The floodgates are open in the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Danny Davis in the securely blue 7th Congressional District.
Davis, 83, on Thursday announced he won’t be seeking a 16th term and gave his blessing to state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, who has served in the Illinois General Assembly since 2007 and announced last week that he won’t be seeking another term. Davis will chair Ford’s campaign.
City Treasurer Melissa Conyears Ervin, who came in second to Davis in last year’s Democratic primary, also announced her bid for the seat Thursday. In a video announcement, Conyears Ervin said she’s running “so working people have someone on their side.”
“If you send me to Congress to fight for you, I’ll never give up until they are the ones that throw in the towel. Those landlords? They’re going to pay to fix those properties. Those billionaires? They’re going to pay their fair share in taxes to fix up our roads and our schools,” Conyears Ervin said. “And Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans? Oh, they’re going to pay.”
Conyears Ervin last year led fundraising in the race with more than $619,000, and she also boasted about her progressive credentials in that race when she won the endorsement of the Chicago Teachers Union. Conyears Ervin last year was fined $70,000 by the Chicago Board of Ethics following findings that she misused government resources. During her congressional campaign, she maintained the allegations “misrepresented” her office, and she has denied wrongdoing.
Conyears Ervin previously served as a state representative.
The race is one of four open congressional seats in Illinois, led by two retirements and Sen. Dick Durbin’s announcement that he wouldn’t seek reelection. Durbin in April said he wasn’t ready to choose a successor. It’s also unclear whether outgoing U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky will endorse a candidate in yet another crowded primary race in the 9th Congressional District.
Former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin, former U.S. Marine John McCombs, businessman Jason Friedman, pastor Je’Rico Brown, Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins, Kamaria Kali and Danica Leigh have also announced runs.
Former Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. and state Rep. Kam Buckner are also exploring runs, as is Anthony Driver Jr., executive director of the SEIU Illinois State Council and president of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability.
Friedman, the son of prolific River North developer Albert Friedman, has raised more than $1 million since he launched his campaign in mid-April. He called Davis “a trailblazer and champion for our communities and families across Illinois.”
“As a candidate to represent the 7th District, I will work to honor and build on his legacy of compassion and progress by focusing on public safety, affordable housing, and affordable, quality health care for everyone,” Friedman said in a statement.
Hoskins hailed Davis as “a moral compass and a fierce champion for justice,” with the suburban mayor saying he’d “continue this work — not by replicating the past, but by offering bold, proven leadership for the future.”
“As mayor of a racially and economically diverse inner-ring suburb, I understand what it takes to unite people across divides and deliver real results,” Hoskins said in a statement.
Ford, 53, announced a bid for Davis’ seat in May. He was born in the Cabrini-Green housing development and was raised in the West Side’s Austin community. Ford’s 8th District includes the West Side and several suburbs, including Oak Park, Berwyn, North Riverside, Forest Park, Brookfield, La Grange Park and Western Springs.
He’s a former Chicago Public Schools teacher and a current licensed real estate broker. He also ran for mayor in 2019. The state representative in 2014 pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of tax fraud, admitting to a federal judge that he dodged around $3,700 in taxes by overstating the amount he spent to rehab a West Side home.
Ford is known for his work in criminal justice, including helping ex-offenders reenter society. He introduced the “Ban the Box” bill, which would have barred applicants for state employment from being asked about their criminal history.
He said he would continue the work Davis has done to secure “essential resources, including Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, child care support, and violence prevention programs” in the district.
“Together, we can cultivate a community that embodies compassion, justice and opportunity for all,” Ford said alongside Davis Thursday in East Garfield Park. “Furthermore, we need to rapidly increase funding for HIV initiatives and drug treatment programs. This effort goes beyond just providing money. It’s about protecting the essential services that many individuals depend on.”