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Thursday, March 26th 2026

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Tribune Editorial Board endorsements for 2026 Illinois primary election

By | Chicago Tribune
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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.

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.

Our thoughts on the Republican primary race for governor of Illinois

Darren Bailey has Springfield experience. In his conversation with us, he effectively apologized for his previous endorsement visit in 2022 when he reiterated his description of Chicago as a “hellhole” and denigrated the city to its leading newspaper. This time, he said, he had learned from his mistakes (“I discovered the hard way how to love a city”), a realization he said reflected his choice of Aaron Del Mar, chairman of the Cook County Republican Party, as his running mate.  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

Illinois State Senate

Illinois State House

Cook County Board of Review

Cook County Board of Commissioners

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