Illinois Senate primary race is test of Pritzker's sway, Democrats' views of ICE, outside spending
CBSN
The race to fill the seat of retiring Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin has been heating up in the days leading up to Tuesday's 2026 Democratic primary and could set the tone for other midterm primaries on issues like President Trump's deportation policies and outside spending. And another factor in the race is Gov. JB Pritzker's attempt at powerbrokering: he's given his endorsement and millions in campaign funds to his lieutenant governor, Julianna Stratton. In:
The race to fill the seat of retiring Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin has been heating up in the days leading up to Tuesday's 2026 Democratic primary and could set the tone for other midterm primaries on issues like President Trump's deportation policies and outside spending. And another factor in the race is Gov. JB Pritzker's attempt at powerbrokering: he's given his endorsement and millions in campaign funds to his lieutenant governor, Julianna Stratton.
All three leading candidates, Stratton and Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, have pledged to fight the Trump administration in the Senate — particularly on immigration and enforcement — but for each, it's a matter of degree.
Reforming Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is a high-profile issue for Illinois voters after the monthslong ICE crackdown on immigration in the Chicago area, dubbed "Operation Midway Blitz." The initiative, which was marked by controversial arrests and clashes with protesters, was decried by local leaders as heavy-handed and unjustified.
All three of the candidates have called for ICE to be abolished – with some semantic differences. Krishnamoorthi has called for President Trump's use of ICE to be abolished, Stratton has called for the agency to be shuttered and says some ICE agents should be prosecuted. Kelly has gone the farthest — she wants to see ICE and the Department of Homeland Security dismantled.
Stratton says immigration enforcement should get a "total revamp." She wants to see immigration judges and community-based social services prioritized and says federal agents who've broken the law should be "investigated and fully prosecuted."













