The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board’s tradition of political endorsements goes back many years and is a cornerstone of this newspaper’s history. In the primaries, board members endeavor to help both Republican and Democratic Party-affiliated readers make their best choices while also considering broader issues affecting this city, state and nation. It is also notable that many of these races have a large number of talented candidates for office, and thus some of our endorsements will discuss more than one candidate approvingly, noting their appeal to different voters; however, we do plan one endorsement except in the rare cases in which we do not feel we’re able to endorse any candidate on either one or both sides of the ticket. As the largest newspaper in Illinois, read throughout the Land of Lincoln, we are making endorsements in statewide races both for the U.S. House of Representatives and the Illinois statehouse, as well as in county-specific races involving Cook County. We make our choices carefully and consult a variety of sources. A corporate edict from Tribune Publishing prevents us from making formal endorsements in the Illinois races for U.S. Senate and the Republican gubernatorial primary. Nonetheless, we plan on offering our frank opinions on the policies and qualifications of those candidates at the conclusion of our process, as we always do. We’ve been impressed with many candidates and believe Illinoisans will have many excellent choices. And over the next several days, we will do our best to help you make your best choice. The list below will grow as we share endorsements. Cook County Board president As the Book of Ecclesiastes offered us, there’s a season for everything. The time has come at last for a new leader of the Cook County Board. Brendan Reilly has our endorsement. Read the full editorial. Cook County assessor We’ve always found Fritz Kaegi to be a fundamentally fair and decent man who has genuinely managed to avoid conflicts of interest. He’s an intellectual who thinks deeply about the issues with this system, has an excellent command of his data and its implications, and who has cleaned up the office following the sordid Joseph Berrios years. Fritz Kaegi has our endorsement. Read the full editorial. Our thoughts on the primary race for Dick Durbin’s Senate seat So how is a Democratic voter to sort through this race? Ranking them from the progressive to the centrist wing of the party is reductive, we know, but there is no question that Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton occupies the left lane and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly is just slightly to her right. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is running as more of a centrist Democrat. Republican voters are choosing between six candidates who will have an outsize fall challenge in what generally is seen as a safe Democratic seat. The leading candidate, no bones about it, is former Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy. Read the full editorial. Illinois Comptroller Democratic primary Margaret Croke shared with us a list of priorities, including modernizing software and improving vendor processes, that shows she understands the scope of the job and the need to run an efficient operation. We have been impressed by her service in the General Assembly — Croke led the charge in 2024 to protect Chicago’s selective-enrollment schools from threats emanating Mayor Brandon Johnson — and at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and believe she would bring the same competence and professionalism to this role, serving as a capable successor to Mendoza during a time of federal funding uncertainty. Margaret Croke is endorsed. Read the full editorial. Our thoughts on the Republican primary race for governor of Illinois The debacle over the Chicago Bears moving to Indiana could mean Gov. JB Pritzker has to work harder on his reelection as governor of Illinois, prior to an anticipated presidential bid. But who is the best choice for Republican voters hoping to forestall both of those possibilities? A corporate edict prevents us from making a formal endorsement in this race, but not from offering our opinions on the three serious Republican candidates, all of whom met with us individually. (A fourth candidate, James Mendrick, did not respond to us and has not mounted much of a campaign.) Read the full editorial. Illinois Secretary of State Republican primary Neither candidate currently reports significant fundraising, making a general-election challenge steep against a well-known and well-funded incumbent. Of the two Republican candidates, Harris is the more viable option. Diane Harris is endorsed. Read the full editorial. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District The MWRD, as it’s known, helps to keep our water fresh, basements dry and waterways clear. It handles wastewater at reclamation plants across Cook County. We endorse incumbents Beth McElroy Kirkwood, Precious Brady-Davis and Eira L. Corral Sepúlveda. Read the full editorial. U.S. Congress 1st District Republican: No endorsement 2nd District Democrat: Donna Miller 5th District Democrat: Mike Quigley 5th District Republican: No endorsement 6th District Democrat: Sean Casten 6th District Republican: Niki Conforti 7th District Democrat: Dr. Thomas Fisher 7th District Republican: No endorsement 8th District Democrat: Melissa Bean 8th District Republican: Jennifer Davis 9th District Democrat: Laura Fine 9th District Republican: John Elleson 10th District Democrat: Brad Schneider 11th District Republican: Jeff Walter 13th District Democrat: Nikki Budzinski 13th District Republican: Joshua Loyd 14th District Republican: No endorsement 15th District Democrat: Paul Davis 15th District Republican: Judy Bowlby 17th District Republican: Dillan Vancil Illinois State Senate 6th Senate Democrat: Nick Uniejewski 9th Senate Democrat: Patrick Hanley 14th Senate Democrat: Ahmed Karrar 33rd Senate Republican: Jessica Breugelmans 36th Senate Republican: Brad Beekman 56th Senate Democrat: Kevin Hall 59th Senate Republican: Paul Jacobs Illinois State House 1st House Democrat: Guadalupe Rivera 4th House Democrat: Lilian Jimenez 8th House Democrat: Jill Bush 12th House Democrat: Paul Kendrick 13th House Democrat: James O’Brien 26th House Democrat: Kam Buckner 34th House Democrat: Cleopatra “Cleo” Cowley 35th House Republican: Charles “Chuck” Lay 40th House Democrat: Jaime Andrade Jr. 42nd House Democrat: Margaret DeLaRosa 52nd House Democrat: Maria Peterson 76th House Republican: Liz Bishop 84th House Democrat: Saba Haider 89th House Republican: Tony McCombie 94th House Republican: Norine Hammond 107th House Republican: Brad Halbrook 109th House Republican: Charles Meier 116th House Republican: Dave Severin 118th House Republican: Scott Doody Cook County Board of Review District 1: Juanita Irizarry District 2: No endorsement Cook County Board of Commissioners 2nd District Democrat: Michael Scott Jr. 5th District Democrat: Kisha McCaskill 6th District Democrat: Patricia Joan “Trish” Murphy 8th District Democrat: Jessica Vásquez 10th District Democrat: Bridget Gainer 12th District Democrat: Elizabeth Granato 15th District Republican: Gabriella Hoxie 16th District Democrat: Miranda Hernández ...read more read less