Democrat Daniel Biss will be Algonquin Township’s next Member of Congress.
The district is so gerrymandered that a Republican stands no chance.
Biss, however, did not win McHenry County in the Demcoratic Party Primary Election.
Kat Abughazaleh beat him, but came in second districtwide.
In an email from his congressional campaign, Biss tells of his time as Evanston Mayor:
What Evanston Taught Me
Reflections on Five and a Half Years as Mayor
On Sunday, I will step down after five and a half years as mayor of Evanston. As I prepare to leave office, I’ve been reflecting on what this city has taught me.
I ran for mayor in 2021 because the unique moment we were in demanded it. The two conversations dominating American politics were racial justice and public safety on one hand, and housing affordability on the other. Both are, at their core, municipal issues. If you wanted to change how people are policed, or whether working families can afford to live here, city hall was where that work actually happened.
Doing that work well meant making hard choices. Elected officials choose comfortable all the time. It’s the path of least resistance, and it’s usually the politically safest option. But the things I’m proudest of required choosing the harder path.
Our CARE team is one example. We spent years working with community stakeholders before we launched it. When the political winds shifted, and a lot of cities quietly backed away from this kind of work, we stuck with it. We built it in partnership with our police department, advocates and residents. That slow, inclusive process is the reason the program exists today, and the reason it will long outlast my time in office.
The same approach guided our work on racial justice and policing tactics. When the data showed that racial disparities in traffic stops were concentrated in equipment-related stops, we changed the policy to significantly reduce that inequity. We have implemented a nation-leading reparations program, one that positions Evanston as a beacon for the entire country. And we have strengthened both our police department and its relationship to the community while continuing the work of reform.
On housing, we enhanced our inclusionary housing ordinance, approved the Margarita Inn as the first permanent shelter for the unhoused in Evanston’s history, developed City property into all-affordable housing, and adopted comprehensive and strategic housing plans.
At its heart, Evanston is defined by activism and broad public engagement, and that’s never been more clear than with our zoning code rewrite. Early on, this critical effort was seen by some as my pet project, and that led to fair criticism and skepticism. But as we slowed down the project to allow for more input, something better happened: new networks of activist residents organized around it, and they own it now. That is far more durable than anything one mayor can push through.
Our Healthy Buildings Ordinance showed the same community strength under pressure. Wealthy and powerful interests organized broad opposition, much of it built on misinformation. I had some genuinely tense conversations with local leaders, but we refused to give in to fearmongering or political pressure. We held the line and passed it without watering it down, enacting one of the strongest municipal climate laws in the nation.
We brought that same resolve to our dealings with Northwestern, seen by many as the most powerful institution in town. I stand by my vote on Ryan Field, approving a landmark deal that fundamentally rewrote the financial relationship between Evanston and Northwestern, bringing tens of millions of dollars as well as a world-class facility to our community. The early proposals floated by Northwestern looked nothing like the final deal. Each of the five council members who voted yes pushed independently for more, and the result was a better deal than peer communities have gotten from their universities, and more money from Northwestern than the entirety of our history.
I haven’t always gotten it right, not by a longshot. My first year as mayor was marked by dysfunction, especially with the city manager search. I learned in that time the importance of bringing people along by methodically building support, not lurching into major changes without building a broad coalition. I am a better leader, and a better public servant, because of those hard-earned lessons.
But what I’m proudest of is how Evanston responded when ICE and CBP came to our city. Authoritarians test people and institutions by making the right choice feel expensive or frightening. The only answer is to make that choice anyway, and that is exactly what our neighbors did. I saw them standing together, shoulder to shoulder, facing down armed, masked federal agents. The courage I saw in our streets is something I will carry with me forever.
Evanston still faces big challenges. We have embarked on major reforms that will take years to fully implement, all while the federal government cuts support and attacks our institutions. Part of the challenge is structural. We are a city that wants to be a national policy laboratory and a conventional suburb at the same time, operating under a council-manager structure that doesn’t always match our ambitions. Reconciling those identities is unfinished business, and I hope the next chapter of city leadership takes it on directly.
I know our city can emerge stronger than ever, but only if we listen to one another, engage respectfully, and keep ourselves open to working with anyone who has a desire to make Evanston a better place. It is much easier for politicians to do nothing and blame the other side for inaction. It is harder to make incremental, imperfect progress. But simply sitting back and blaming the other side does nothing to improve anyone’s life.
One thing that gives me confidence in Evanston’s future is the tireless city staff that dedicates each and every day to improving the lives of our residents. We have accomplished so much in the past five years only because of their commitment to turn this community’s collective vision into reality. I cannot thank them enough.
Evanston taught me that durable change is slow, collective and uncomfortable. But it also taught me the awesome power of organizing, neighbor to neighbor, for the common good. Serving as your mayor has been an honor of a lifetime.
