Jenna Leving Jacobson, Kina Collins, Derek Eder and Mary Ann Buck. Photo by Paul Goyette

On March 17th 2026, Illinois will hold a primary to decide who the candidates will be for the mid-term election in November. In Illinois 7th Congressional District, which includes Oak Park, Broadview, Bellwood, Maywood, River Forest, Forest Park, Westchester, Hillside, La Grange Park, Berkeley, and a large part of Chicago’s downtown, West and South Sides, longtime incumbent Danny Davis is retiring, leaving the seat open for the first time in 30 years.

The IL 7th is a strong Democratic district, so the winner of this primary will very likely win against any Republican in November. And given the advantage that any incumbent will have, the winner of this race will likely hold it for many years, just like Danny Davis did.

At a time when Congress seems unwilling or unable to act to reign in the tyrannical Trump Administration, we have an opportunity to send someone to Congress who will not only represent us and fight for what we care about, but will demonstrate the leadership and grit to do what is right.

Have I convinced you that this is an important election?

Good! Because it is for these reasons why I am endorsing Kina Collins in this race. Kina is a progressive from the West Side of Chicago and a successful community organizer for gun safety, reproductive rights, gender equity, and economic opportunity. She has spent her entire career fighting for what is right, and building power through organizing to make it happen.

If you’ve heard of Kina before, it’s because she started running for this seat in 2020. In a district with over 760,000 people, that kind of name recognition is necessary, and only happens with time and organizing effort.

She is the progressive candidate with the best chance to win in this race - one that has been flooded with millions of dollars from AIPAC, a national right wing super PAC.

Join me and my fellow progressive elected officials in Oak Park, in supporting Kina Collins for IL 7th!

Statement from Oak Park Elected Officials Endorsing Kina Collins for Illinois 7th Congressional District

We are Oak Park elected officials who have endorsed Kina Collins to be the next 7th District Congressperson, because Kina shows up. She trained the local Moms for their sit-in at Broadview, she helped the D90 teachers’union during negotiations to get a fair contract, and she is actively teaching the OPRFHS students how to organize for collective power. She fought to include trans women in the Illinois Council on Women and Girls Act that she co-authored and helped pass in 2018. She has the respect of our local Moms Demand Action group because she has been showing up for gun violence prevention work in our community since she was 16.

Right now—when compassion, backbone, and integrity are in short supply—we are lucky to have a candidate who doesn’t waver, even when it costs her. In 2019, before anyone was talking about ICE, she was loudly calling for it to be abolished. AIPAC—a right wing super PAC known for attacking progressive candidates with millions in negative ads—targeted Kina last election season with $494,000 and aggressive tactics because she was the only one unabashedly calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. Yet, she did not back down.

We stand with her now. AIPAC has poured almost $3M in this race to force us to choose between 2 establishment candidates, to ensure another vote for their anti democracy project and another 2+ decades of diminished power in what should be a progressive district.

Today, we ask you to join us. Kina Collins is the progressive candidate who has proven herself to be up to the challenge, and the only one with a pathway to win. If you want IL 7th to be for the people and not bought and paid for by oligarchs, vote for Kina Collins.

Colin Bird-Martinez, Library Trustee
Derek Eder, Village Trustee
Susanne Fairfax, Library Trustee
Jenna Leving Jacobson, Village Trustee
Becky Perez, Education Advocate
Teresa Powell, former Village Clerk
Kristina Rogers, Library Trustee
Annie Wilkinson, Library Trustee
Mika Yamamoto, Library Trustee

Press

• Oak Park electeds endorse Kina Collins, Wednesday Journal, Feb 24, 2026

• Progressive lane in the 7th is crowded, Bob Skolnik, Wednesday Journal, Mar 3, 2026

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