Cook County Democrats last week declined to pick official favorites in the crowded primary fields ahead of next year’s congressional primaries, but the party’s chair is backing a protege in the race to replace U.S. Rep Robin Kelly in the district that stretches from the South Side to central Illinois.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Monday announced her support for state Sen. Robert Peters, a South Side progressive, in the March Democratic primary to replace Kelly, who is forgoing a reelection bid for the 2nd Congressional District seat to run for the U.S. Senate.
Peters worked as an activist on economic and criminal justice issues with both Preckwinkle and another of her proteges, former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. Preckwinkle also backed Peters for an appointment to the Illinois Senate in 2019 to replace Kwame Raoul after Raoul’s was elected the state’s attorney general.
Preckwinkle’s endorsement comes as the potential entry of former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. into the race could dramatically alter the landscape in the 2nd Congressional District primary.
Preckwinkle described Peters in a statement Monday as one of her “most trusted partners in the state legislature.”
“There is no stronger advocate for working people, for social justice and for economic fairness than Robert,” Preckwinkle said. “I’ve watched him grow from a hard working young organizer, to an accomplished state legislator. All the while, he’s never shied away from the tough conversations necessary to build the coalitions needed to win difficult fights.”
Peters acknowledged the four-term County Board president as “a mentor for me throughout my time in organizing and in public service.”
“I know she will continue to be a trusted ally and coach as I campaign all throughout the 2nd District, and as I take on the big fights in Congress, like fighting cuts to Medicaid, (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits and the (Department of Veterans Affairs),” Peters said in a statement.
Peters, who already has a big-name endorsement from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, has an early fundraising advantage over six other Democrats who’ve officially declared their candidacies, a group that doesn’t include Jackson.
From entering the race in mid-May through the end of June, Peters raised more than $415,000, and he entered July with nearly $375,000 in his campaign account, Federal Election Commission records show. That’s more than all the other candidates combined, though two of them, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller of Lynwood and state Sen. Willie Preston of Chicago, entered the race after the end of the previous reporting period.
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After forming an exploratory committee, Jackson said in a statement to the Tribune last week that it’s his “intention to secure a place on the ballot” in the primary for his former seat in Congress. Jackson resigned in 2012 amid a corruption probe and later went to federal prison for conspiring to defraud his reelection campaign of about $750,000 that was used to pay for personal expenses such as home renovations, two mounted elk heads and high-end merchandise, including mink clothes and a Michael Jackson autographed guitar.
Jackson’s family has rallied behind Preckwinkle in the past. When she was overwhelmingly defeated in her 2019 bid for mayor, Jackson’s father, civil rights icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson, hosted her and Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot at his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and told those in attendance not to abandon Preckwinkle in her moment of defeat. He enjoined the crowd to repeat after him: “Toni is the president of the Cook County Board and of all Democrats. We shall fight to maintain her gain.”
The 2nd Congressional District stretches south along the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana border from 43rd Street in Chicago to Danville. Major party candidates for the March 17 primaries can begin collecting petition signatures on Aug. 5 to get their names on the ballot.