iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 21h

UPDATE ON ICE IN EVANSTON LAST WEEK: Cmdr. Chelsea Brown, spokesperson for Evanston PD, tells me that one sergeant and one line-level officer collected information on the arresting agents. She declined to comment on whether EPD will release their identities through a statement or through FOIA.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

UPDATE ON ICE IN EVANSTON LAST WEEK: Just got a FOIA back for 911 calls, police dispatch audio, and police reports associated with the arrest. There's a lot to unpack. 1/ 🧵

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

An FYI that over the next few weeks you'll see a few non-Evanston posts from this account when I find them noteworthy enough :) I'm investigating DHS, DoD, and State in DC this quarter, so the focus will be (inter)national. (Of course, I'll be writing on Evanston when I have developments, too!)

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

New reactions to Sunday's violence in Evanston: In a yet-unreported release, activist group Sanctuary Evanston showed concern w/ Evanston PD's handling of the situation They asked CCSAO and the city to "demand transparency" of EPD; city referred to EPD, EPD and CCSAO did not respond to questions

Sanctuary Evanston’s statement expressed frustration with how EPD officers handled their interactions with the federal agents.

“Witnesses report police officers standing nearby in conversation as their neighbor lay injured on the street,” the group’s release read.

The group’s statement added that agents left the scene with “zero repercussions,” calling on officials to “uphold their vow to protect us.”

They also urged the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and city officials to investigate the incident and “demand transparency regarding EPD’s interaction with these agents.”

When asked about Sanctuary Evanston’s calls for action on Tuesday, an Evanston spokesperson referred to EPD’s Sunday evening news release. Both EPD and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office did not respond to similar requests for comment about Sanctuary Evanston’s statement.

EPD did not respond to additional questions about whether officers attempted to gather information about the agents’ identities. In an email last October, EPD Chief Schenita Stewart instructed officers to gather “information regarding the arrest team and their activity” if agents remained on scene after officers’ arrival.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

When asked why ICE agents didn't render aid, DHS spox says the Evanston resident and U.S. citizen refused aid.

DHS SPOX:

When ICE officers offered the individual assistance, he refused.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Flashback to last year, when a CBP spox said my newsroom "should take a long, hard look in the mirror and review its policies on ethical reporting." One of the best comments I've ever gotten back.

CBP Spokesperson
Federal law enforcement officers are being subjected to violent attacks simply for enforcing our nations laws - and you want to dox them and encourage more violent attacks on them and their families? Doxing is not news, it puts lives at risk. The Daily Northwestern should take a long, hard look in the mirror and review its policies on ethical reporting.

###

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A DHS spox defends ICE agents' brief detention of a U.S. citizen in Evanston that would leave the person in the hospital in a statement today:

DHS SPOX:

On September 20, during a targeted enforcement operation in Evanston, Illinois, ICE encountered an individual who resembled the target. ICE approached the individual and immediately identified themselves as law enforcement. The individual was given lawful commands but was not cooperative and refused to identify himself. ICE officers relied on their training and later left the scene without further incident once the individual finally identified himself.

ICE has authority for lawful arrests where authorized under 8 USC 1357. Law enforcement officers use ‘reasonable suspicion’ to investigate immigration status and probable cause to make arrests consistent with the statute and the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court has already vindicated us on these practices.

DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence. We know who we are targeting ahead of time. If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Adding: The gray-haired agent in this video wore a patch that read "federal officer / fugitive operations," plus an ICE badge patch, per photos and videos shared with me. He talked to an EPD officer and a supervisor for multiple minutes, per another video. (FOIAs sent a few hrs ago — updates TK)

The agent, in a photo shared with me. His POLICE badge also has the text "federal officer / fugitive operations," and his badge contains the word "ICE."

