Matthew Eadie

Trump, talking about crime in Chicago today at the garden previously known as the Rose Garden, calls JB Pritzker a "big fat slob" before saying he won't joke about people's weight

"I refuse to talk about the fact that he's a fat slob, I don't mention it."

The council voted 6-2 to approve a smaller tax hike (initially proposed was 12.9%) in exchange for changing the way the city uses excess funds to fund public safety pensions

Although two alders argued a larger increase this year would be better than even bigger hikes next year

NEW: The Evanston City Council approved the city's $404 million budget tonight in a quick vote, separately approving a net 7.6% property tax levy increase, the first significant increase in several years, costing median homeowners ~$162 a year, although much less than initially proposed

US Rep. Mike Quigley: It’s not too late for Chicago to pursue cost-saving measures Before we ask Chicago taxpayers for one more dollar, we must show that we’ve done everything possible to deliver services efficiently.

Folks...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/24/o...

More #IL09 endorsement news:

Abughazaleh scores top climate endorsement - Evanston Now Group to support her campaign with volunteers across district.

evanstonnow.com/abughazaleh-...

NEW: Sunrise Movement, one of the nation's leading climate activist organizations, will endorse Kat Abughazaleh's campaign for #IL09, adding to their recent endorsement of Robert Peters in #IL02, I'm told this morning

The group says it plans to use its local Chicago-area volunteers in both races

For Pritzker's seemingly inevitable '28 run, having solid support in districts like this has got to be a good sign for starters

Although obviously, he has connections to this area in particular

(He ran for this open seat against Schakowsky in 1998)

Another interesting thing in the #IL09 poll is that JB Pritzker is *very* popular in the 9th

For reference: Schakowsky has won 68+% in the past three elections

Pritzker hasn't endorsed anyone yet (not sure if he will) but he did endorse Biss in his mayoral reelection

The Polls Were Historically Accurate In 2022 Let’s give a big round of applause to the pollsters. Measuring public opinion is, in many ways, harder than ever — and yet, the polling industry just had one of…

The internals are internals so probably take them with a grain of salt

MDW (Abughazaleh internals) had a very small and quite inaccurate history

Impact (Biss' internal) is a far more mainstream progressive Dem pollster

And this one is also pretty mainstream
fivethirtyeight.com/features/202...

New poll shows Biss, Abughazaleh tied - Evanston Now Fine trails in third in first non-candidate-sponsored poll.

Data for Progress is a pretty good Dem pollster though, from what I'm familiar with

All good context as we digest this fascinating race!
evanstonnow.com/new-poll-sho...

This likely explains why this poll was released today so long after it was conducted (Oct. 29-Nov. 3)

Biss' internal was conducted Nov. 4-9

But this was not commissioned by any campaign, I'm told, it was done by Data for Progress/The Justice Coalition on its own

The explanation provided in an email shared with me makes it sound like an Abughazaleh endorsement is in the works, with the poll today being part of the reasoning for it

"The most viable values-aligned candidate"

"viable" is the keyword there given all four polling results

An email from the Justice Coalition Action that says: As we gear up for the March 2026 Democratic primaries, we invite you to a 60-minute, transparent walkthrough of TJCA’s community-informed, data-driven endorsement process for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District on Thursday November 20 at 8:00pm CT. While this is just one of five open seats in IL in 2026, we recognize how critical it is for our community to align early and strategically behind the strongest, values-aligned candidate. During this virtual session, we’ll break down the process and key metrics we use to determine true candidate viability, including: Polling data – understanding current voter sentiment Campaign & fundraising strength – small-dollar momentum and sustainability Name recognition – visibility, credibility, and community trust Ground game – clear path to victory and active infrastructure to make possible Because many of our community members live in or deeply care about IL-9, we’re hosting this conversation to share the process and rigor that goes into determining the ultimate endorsement. We look forward to outlining how we’ve assessed viability to ensure we back a candidate who can both champion our values — and win."

