State Sen. Mike Simmons, who announced his run for Congress in the Ninth District on July 8, said his campaign is about more than just policy—it’s about fighting for communities like the one that raised him.
Simmons, who grew up in Rogers Park as the son of an Ethiopian immigrant father and a Black mother, joined a crowded primary field of candidates looking to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Others in the race include State Rep. Hoan Huynh, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, State Sen. Laura Fine and social media creator Kat Abughazaleh.
Simmons said what sets him apart is his lived experience and sense of urgency.
“My whole life story is anchored in this fight,” Simmons told Windy City Times. “I speak for many when I say that we’re hungry for a person to go to Congress from this community who understands that fight in their bones and is willing to fight for our communities—and willing to go against the grain.”
Simmons described the Ninth District, which includes the North Side and northern suburbs, as a place of rich diversity and vibrant community, but also a place where many families are struggling to stay afloat.
“We have a real crisis of survival,” Simmons said, pointing to skyrocketing housing costs, health care access and other basic needs. “People are facing double-digit rent increases. Young families are not able to find their first homes here, and so they’re having to put off starting their lives.”
Affordability, health care and human rights
If elected, Simmons said his top priorities in Congress would be affordability, protecting human rights and defending access to health care and transit.
“There are people all across the Ninth District who feel like they have a tenuous connection to their communities right now,” Simmons said. “They’re not going to be able to afford to keep their homes, or afford to buy a home in the district, or they’re afraid they’re not going to be able to continue to rent.”
Simmons pointed to his legislative record in Springfield, where he passed bills to erase medical debt for hundreds of thousands of Illinois households and create a statewide child tax credit.
Simmons also raised alarm about what he called “the largest cuts to Medicaid that we’ve seen in modern history,” referring to the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” President Donald Trump signed on July 4. Simmons warned the cuts will threaten health care for thousands of district residents.
“We need leadership in Congress right now from the Ninth District who feels that urgency and who understands the communities that are going to be impacted by this,” Simmons said. “These are just the basic necessities of survival.”
Throughout his time in the Illinois Senate, Simmons said he has been focused on passing legislation that protects people’s dignity and quality of life. One of his first major victories was passing a statewide ban on hair discrimination, ensuring Black and Brown people are not being punished in schools or workplaces for wearing their natural hair.
“That was an important win for human rights in our state,” Simmons said.
Simmons has also prioritized youth mental health, passing several bills to expand access to mental health resources for young people. Simmons said this is critical to making communities truly livable.
“I want young people to be able to thrive in the communities they grew up in, without feeling like they have to leave to get care or be themselves,” Simmons said.
All these issues—affordablity, health care and human rights—are interconnected, Simmons said. And addressing them in tandem will make life in the Ninth District more sustainable for families of all backgrounds, he said.
“These are just the basic necessities of survival that any amazing, diverse community like ours should have,” Simmons said.
Defending LGBTQ+ rights from federal attacks
Simmons’ candidacy at a time when LGBTQ+ people—and especially transgender youth—are facing mounting attacks from federal and state governments across the country.
Simmons said his experience as the first openly Black LGBTQ+ person elected to the Illinois Senate positions him to lead these fights in Congress. He also called out Republicans and “some complacent Democrats” for attempts to erase LGBTQ+ people from public life.
“I want the next generation of people to be able to pick up a book in 30 or 40 years and read about the work that I and the LGBTQ+ community did in the 2010s and 2020s. I don’t want to watch that history go away,” Simmons said. “I want people to be able to go in libraries and be able to read books by queer authors and authors of color. And those are some of the rights right now that are being targeted by the Trump administration.”
In Springfield, Simmons built a record of championing LGBTQ+ rights. He passed legislation making gender-affirming care more accessible for trans youth, and he was a vocal supporter of including protections for trans people in Illinois’ reproductive rights laws. When some politicians hesitated, Simmons said he fought to ensure trans youth were not left behind.
“I don’t have a moment of grace or time to waste with people who attack LGBTQ+ communities,” Simmons said. “I’ve been outspoken and, in fact, combative in the Illinois Senate with my colleagues, particularly Republicans who have decided to dog whistle against trans youth and the entire LGBTQ+ community.”
If elected, Simmons said he’ll take that same approach to Washington, D.C.
“Should I go to Congress, that is the fight I will bring, and we will win those fights,” Simmons said.
A personal story rooted in the 9th District
Simmons framed his campaign as the story of a lifelong North Sider shaped by the same struggles his neighbors face today.
Simmons’ father arrived in Edgewater in the early 1980s as an asylum seeker from Ethiopia, fleeing the country’s Red Terror. His mother ran a beauty salon in Rogers Park, at times struggling to keep her business open during the Great Recession.
“I’m a product of those struggles,” Simmons said. “My family has overcome them.”
Simmons went on to work as a policy director for former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and later led policy efforts at the Obama Foundation. Since being appointed to the Illinois Senate in 2021, he’s passed nearly 50 bills advancing human rights, mental health access, LGBTQ+ protections and economic equity.
As the primary heats up, Simmons said his connection to the district and his record of results will help him stand out.
“I’m going to win this by talking about my story and my legislative record in the Illinois Senate,” Simmons said. “I’m going to get out there in the district, and I’m going to talk to people. I think I’ll have a story and message that appeals to a very broad spectrum of voters in this district.”