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Evanston and Rogers Park: @thedailynu.bsky.social is investigating ICE agents appearing to injure a U.S. citizen near this intersection ~2h ago, and how the Evanston Police Department handled it. If you have videos, images, or saw what happened, my contact info is below. We will keep you anonymous.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

EVANSTON: Multiple ICE vehicles reported at 10am near Howard and Dodge, per an ICIRR alert 5min ago. At least one black Dodge Durango and one black Nissan Pathfinder. If you think you see federal agents, call ICIRR at +1 (855) 435-7693.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Amid quite a bit of speculation about forthcoming ICE activity on the north shore, I'm yet to hear about any agents even on the north side come noon. All reports I've seen today have been between 9 and 10am, including two in West Englewood, one possible in Tinley Park, and one in Rolling Meadows.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

EVANSTON: ICIRR and Sanctuary Evanston reported a convoy of ICE vehicles heading north on McCormick around 11am today. That includes two black Chevrolet Tahoes, one black Nissan Pathfinder, and one black Ford Explorer. No confirmed abductions.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

+ one taken in a four-to-five vehicle convoy heading northbound on I-94 in Skokie, per a 10:45am ICIRR report Evanston/Skokie/Wilmette/North Shore, my contact info for @thedailynu.bsky.social are below if you have extra details, but please contact ICIRR first at +1 (855) 435-7693

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Both this and the open letter below it are signed by J. Michael Bailey, the Blanchardian #Northwestern professor who wrote "The Man Who Would Be Queen." Bailey has more recently written about and continues to study 'rapid-onset gender dysphoria,' which is scientifically unsupported.

19. J. Michael Bailey, Professor, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

NEW interactive @thedailynu.bsky.social: A Chicago Botanic Garden initiative planted 13 trees not native to Illinois on Northwestern's campus. It's in preparation for climate destabilization, the urban ecologist who led the project told us. 🧵👇

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

NEW details of an internal fight to expand Divvy at Northwestern @thedailynu.bsky.social - Divvy offered 5 docking stations on campus + 2 at Ryan Field for the price of the 2; NU said no - Declined because Ryan Field will have a free bike valet for 300-500 bikes an event (!!!), spox told me

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Calling a government agency for information, getting asked why you want the information, identifying as press, and getting transferred to the media line black hole within 3 nanoseconds is a top 10 experience

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Amid a short public comment section, four speakers urged Evanston alders to act on bike lanes. Among them: @mrscottroberts.bsky.social: "We need bollards now, and we need protected bike lanes as soon as possible." Elliot Oats urged "preventative measures" over "reactive measures."

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Expecting, and already seeing, huge ripples in Evanston from the dooring-caused death of biker and CDOT planner Riley O'Neil. I'll be at council reporting on a myriad on things on Monday, and I'll report back about whether it's brought up in public comment to urge alders to act.

chi.streetsblog.org

After driver doored CDOT planner Riley O'Neil, 35, on bike in Bridgeport, causing his death, advocates demand City install protected lanes to prevent such killings - Streetsblog Chicago

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Ridiculous uptick in Chicagoland federal immigration reports today — ~10 from rapid response groups between 6 and 10am. Most are presumed to be ICE, though HSI (and others) are possible.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

ICE: Feds detained one nearby Golf Middle School in Morton Grove earlier this morning, per ICIRR. Know about this? Shoot me a DM or a text on Signal at rottignon.01. @thedailynu.bsky.social

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Police apparently facilitating federal immigration activity through crowd control has been quite the repeated trend in the last two days of reports alone, from Evanston to MPLS to NJ.

“There was the Evanston Police Department, and they came, and we thought, ‘Oh, good, they’re going to detain (federal agents) there,’” one eyewitness told The Daily near the crash site.

EPD officers blocked traffic around the intersection and performed crowd control, sometimes in tandem with federal agents, the footage indicates.

The body camera of EPD Cmdr. Gil Levy, who was a sergeant at the time, captures him telling protesters they were violating a municipal ordinance and state law by being in the roadway. It then shows him walking over to his police cruiser and speaking into the loudspeaker.

“Anybody assaulting or threatening law enforcement is subject to arrest,” Levy said to the crowd, as captured on multiple officers’ body cameras. “Get out of the street and let the Evanston Police Department handle it.”

