Biss announces Democratic bid for governor
State Sen. Daniel Biss threw his hat into the already crowded Illinois governor's race Monday via a Facebook Live message.
Biss, an Evanston Democrat who made an unsuccessful primary bid for Illinois comptroller last year, has been in the state Senate since 2013 following two terms in the state House.
The former University of Chicago math professor sought to appeal to the progressive wing of the party in his 25-minute live address on social media.
Biss is likely to battle for the progressive vote in the March 2018 primary against Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar, who announced a bid in January.
Kenilworth businessman Chris Kennedy joined the Democratic race a month later. Other Democrats who are considering runs are state Sen. Andy Manar of downstate Bunker Hill and Chicago businessman J.B. Pritzker.
Gov. Bruce Rauner of Winnetka so far is the only Republican running.
Biss spent several minutes following his announcement answering submitted questions about women's reproductive rights, immigration issues and school funding.
On the latter, he called for a progressive tax where the wealthy would "pay their fair share" and "allow us to shift away from the unfair burden we place on our property tax system" in order to fund schools across the state.
He also sought to pre-emptively fend off Republican efforts to tie him to powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan, by saying the Chicago Democrat, in office since 1971, has "been there too long."
"Billionaires and machine politicians have a monopoly on power," Biss said, noting, he "used to be a math professor. My job was to solve problems."
He described this campaign as "for the rest of us."
Biss brings less personal wealth to the race than Kennedy, Pritzker or the governor, a wealthy venture capitalist. He managed a super PAC last fall, called Leading Illinois For Tomorrow, that linked Rauner with President Donald Trump.
Rauner, meanwhile, gave millions of his personal wealth last year to ads for Republicans in suburban legislative swing districts that tied their Democratic opponents to Madigan.
Biss is a native of Akron, Ohio, and grew up in Bloomington, Indiana. His parents are professional violinists while his brother, Jonathan is a renowned professional pianist.