Daniel Biss

Bio

Daniel Kálmán Biss (born August 27, 1977, Akron, Ohio) is a Democratic politician and mathematician serving as the 22nd Mayor of Evanston, Illinois (since May 10, 2021). He is running for the open IL-09 congressional seat in 2026, seeking to succeed retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who endorsed him on January 7, 2026. Biss was born into a Jewish Israeli family of musicians — his mother is violinist Miriam Fried, his father is violinist Paul Biss, his brother is pianist Jonathan Biss, and his paternal grandmother was cellist Raya Garbousova. He attended Bloomington North High School in Bloomington, Indiana, was a 1995 Westinghouse Science Talent Search finalist, received a BA summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1998, and an MA and PhD in mathematics (algebraic topology) from MIT in 2002. His doctoral advisor was Michael J. Hopkins. He was a Clay Research Fellow (2002–2007) and visiting scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study (fall 2003). He was an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago from 2002 to 2008. His academic career was later shadowed by multiple errata and one formal retraction (2017) of papers, with journal editors concluding the findings were inaccurate but not fraudulent. He began his political career in 2009 as a policy adviser to IL Gov. Pat Quinn, then won a seat in the Illinois House in 2010 (17th District) and was elected to the Illinois Senate (9th District) in 2012, serving through 2019. He was a lead co-sponsor of the pension reform law SB 1 in 2013, which the IL Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional in 2015; Biss later called his support for it 'an error.' In 2017 he ran for governor, gaining national progressive attention but losing the 2018 primary to J.B. Pritzker (26.70% vs. Pritzker's 45.13%). He served briefly as executive director of Rust Belt Rising (2018). In 2021 he was elected Evanston mayor in a landslide, was re-elected 62.7% in April 2025. His mayoral tenure included supporting Evanston's first-in-nation municipal reparations program, passing a public campaign finance matching fund scheme (first in Illinois), and casting a tie-breaking vote to allow Northwestern University to rebuild Ryan Field. He has raised ~$2.54M for the congressional race as of Dec. 31, 2025 (FEC H6IL09228). The Democratic primary on March 17, 2026 also features state senator Laura Fine and journalist Kat Abughazaleh (the fundraising leader with ~$2.7M).

Prior office: Mayor of Evanston (2021–present); Illinois State Senator, 9th District (2013–2019); Illinois State Representative, 17th District (2011–2013); Policy Adviser to Governor Pat Quinn (2009–2010)

Key Votes

• lead co-sponsor/yesIllinois SB 1 — Pension Reform Act, 2013

  Biss was lead champion of pension reform to address the state's $100B+ pension deficit. He served on the Conference Committee on SB 1. The law passed with bipartisan support but was struck down by the IL Supreme Court as unconstitutional in May 2015. Biss later said it was 'an error.' He subsequently supported funding pensions via graduated income tax and a financial transaction tax.

• yes (floor speech)Illinois SB 10 — Same-Sex Marriage, 2013

  Biss delivered a speech on the IL Senate floor in support of legalizing same-sex marriage in Illinois in 2013. The bill passed and was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn.

• sponsorIllinois SB 1424 — State Matching Funds for Small-Donor Campaigns, 2017

  Biss sponsored a bill that would have created a state program for matching funds for small-donor contributions to political campaigns — a campaign finance reform tied to his long-standing interest in reducing big-money influence in politics.

• sponsorIllinois SB 780 — Ranked Choice Voting for Statewide Offices, 2017

  Biss sponsored SB 780 proposing to elect a number of statewide offices by ranked-choice ballot, a structural electoral reform.

• co-sponsorIllinois SB 1933 — Automatic Voter Registration, 2017

  Co-sponsored automatic voter registration bill (authored by State Sen. Andy Manar) allowing automatic registration when applying for an Illinois driver's license. Enacted as Public Act 100-0464.

• yesIllinois ACA Protection Bill — Pre-Existing Conditions, June 2017

  Voted to reinforce the Affordable Care Act in Illinois by prohibiting insurance companies from discriminating against customers with pre-existing conditions, as the federal ACA faced repeal attempts.

• yes (as mayor-elect, supported and helped implement)Evanston Reparations Program (Resolution 126-R-19), 2021

  As mayor-elect, Biss released a statement supporting Evanston's approved measure establishing the first city-funded reparations program in U.S. history, providing $25,000 grants to Black residents affected by discriminatory housing policies (1919–1969). Also gave outgoing Mayor Hagerty input on Reparations Committee members.

• yes/signedEvanston Municipal Campaign Finance Matching Fund, 2023

  As mayor, Biss signed into law a municipal campaign finance reform creating a public matching fund scheme for municipal races — making Evanston the first city in Illinois with a public campaign finance matching program.

• yes/enactedEvanston Healthy Buildings Ordinance (greenhouse gas emission limits)

  As mayor, Biss enacted the Healthy Buildings Ordinance to curb carbon emissions through greenhouse gas emission limits on buildings. Part of his climate and sustainability agenda.

• yes (tie-breaking)Northwestern Ryan Field Stadium Rebuild — Tie-breaking vote, 2024

  As mayor, Biss cast the tie-breaking council vote to allow Northwestern University to demolish and rebuild Ryan Field. The new law included a community benefits agreement where Northwestern invests approximately $10 million in the city annually for 15 years. Biss called the $800M privately-funded project 'a generational investment.'

• yesEvanston Civilian Police Review Board

  Biss supported establishment of civilian oversight of the Evanston police department as part of broader police accountability reforms during his mayoral tenure.