Editor's Pick
Minneapolis police rarely responded to ICE calls but still spent millions on overtime

The MPD prioritized preventing large-scale civil unrest over responding to calls from residents concerned about unlawful force by ICE, and racked up huge OT costs doing it.

By Deena Winter,

Susan Du and

Jeff Hargarten
The Minnesota Star Tribune
May 28, 2026 at 5:00AM

Post by Marisa Kabas

Press conference over. My takeaway is that Governor Sherrill is doing everything possible to control and contain protesters outside and very little to meet the demands of the people inside Delaney Hall on the hunger strike.
2:27 PM · May 29, 2026

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Reposted by Ryan Ottignon

The Daily Northwestern @thedailynu.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

1/ This line is the border between Evanston and Rogers Park, Chicago’s northernmost neighborhood. On Oct. 31, it became the site of what appears to be an attempt by Evanston police to dodge the city’s sanctuary city ordinance... 🧵

A minimal map with the text “Evanston” on the top, “Rogers Park” on the bottom, and a dotted line as a border between them.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

NEW: For the last 7 months, I've been digging into how Evanston police responded to federal immigration enforcement. I found EPD's behavior — as one activist put it — to be "distressing." Read my full investigation, "Out of Bounds," in our web interactive: apps.dailynorthwestern.com/outofbounds/

Illustration of a body camera on a black chestplate, with a red light on it. In the background is a minimal map with the text "Out of Bound" over it.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

BREAKING in Evanston: Resident and community member Jesús Eugenio Castro was detained by ICE last week, my colleague Marisa reports. Evanston Latinos and Sanctuary Evanston have a fundraiser for his family: secure.qgiv.com/for/supportf...

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Last updated May 24 at 2:30 p.m.

Evanston resident Jesús Eugenio Castro was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday during an immigration check-in at the ICE Chicago Field Office, according to his family and community organizers.

His wife, Aline Hernandez, and two young children were present at the appointment, where Hernandez said they received no explanation for Eugenio Castro’s detainment and allegedly were also told they might be deported.

As of Saturday, Eugenio Castro is being held at the Christian County Jail in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, according to his family and the ICE Online Detainee Locator System.

“I’m trying to stay positive because I want him to come back to us,” Hernandez said in Spanish. “Like the ladies here who come to help us tell me, I have to prepare for the best, but I also need to brace myself most times for the worst.”

A 26-year-old 2nd Ward resident, Eugenio Castro works as a landscaper and is due for a court date at Chicago Immigration Court on June 1, prompting a flurry of action from local immigration activists and officials.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Developers dealing with data viz, please learn that categorical data, like different candidates, necessitates a qualitative palette (red, green, blue, yellow, etc.) instead of a sequential palette (shades of blue). Because I cannottttt read this map lol

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Here's that ridiculous number of amendments by Kelly (1st) visually :P One square is one proposed amendment. Kelly has 50 alone and one with Davis (7th), who has 10 alone. Suffredin (6th) has three.

Almost 80% of proposed Housing4All amendments were by Ald. Kelly (1st)

One square is one proposed amendment. Kelly has 50 alone and 1 with Ald. Davis (7th), who has 10 alone. Ald. Suffredin (6th) has 3.

Source: Evanston City Council. Graphic by Ryan Ottignon

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Fun piece and #dataviz from me today on flights that pass over Evanston. This one airway in the north of Evanston — the approach path to Chicago Executive Airport — makes Executive the most frequent destination for over-Evanston aircraft, I found.

Many flights follow North Evanston airway to Chicago Executive

Heatmap based on 652 flight tracks. Yellow shows the highest concentration of flights, while purple shows the lowest.

(A heatmap of flight tracks over a map of Evanston. A bright line nicks the top of north Evanston.)

Source: OpenSky Network. Graphic by Ryan Ottignon

A plurality of flights end in Chicago, but passengers often end far from the city

Endpoints of 652 flight tracks. Those outside of the continental U.S. are not shown.

(A map of aircraft endpoints in the continental United States. The largest bubbles are in Chicago, but they are scattered all around the U.S., especially on the East Coast.)

