Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss to Resign October 18 as DOJ Escalates Reparations Lawsuit

A known quantity leaves town

Daniel Biss will resign as mayor of Evanston on October 18, 2026. The announcement came during his fifth and final State of the City address on June 23 at Evanston SPACE. Biss told the crowd he chose the date to trigger a special mayoral election in April 2027.

"It is with gratitude and a feeling of bittersweetness, that I announce today that I will be resigning from the office of mayor as of Oct. 18, 2026," Biss said. "The purpose of that resignation is to be absolutely certain that it is early enough to trigger a special election that will occur next spring."

Biss won the Democratic primary for Illinois' 9th Congressional District on March 17, 2026. He faces Republican challenger John Elleson in the November 3 general election. The district leans heavily Democratic. Biss said a congressional seat would be "an honor to serve."

Who fills the empty chair

The Illinois State Board of Elections calendar sets the special mayoral election for Tuesday, April 6, 2027. Petitions for mayoral candidacy must be filed between October 19 and October 26. Whoever wins in April will serve out the remainder of Biss' term through 2029.

Biss said he wants to minimize the time Evanston operates without an elected mayor.

"My purpose in picking that date is to minimize the amount of time that the people of Evanston have a mayor who they didn't choose in an election, and I think that principle of democracy serves us well," he said.

City Council recently rejected a proposal to raise the vote threshold for electing an acting mayor. The requirement stays at a simple majority of five votes from the nine-alderman council.

Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma of the 4th Ward said his preference is to recruit an outside candidate. He did not rule out running himself.

A program under federal fire

Biss' departure coincides with intensifying legal pressure on one of Evanston's signature policies. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion on June 16, 2026 to intervene in Flinn v. City of Evanston, a federal lawsuit challenging the city's reparations program.

The program was launched in 2019. It provides $25,000 in cash payments or housing assistance to Black residents who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 and their direct descendants. The city has paid out more than $5 million to date. According to the Evanston Roundtable, 137 of 141 qualified applicants in the ancestor category have received benefits totaling $3.47 million.

The DOJ alleges the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the Fair Housing Act. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon called the program "race discrimination, pure and simple."

"Under the pretext of paying reparations for events more than 100 years ago, the City of Evanston has chosen to distribute millions of dollars in cash and housing benefits to people because of the color of their skin or the color of the skin of their parents, grandparents, or great grandparents," Dhillon said in a Justice Department press release.

U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois added that "government actions classifying citizens by race are presumptively unconstitutional."

The lawsuit was originally filed in May 2024 by Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group. Six plaintiffs who are not Black but claim descent from Evanston residents between 1919 and 1969 argued they were excluded from the program based on race. U.S. District Judge John F. Kress denied Evanston's motion to dismiss the case in March 2026.

Robin Rue Simmons, who spearheaded the reparations program as a city alderman in 2019 and now serves as executive director of FirstRepair, called the DOJ intervention "an unfortunate escalation" that is "not unexpected."

"This litigation is a reactionary assault to stall progress in a new season of global momentum for reparations," Simmons said in a statement reported by the Evanston Roundtable.

Biss called the lawsuit "politically motivated" and said it does not change Evanston's "commitment to telling the truth about our past."

What Biss leaves behind

Biss outlined several accomplishments during his address. He highlighted:

• The creation of Evanston's C.A.R.E. team in 2024, which deploys behavioral health specialists instead of police to mental health emergency calls
• The passage of Envision Evanston 2045 in January, a comprehensive zoning and housing guide for the next 20 years
• The reparations program itself, which Biss called a "moral responsibility"

Biss told the Pioneer Press after the speech that he wants to make "as much progress as possible" on the housing plan before his October departure. He also said his goal is to facilitate a "quick transition" for the next mayor.

Evanstonians will decide who leads the city next spring. The special election will determine who governs until 2029.

Timeline

1. March 17, 2026 — Daniel Biss wins Democratic primary for Illinois' 9th Congressional District
2. June 16, 2026 — DOJ files motion to intervene in Flinn v. City of Evanston reparations lawsuit
3. June 23, 2026 — Biss announces resignation date of October 18 during State of the City address
4. October 18, 2026 — Biss resigns as mayor
5. October 19-26, 2026 — Petition window for mayoral candidacy
6. November 3, 2026 — General election for Illinois' 9th Congressional District
7. April 6, 2027 — Special mayoral election in Evanston

Sources

• Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss to resign in October, to trigger special election for successor — Chicago Tribune, Claire Murphy, June 24, 2026
• U.S. Justice Department Moves to Intervene in Race Discrimination Lawsuit Challenging Reparations Program in Evanston, Illinois — U.S. Department of Justice, June 16, 2026
• Department of Justice joins lawsuit against Evanston's reparations program — Evanston Roundtable, My Ly, June 16, 2026