Our Favorite Candidates in 2026 - Bushra Amiwala, Illinois's 9th Congressional District
Last year, former vice-chair of the Democratic Party, David Hogg, made an announcement through his PAC, Leaders We Deserve, that he would use his PAC to challenge older incumbent Democrats by recruiting younger candidates to primary them. However, in an odd caveat that can only be seen as him opportunistically trying to leverage power within the party instead of altruistically putting forward younger, more energetic candidates, he announced that he would not encourage primary challengers to octogenarians Jan Schakowsky, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, or James Clyburn, three of whom had already drawn younger primary challengers. In the end, the three with young primary challengers decided to retire rather than face embarrassing defeats in an election year where young blood is needed.
Schakowsky’s retirement set off a rush to replace her, and a whopping 15 candidates are running in the primary on March 17. One of them is Bushra Amiwala (she/her), who in 2019 became the first elected official in the United States from Gen Z when she was elected to the Board of Education in hometown of Skokie, Illinois. Bushra supports the organizations A Just Harvest, RefugeeOne, and The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. She is centering her campaign around the affordability crisis, Medicare for All, and the Green New Deal.
Where are you based?
Skokie, IL
What position are you running for?
I’m running to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
How would you briefly summarize your platform?
My goal above all else is to make life better for every person in IL-9. I bring something different to Congress. I’ve lived through the problems many politicians only talk about. I know what it’s like to struggle with health insurance, take on student loans, search for an apartment during a historic housing shortage, and rely on a bus that never showed up. I’ve grown up knowing climate change is not abstract. It’s a crisis my generation will inherit.
That lived experience shapes my platform. Medicare for All. Affordable housing. Debt-free public college. Serious climate action. Reliable public transit. An economy that works for working families and small businesses, not just corporations. I’m not theorizing about these issues. I’m running to fix the systems that are failing my generation and everyday Americans right now.
What inspired you to run?
I’ve lived my whole life here. I went to school here, commuted on our buses and trains, searched for housing here, and served on our local school board. I’ve seen how federal decisions show up in people’s rent, their medical bills, their classrooms, and their daily commutes. I’m running because I know this district deeply, I care about the people in it, and I want a Congress that actually delivers for the families who call IL-9 home.
What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
I want to make it possible for people to stay in the communities they love. Right now, too many families in IL-9 are being priced out or struggling to find housing they can afford. We are in the middle of a historic housing shortage, and it comes up in almost every conversation I have. I will fight for major federal investment in affordable housing, stronger tenant protections, and practical reforms that make it easier for families to access the help they already qualify for. Housing stability should not be a luxury.
I also hear constantly about rising property taxes and how they are pushing longtime residents to the brink. We need relief for working and middle-class homeowners, more federal investment in schools, and infrastructure so local families are not overburdened. At the same time, hedge funds and private equity firms are buying up homes and driving up rent. No corporation should profit from displacement. I want to build a district and a country where people can afford to stay, put down roots, and feel secure in their future.
How long have you been in office? What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
I have served eight years as an elected member of the Skokie District 73.5 School Board. During that time, I worked closely with unions, educators, and local leaders and partnered with Governor JB Pritzker and state lawmakers to advance policies that benefited students beyond my district.
Our district became the first in the nation to offer kosher, halal, and vegetarian meal options. After implementing that locally, I testified in Springfield to help make it law across Illinois public schools. I also helped pass the most progressive teacher salary structure in our district’s history, ensuring educators were fairly paid while classrooms remained well-resourced.
When ICE activity began affecting families in our community, I passed a resolution preventing warrantless immigration enforcement on school property so no student would be traumatized by armed agents in their classroom. I worked with city councils across Evanston, Chicago, Morton Grove, and Skokie to encourage similar protections on public property. I also coordinated financial and legal support for families impacted by raids, including one on my own street. Throughout my time in office, I’ve used every tool at my disposal to support students, protect families, and stand with our community. I plan to bring that same approach to Congress.
What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
We are in an affordability crisis. Groceries, housing, transportation, and healthcare are becoming harder to afford, and neighbors across IL-9 are being priced out of the communities they built. This is not inevitable. It is the result of policy choices. Congress has failed to rein in price gouging, build a fair tax system, and invest in infrastructure that makes daily life workable. My top priority is restoring affordability so families can stay and small businesses can survive.
We need a fairer tax system that asks more of the ultra-wealthy and stops rewarding hoarding at the top. I support a billionaire minimum tax, stronger enforcement against tax evasion, and raising the cap on taxable earnings for Social Security so it reflects today’s economy. Our schools and infrastructure should not be underfunded while wealth concentrates upward.
I also support a Green New Deal centered on environmental justice, clean energy jobs, and reliable transit. These investments lower costs, improve public health, and strengthen local economies. And we must end policies that artificially raise prices, like the tariffs recently struck down by the Supreme Court. Don’t think the president will give up on his tariff obsession just because of one ruling. Tariffs imposed without proper congressional authority act as hidden taxes on working families. Congress must reclaim its power and lower costs for families and small businesses.
America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
There is a time and a place for bipartisanship. I have seen members of Congress vote against ideas simply because of who introduced them, not because of what they would do for people. I will work across the aisle when it delivers real results for my constituents. Infrastructure, public transit, and basic services like safe roads and reliable air travel should never be partisan issues. I am focused on outcomes, not political theater.
On the Skokie School Board, I worked with colleagues of different political views to manage budgets, negotiate with unions, and fund programs that support students and teachers. That required listening, compromise, and keeping the focus on what actually improves people’s lives. Bridging divides starts with showing up, being accessible, and making decisions based on what helps families in this district. That’s what I do best.
© Stacey Wescott
How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
I was born and raised in this district and attended public schools here. I grew up watching my father run a small business and learned early what it means to balance payroll, rising costs, and uncertainty. I know what it feels like to ration care because insurance is unaffordable, to search for housing during a shortage, and to rely on underfunded transit. Many politicians talk about these realities. I’ve lived them.
What matters most is what I’ve done with that perspective. On the school board, I removed financial barriers to after-school programs, expanded meal access, helped pass the nation’s first halal-kosher public school meal law, and negotiated the most comprehensive teacher salary agreement in district history. I’ve worked with immigrant families, educators, faith leaders, and small-business owners across this district. I know how to turn lived experience into policy and build coalitions to get results.
I bring to Congress governing experience, community-rooted relationships, and a clear understanding of what families are facing. I’m running with a record of action and a plan to make life more affordable, stable, and dignified for the people of IL-9.
What is your motto?
Campaign motto: a fresh perspective from a familiar face.
Where can we find out more about you?
Visit bushraforcongress.com to learn more about my plan to make life better in IL-09, see the latest campaign news, volunteer and contribute.