Source: OpenSky Network. Graphic by Ryan Ottignon

Flights over Evanston scatter domestically — and internationally

Paths of 652 flight tracks. Flights that appear to end in the ocean went outside of transponder range.

(A map of flight tracks over the continental United States. They are scattered all over the map, with the exception of the Pacific Northwest. Some flights are international.)

Source: OpenSky Network. Graphic by Ryan Ottignon

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

IDENT: Ed Maxa is an agent with the CBP Office of Field Ops (OFO) Special Response Team (SRT). Identifier is "NS 808." Civilian video shows Maxa pepper-sprayed a resident point-blank in Evanston on Oct. 31. He was also seen knocking a resident's phone to the ground in December.

The face of Ed Maxa, a CBP agent with ID number NS 808. He was seen in Evanston on October 31 and in what is probably Chicago on December 8.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

In a new report, the name of a third Border Patrol agent who participated in the aggressive Halloween arrests in Evanston — Edward Maxa — has been released by the IL Accountability Comm. Maxa, the report alleges, pepper-sprayed a resident "from close range, without warning."

Agent Maxa Pepper Sprays Protester
As Agent Donahue drove away, Evanston resident Frederick Goodwill was shouting at Agent
Donahue’s passing SUV and saw Agent Donahue point at him.”xliii Another agent, Edward Maxa,
immediately turned and shot Goodwill directly in the face with pepper spray from close range,
without warning.xliv Available video shows Goodwill shouting at the passing SUV while leaning
toward it, and apparent spittle leave his mouth that appears to fall far short of the departing
vehicle.xlv Agent Maxa is then seen spraying Goodwill from close range while Goodwill is
stepping away from him. When reviewing this incident at the December 18, 2025, hearing, Dr.
Rohini Haar testified that it was a misuse of a chemical irritant: “One, they sprayed without any
real threat present. This person is not obstructing anything or causing any harm. But two, he’s
also spraying this poor gentleman in the face, which… can cause significant eye trauma and is
completely unnecessary here.”xlvi
Agent Maxa wrote in his report that Goodwill had approached Agent Donahue‘s vehicle and
spat at him.xlvii Once Goodwill had already “moved away from the window,” Agent Maxa
“immediately” sprayed Goodwill in the face.xlviii No other reason is otherwise given for the spray.
Goodwill acknowledged that spit may have left his mouth when he was yelling “no pardons,”
but denied trying to spit at anyone.xlix On Agent Donahue‘s BWC, a voice is heard yelling “no
pardons!“ before Agent Donahue states, ”that mother f***er spit on me!”l Goodwill’s vision was
impaired for days; a bystander took him into a nearby retirement home to flush his eyes before
paramedics arrived.li

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

If you see federal agents in Skokie, Evanston, or surrounding areas, text me on Signal: rottignon.01 Or send me an email: rottignon@dailynorthwestern.com Photo or video evidence appreciated!

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Anyone know if there's CTA data available on what percentage of riders go each direction at each station, preferably at each time in the day? So, e.g., it'd say that 35% go northbound, 65% go southbound at 11am. Anything like that?

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

NEW (not April Fools!): IL-09 candidates Bushra Amiwala and Hoan Huynh both committed to exit the primary if they had little to no chance of winning, me and my colleague Max Turetzky found. Amiwala, who repeated the promise at an October town hall, denied ever committing.

In a set of 15-minute Zoom interviews hosted by a climate activist group over the summer, Skokie school board member Bushra Amiwala and State Rep. Hoan Huynh (D-Chicago) both made a promise they did not keep.

A member of the Sunrise Movement’s Chicago chapter posed a question to the Illinois’ 9th Congressional District contenders: If polling indicated they had little to no chance of winning the primary by a month before primary Election Day, would they commit to dropping out of the race to consolidate progressive support?

