CHICAGO — Two leading congressional candidates are taking more and more attacks as the race heats up to represent a district that stretches from Chicago’s South Side, through the south suburbs into central Illinois.

Opponents are focusing on Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller after she landed a large fundraising haul. And they continue to pounce on comeback-seeking former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., the best-known name in the campaign for the 2nd District Democratic nomination.

As candidates met with the Tribune Editorial Board Thursday, Jackson was the elephant in the room, while Miller, who attended a later session, was the one outside it.

“The American people are sick of seeing people in Washington because they’re famous, like Jesse Jackson Jr.,” said state Sen. Willie Preston, 16th District. “Or because a bunch of wealthy people gave a candidate some money and bought them, like Donna Miller is being currently purchased.”

Preston’s remark, consistent with his confrontational style on the trail, points to the foundations of the race.

Jackson, the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, is trying a redemption run following the campaign-finance scandal that led him to resign in 2012 then put him in prison for 17 months. He held a sizable early lead, according to a December poll commissioned by Miller’s campaign and conducted by Global Strategy Group with 400 likely primary voters.

Nearly all voters knew the former congressman. Those who did were split roughly half-and-half on whether they viewed him favorably or unfavorably, according to the poll. A quarter of the respondents initially said he would win their vote.

But the poll determined that lead faded when voters were introduced to other candidates. When bios were shared, every other challenger shot up, and the lead shifted to Miller, the board chair of Planned Parenthood of Illinois who has made health care access a top campaign issue.

“This race is wide open,” the poll concluded. “Despite his significant name ID advantage, Jackson Jr.’s vulnerabilities are abundant.”

A month before the poll, money was pouring into Miller’s campaign, according to newly released Federal Election Commission records. The county commissioner brought in nearly $900,000 in the last quarter of 2025, making her easily the race’s top fundraiser.

Of the $1.3 million Miller has so far raised, over $930,000 came from out-of-state donors at the end of 2025, according to a Tribune analysis.

Illinois Sen. Robert Peters, 13th District, a progressive vying for the seat, argued nearly $900,000 of Miller’s fourth-quarter gains came from donors who have given to the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee — which advocates for Israel’s interests and supports both Democrats and Republicans — or an affiliated group.

Peters also criticized the support for Miller from Affordable Chicago Now, a political action committee formed Jan. 16 that has bought television ads backing Miller funded by donors who have not yet been publicly disclosed.

“Between MAGA money, AIPAC donors and shady, dark-money super PACs, it’s clear that right-wing forces are playing games with the Democratic primary election,” Matthew Fisch, a Peters campaign manager, said in a Tuesday news release.

Peters himself has raised over $900,000. More than half the money comes from out-of-state donors, according to a Tribune analysis, a fact Preston has repeatedly criticized him for.

The race’s leading candidates — Jackson, Miller, Peters, Preston and Yumeka Brown, a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago commissioner — are separated by little ideologically.

All are quick to bash President Donald Trump or call for universal health care, though some stances, like Preston’s opposition to social spending on immigrants, hint at rare points at which congressional votes could diverge.

As candidates struggle to separate themselves, Miller’s money and Jackson’s well-known scandal have become targets, especially for Peters and Preston.

Asked about fundraising during a mid-January Single Payer Coalition town hall focused on health care, Peters touted the small donations his campaign has received before taking a jab at Jackson’s past misuse of campaign funds.

“And unlike one of my opponents, I’m not going to spend $750,000 of people’s money to live a lavish lifestyle,” he said. “I think it’s ridiculous to come on this stage and to talk about this issue like this and not acknowledge the fact that someone spent $40,000 on a Rolex, someone spent thousands of dollars on an elk head, someone here spent literally money to go to a Disney resort or buy a refrigerator.”

Jackson, who has called building a new south suburban airport a top priority to spark the local economy, violated campaign finance laws by using $750,000 in campaign money for personal purchases, including those items.

Preston turned attention back to Jackson’s scandal when asked how he would handle increasingly large and powerful health care companies.

“I quite frankly and respectfully, both believe in redemption, but understand that you’re the last person on this stage who can actually have the credibility to stand up to these people,” Preston said.

Jackson declined to respond when offered the chance by the town hall moderator.

And after Miller promised she “would not listen to internal pressure” when asked if she accepted money from groups funded by corporations, Preston said Miller “just displayed what every American hates about politicians.”

“She’s lying. Donna Miller is supported by AIPAC,” he said.

For her part, Miller has not rejected the claim that she has received money facilitated by the powerful organization, but told the Tribune Editorial Board Friday that AIPAC has not endorsed her.

“I have supporters who might support AIPAC, and some who don’t,” she said. “I have worked very hard in my professional and governmental career to build a broad coalition of donors, and those individual donors are the ones donating to my campaign, and I think that the coalition of support speaks to the work that I’ve done.”

She later argued Jackson has largely lived outside the district in recent years.

In the same session, Brown, who has mostly avoided going on the offensive, said the district needs “fresh, bold new leadership” when asked if Jackson’s past should be disqualifying.

“I do believe in second chances, but I do not believe that this is the role for him,” she said. “I don’t believe that that’s the type of example that we should set.”

Meanwhile, Jackson has similarly cast his opponents’ attacks as distraction efforts.

“I own my behavior. I pled guilty, I accepted responsibility,” he told the Tribune. “It’s about the economy … All they have left is character and perceptions of character. But I own the economy, and that’s why I’m doing well, that’s the forward thinking. I’m owning affordability.”

The attacks continued Thursday night as candidates appeared at a Richton Park forum hosted by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority alumni.

“If you vote for Donna Miller, you’re voting for a forever war. She has been purchased,” Preston said.

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