The new #IL09 poll is interesting and shows that everyone is pretty much in the exact same spot besides Biss, who bounced back from his internal (31 to 18)

But important context: A co-sponsor for the poll is holding a meeting tonight and will endorse a candidate in this race

IL-09 Democratic Primary Poll Shows Early Leaders Four Months Out From Election Day Biss and Abughazaleh currently lead among primary voters with 18% of the vote each, while Fine trails in third with 10%.

Full memo here: www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2025/11...

NEW #IL09 poll alert!

NEW: #IL09 candidate State Sen. Mike Simmons is announcing he's been endorsed by fellow State Sen. Lakesia Collins, who represents the 5th district

^^The pride even I mentioned in June was NOT at the campaign office, it was at an Andersonville cocktail bar

No doubt that Illinois' districts are insanely drawn, but there are a ton of venues in the 9th District itself, even staying in the Chicago side of it

Here's a quick sc of just some theaters/music venues from about Uptown to Evanston

She certainly has held a bunch of events in the district, too, typically at her Rogers Park campaign office, like a Halloween party, ICE whistle-making events and a pride event

But these four were all advertised as campaign parties/concerts with some pretty high price tags for top-line benefits

She also held an embroidery class back in June in Mt. Prospect, which was on the *very* edge of the district, but *technically* also in the 5th, based on the actual address

My Buddy's was the closest, pretty much on the edge of the district on N Clark, with Gman Tavern near Wrigley

But the Laugh Factory and Bookclub are both in Lakeview and not in or really close to the 9th District boundaries at all

All are in Rep. Mike Quigley's 5th CD

This is the fourth party-like event that Kat Abughazaleh's campaign has held. All four were outside the 9th District

Punk rock concert at Gman on Aug. 28
Comedy show at the Laugh Factory on June 3
Karaoke at My Buddy's on Nov. 11
Holiday party at Bookclub (which is the furthest so far)

Evanston pastors charged after protest - Evanston Now Among 21 arrested by Cook County Sheriff's office at protest last Friday.

"Most of us are pretty traumatized," Harris-Ferree said. "We were not expecting that level of response at all."

evanstonnow.com/evanston-pas...

NEW: I spoke with Evanston pastor Luke Harris-Ferree, one of three Evanston residents and two pastors facing misdemeanor charges from the Cook County Sheriff's office after a protest on Nov. 14 in Broadview.

Harris-Ferree told me they have bruises all over their body from being thrown to the ground

Biss calls for U.S. to recognize Palestine - Evanston Now A candidate in 9th District Congressional race, he also calls for the U.S. to stop offensive weapon sales to Israel.

Here's that story from Aug. 22, when he was still listed on JACPAC's site:

evanstonnow.com/biss-calls-f...

A screenshot from an Aug. 22 Evanston Now article saying "Both Fine and Biss, along with another candidate, Phil Andrew, are listed on JAC’s website under 2026 primary candidates, despite JAC saying it “does not get involved in primary races” unless “an opponent truly clashes with our values, (including being anti-Israel, anti-semitic, or pro-life.”"

He was at one point, as I wrote about on the day he put out a statement about supporting U.S. recognition of Palestine

JAC PAC says it does not get involved in primaries unless an opponent "truly clashes" with its values.

Just noticed this today, not sure when this happened, but JAC PAC has removed Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss from its website under the "2026 primary candidates"

Two other #IL09 Democrats remain, but Biss has been removed from the list of primary Dems

www.jacpac.org/jac-candidates

Here's a video of the incident:

"You are a jihadist," Cleveland said to Abughazaleh before offering her "prison food, which you'll need." (The pickle)

She also told Abughazaleh she thinks she needs to be "rebaptized or reborn"

She also offered a Trump theme perfume

bsky.app/profile/katm...

Here's a video of the incident:

"You are a jihadist," Cleveland said to Abughazaleh before offering her "prison food, which you'll need." (The pickle)

She also told Abughazaleh she thinks she needs to be "rebaptized or reborn"

She also offered a Trump theme perfume

bsky.app/profile/katm...