Both said yes, Sunrise Chicago wrote in a March 18 statement to The Daily. Notes from those interviews reviewed by The Daily confirm its claims.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Happy trans day of visibility! 🏳️‍⚧️ Here at Northwestern, you should know that anti-trans clauses in the university's deal with the Trump administration remain in effect, though not (publicly) acted upon. I first reported on those potential effects — and their legalities — in December.

dailynorthwestern.com

Northwestern students worry federal deal will hurt trans community

Following Northwestern’s Nov. 28 agreement with the Trump administration to restore at least $790 million in federal funding, NU claimed that “no restrictions” had been placed on its transgender commu...

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Hoo, it's time to get back on everything after a brief break in New Orleans over the last few days (beautiful city).

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

DHS air movement over Chicagoland: N203Z, longtime CBP 'control' chopper, appeared at Waukegan Natl Arpt today and flew to the Detroit border station. N893N, with the traditional 'control' callsign "12345," traveled from Detroit to Waukegan. Appears to be a swapout.

N893N/"12345" flying from Detroit to Waukegan

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Did you know the Cook County Sheriff FOIA portal breaks when your password has symbols in it because of URL encoding shenanigans? Neither did I until I created an account and had to reset my password 6 times in the next 10 minutes :P

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

I'll use this as an opportunity to talk about these ridiculous February donors to two AIPAC-backed super PACs which played a large hand in the Illinois primaries. 🧵 You can follow along with this thread in my spreadsheet:

docs.google.com

AIPAC donors (Ryan Ottignon/The Daily Northwestern)

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

If you look through these FEC filings, be warned that the people who donated are perhaps the goofiest people ever. Why did this random AIPAC donor and recycling/scrapyard mogul's company get charged with fraud in 2014 LOL?

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

In case you haven't been tracking, it's FEC monthly report deadline day! That means we get to see the donors behind three AIPAC shell PACs: Elect Chicago Women, Affordable Chicago Now, and Chicago Progressive Partnership.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

'Cats for Kat seems to have did something for voters but didn't engage non-voters very well, it appears. (As @alexhairysun.bsky.social told me before the election, NU has historically been low-turnout.)

ALEX HARRISON: The problem with Northwestern in particular is that it is a very wealthy private school that largely draws in students from out of state. You know, I can tell you from my time at Northwestern not too long ago — you know, I’m from out of state and I was one of the only people that I knew at Northwestern who did register to vote in Illinois.

And so I think that there’s actually a pretty limited pool of votes that Kat could gain from Northwestern, unless she were to energize people enough to change their voter registration to Illinois, which is pretty easy. And as far as any race that you would want to do it for is concerned, this is a pretty good one.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Have tips about misconduct, civil rights violations, or injustices in Evanston, IL, at any of Northwestern's campuses, or in surrounding communities? Email me r.ottignon@dailynorthwestern.com, or contact me on Signal (rottignon.01). I will protect your anonymity.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Noting that I was ridiculously accurate in my pre-reporting from the morning of the election, to the point where I'm unclear if I will actually write up an analysis. Go listen to this podcast/read this transcript and look at the below map.

dailynorthwestern.com

Here’s what IL-09 reporters said they’ll be watching as polls close

The Daily Northwestern · The Open Seat: What journalists and analysts are watching across the 9th District on primary Election Day RYAN OTTIGNON: It’s Illinois’ primary Election Day Tuesday, and peo...

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

I talked to Cole about this possibility. Algonquin Township leans conservative, so Republicans vote less on Democratic ballots (esp. because of the gubernatorial primary). It's also suuuper young, one of the younger regions in the district. I'd guess it's home to a solid few progressive pockets.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Simmons and (to an extent) Amiwala both appear to have overperformed in Chicago; it's very difficult for me to see a way for Kat to take votes as she appears she needs to combat Biss' suburban win, and he will very likely take two more in Lake and McHenry.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Just noting that Lake and McHenry have literally 0 precincts reporting, though Lake has early vote/mail-in ballot data.

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Ryan Ottignon @ryaninevanston.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Suburban Cook shows Fine having made significant gains at 141/222, which indicates that Fine did something right (Northfield/Maine Twps, perhaps?)

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