The Daily Northwestern — March 4, 2026 by The Daily Northwestern

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Wednesday, March 4, 2026

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Candidates face off in historic congressional primary Leading Democratic contenders spar over ICE, outside spending in first televised debate of the race Christina Lin/The Daily Northwestern

Desiree Luo/The Daily Northwestern

Christina Lin/The Daily Northwestern

By ALLISON KUESTER and MAYA HEYMAN

the daily northwestern @allisonrkuester / @mayaheyman

Six Democratic candidates running to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District tackled topics ranging from campaign finance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement across two programs on Feb. 25 on FOX 32 Chicago — the first televised debate of the election cycle. Three frontrunners — Mayor Daniel Biss, progressive content creator Kat Abughazaleh and State Sen. Laura Fine (D-Glenview) — participated in the first debate, moderated by the station’s Political Correspondent Paris Schutz. Another debate featured briefly during and after the television program included other candidates polling “above 5%,” according to Schutz, including State Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago), Skokie school board member Bushra Amiwala and former FBI hostage negotiator Phil Andrew. During the first debate, the candidates sparred over reported ties between the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Fine and Biss campaigns, which has become a flashpoint in the race to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston). Elect Chicago Women, a super PAC reportedly supported by AIPAC, has spent upwards of $2

Desiree Luo/The Daily Northwestern

Yong-Yu Huang/The Daily Northwestern

ASA hosts Jabulani for Black History Month

‘Timeless’ celebration features pageant, performances By LULUYA TEKLE

the daily northwestern

Celebration echoed through McCormick Auditorium on Saturday night as the African Student Association closed out Black History Month with Jabulani, a Zulu word meaning “rejoice.” Under this year’s theme, “Timeless: The Echoes of Our Ancestors,” the night featured a pageant for Mr. and Ms. Africa and performances from NU groups like ELEL Dance Team and Afrothunda. For McCormick sophomore

Recycle Me

Sandrine Douti, who represented Togo in the pageant, this wasn’t her first rodeo. She also participated in Jabulani’s fashion show last year. Crowned this year’s Ms. Africa, she said she showed up for all the African countries, “especially the ones that were not able to be represented.” “If you can know more about (their culture), then you can connect on a deeper level with that person,” Douti said. She left the night with more than just a sash. $200 cash prizes were awarded to Mr. and Ms. Africa, $100 for first-runner-ups

and $75 for second-runner-ups. Douti said she plans to spend some of the money on her friends, attributing some of her success to her support system. One of the attendees who showed up to Jabulani to support her was her work manager, she said. “I feel a bit more connected with her because I feel like she’s seen some parts of me that she maybe did not know before,” Douti said. She said her friends were screaming “Ms. Africa” and that by the end, most of them “couldn’t

» See JABULANI, page 14

Desiree Luo/The Daily Northwestern

million boosting Fine’s campaign through televised advertisements and mailers. “It is an independent expenditure. It’s dark money,” Fine said of ECW. “Our campaign does not coordinate. I have asked publicly for them to reveal who their donors are because we don’t know.” Schutz asked Biss to respond to allegations that he was “pining for that AIPAC support,” appearing to reference a January Substack post from Biss in which the mayor admitted he had met with local representatives of the proIsrael lobbying group last year. Biss explained that although he met with AIPAC representatives, he would never have accepted the group’s support, adding he opposes unconditional aid to Israel. Biss has previously expressed support for the Block the Bombs Act, which would prohibit the U.S. from providing defense articles or services to Israel until the country complies with international human rights laws. Despite the mayor’s commitment to the legislation, Abughazaleh questioned his meetings with AIPAC and accused Biss and Fine of “bickering over who likes AIPAC more.” “Frankly, both of you are trying to push policies that, even if you’re supporting the Block the Bombs Act, have a lot of very precarious and dangerous implications,” Abughazaleh said.

» See ELECTION PREVIEW, page 7

NU-Q under shelter-in-place order, operating remotely Campus restrictions for week following Iran’s retaliatory strikes By RUIXIN ZHANG and SUMMER HU

the daily northwestern

@ruixinzhang_ / @Summer_Huu

Editor’s note: All sources in this article requested anonymity for fear of retribution from the Qatari government. Northwestern’s Qatar campus moved to remote operations for the rest of the week after NU-Q and national authorities issued shelter-in-place orders, following Iranian missile and drone strikes beginning Saturday. The United States and Israel conducted a joint-military

operation Saturday in Iran, targeting several large cities including its capital, Tehran, The New York Times reported. Iran carried out retaliatory strikes across Gulf Arab states containing U.S. military bases, including Al Udeid Air Base southwest of Doha, Qatar, according to Al Jazeera. Students at NU-Q’s campus expressed fear and uncertainty about the strikes. The air base is stationed about 16 miles from NU-Q, according to Google Maps. NU-Q students reported hearing loud noises Saturday

morning. Several students said they also observed smoke in the sky as the missiles came in waves throughout the day. “I saw flares going up and a very loud boom,” a Communication senior said. “Then, there was a trail of smoke in the sky.” Qatar issued several national emergency alerts throughout the weekend and Monday, which alerted people of safety measures. The Communication senior said he initially thought the national message was just a test.

» See NU-Q, page 14

Chicago’s North Shore Restaurant Month

Special Dining Offers: March 1–31 Discover new dining options and local favorites! View participating restaurants at:

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