost to Danny K. Davis in the November 2024 general election.
Arguments in favor
His campaign points to more than forty years of elected local service — township trustee, school board member and president of the Kane County regional board of education — alongside a career as an airline captain and farmer.
— The Koppie campaign
Arguments against
His nominating petitions were formally challenged before the primary, and the local paper covering the district reported that one petition sheet carried shaky printing of his name unlike every other sheet — which would matter because only the circulator may sign a sheet.
— Objection filed by Omari J. Davis; reporting by the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest
The same paper noted he lives in rural Kane County, forty or more miles from the West Side district he wants to represent, and that he is one of a small number of people to have run and lost in two different congressional districts in the same year.
— Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest
What we couldn’t verify
The outcome of the petition objection was not established beyond the fact that he appeared on the primary ballot and won the nomination; the written objection itself was not public when the article was published.
His detailed federal policy platform was not established from sources read.
His fundraising was not established from sources read.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
This is an open seat: Democratic incumbent Danny K. Davis, who has held it since 1997, is retiring. Illinois held its primary on March 17, 2026. State representative La Shawn K. Ford won a thirteen-candidate Democratic primary; Chad Koppie won the Republican nomination. The district covers Chicago's West Side and downtown plus Oak Park and Maywood. Roster confirmed against Ballotpedia, WTTW and Block Club Chicago primary reporting.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Illinois ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Illinois State Board of Elections.