Illinois
Pro-Israel Illinois Democrat Cancels Two Debates Against Challenger Who Backs Gaza Ceasefire
Rep. Bill Foster, an Illinois Democrat, agreed to three debates in his primary election race against Qasim Rashid, an insurgent progressive. Foster later dropped out of the other two debates, citing conflicting events. The first and only time Foster appeared alongside Rashid, the decadelong incumbent left halfway through the candidate forum, claiming he had another obligation.
Rashid said Foster is reluctant to defend his own record. Among other issues, the incumbent had criticized Israel’s war against Palestinians in Gaza but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire. Protesters were at the forum to express their displeasure with Foster and Rep. Sean Casten, a Democrat from a neighboring district, who also attended, for refusing to call for a ceasefire.
“Fundamentally, they realize that he wants them to vote for a record that even he isn’t willing to defend.”
“Voters are upset,” Rashid told The Intercept, said of Foster’s refusal to debate. “Fundamentally, they realize that he wants them to vote for a record that even he isn’t willing to defend.”
The March 19 Democratic primary in the suburbs and rural towns northwest of Chicago could become another congressional race where Israel plays an outsized role. Rashid is running on a broader progressive platform — hitting Foster for being out of touch with Democrats in the district and his acceptance of money from corporate PACs, fossil fuel companies, and the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries — but the ceasefire debate looms large.
Observers anticipate that Israel issues will attract outside money from lobbying groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that are preparing to spend record amounts to defend Democrats that toe their line. And Foster had already amassed support from pro-Israel donors: One of his top contributors this cycle is the private equality group Apollo Global Management, whose CEO Marc Rowan helped orchestrate the ousting of the president and board chair at the University of Pennsylvania over Israel’s war on Gaza. (Foster’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.)
Pro-Israel groups have worked to oust other Democrats in Illinois who opposed unconditional U.S. military support for Israel, including Rep. Delia Ramirez and former Rep. Marie Newman. AIPAC joined conservative Democrats to defeat Newman’s 2018 congressional campaign. Newman won election in 2020 but become a target of pro-Israel groups again last cycle and lost her reelection campaign.
Newman, who is supporting Rashid’s campaign, told The Intercept that the threat of spending from groups like AIPAC and its ally, Democratic Majority for Israel, is scaring incumbents into submission and deepening schisms within the Democratic Party.
“In the last 3 months I’ve talked to several MOCs” — members of Congress — “who live in absolute fear of AIPAC and DMFI working against them or primarying them,” Newman said by text. “More than anything else I’m deeply concerned about how AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) and their 20 affiliate PACs are putting a huge wedge in the Democratic Party, particularly in the House.”
AIPAC Waiting in the Wings
For decades, AIPAC played an influential role in Middle Eastern policy by sending its legions to lobby members of Congress in their offices and only organizing campaign donations informally among members. In recent years, however, the group transformed its spending on congressional elections with the launch of a new super PAC in the last election cycle.
The direct influence on money in politics has exacerbated partisan rifts that have emerged around Israel and AIPAC. Democratic voters, for their part, are shifting away from AIPAC’s uncompromising positions on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict — especially as a majority of Americans came to support the ceasefire that AIPAC opposes.
Amid the current flare-up of violence, even some more centrist Democrats have found themselves unable to stay in lockstep with AIPAC, which frowns on virtually all criticism of Israel. In Illinois’s 11th Congressional District, for instance, Rashid acknowledged that Foster has also been a vocal critic of Israel. With the death toll in Gaza mounting, Foster has expressed concern about Benjamin Netanyahu’s military strategy and said there was a “special place in hell” for the prime minister, but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
Foster’s record, Rashid said, is more notable for the things he has not done. He voted for two measures expressing support for Israel, but neither of them mentioned Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. Foster is not a co-sponsor of the ceasefire resolution introduced in October nor a resolution introduced by another Illinois Democrat, Ramirez, that honored a 6-year-old boy, Wadee Alfayoumi, who was killed in Plainfield in an alleged hate crime during the first week of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Foster criticizes Israel’s actions, Rashid said, but won’t take the steps necessary to end the bloodshed in Gaza — namely supporting a ceasefire.
“The big difference between he and I is not on a question of whether international law is being violated. We both agree with that,” Rashid said. “The difference is that I have the integrity to say it and demand action.”
Foster has long had support from J Street, a pro-Israel advocacy group that positions itself as a liberal alternative to AIPAC. Until this week, J Street had resisted pressure, both internal and external, to call for a ceasefire, even threatening to pull endorsements from members who did so. The group announced support for a “negotiated stop” to violence in Gaza on Monday.
J Street said in a statement to The Intercept that it’s proud to endorse Foster again this year. Foster has “been a champion for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy values on Capitol Hill since his election in 2008,” J Street spokesperson Tali DeGroot told The Intercept, pointing to his support for the now-defunct 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was supported by J Street but opposed by AIPAC, the Israeli government, and a clutch of hawkish Democrats.
“We’ve seen the polling. Eighty percent of Democrats want a ceasefire.”
Rashid’s campaign has been careful to tread lightly on the Israel question while pushing unequivocally for a ceasefire. His approach has been to focus on ending the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and tap into majority support for a ceasefire among Democratic voters. “We’ve seen the polling. Eighty percent of Democrats want a ceasefire,” Rashid said. “Even a majority of Republicans and Independents want a ceasefire. For us, this is basic integrity.”
Foster has been in office for a decade and faced few challengers in recent years. Foster’s last opponent in the 2020 Democratic primary, Rachel Ventura, received 41 percent of the vote.
Rashid works at a Chicago law firm and grew up in the area, which he recently returned to. In 2020, he ran as the Democratic candidate in the general election for Virginia’s 1st Congressional District and lost to Republican Rep. Robert Wittman.
Rashid raised $305,000 in the third quarter of 2023 — $10,000 more than Foster — and had $114,000 cash on hand. Foster has $1.3 million cash on hand and $1 million in debts, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. Rashid said his campaign had received more than 10,000 individual contributions. In the Democratic primary, a large cash intervention by AIPAC or one of its allies could play a major part.
Rashid, for his part, said he was ready for the challenges: “I have immense confidence in voters that they’re sick and tired of the mudslinging and the negativity and these outside lobbyist organizations meddling in our races.”
Illinois
Brad Underwood finally mastered Illinois’ winning formula
Happy Friday, Illinois Land!
Instead of doing the usual column with post-Thanksgiving word puns involving side dishes and jokes about turkeys, I will use my time to point out a few things that I now know about college basketball in 2025, and the place that Illinois occupies inside of that stratosphere.
I will also discuss where Illinois fits into the landscape of the Big Ten. I think you’ll like how I see that unfolding. My pending Big Ten Analysis will highlight the lack of good depth in the conference.
It is not exactly a banner year for the Big Ten in men’s college basketball. To say the least.
Despite the fact that the Big Ten has dropped in the national landscape, and despite the fact that Illinois lost to a True Elite in 2025 against Alabama in Birmingham by double digits, it’s great beyond words to have a head basketball coach leading your program playing basketball the way it needs to be played at this present date.
Brad Underwood has turned Illinois into a National Program. Do not confuse this with being a national powerhouse.
As I see it, here are the five levels of Illinois basketball. National Championship Contender can replace Blue Blood for Illinois. There was no way for me to get in a shot at Indiana and its fans unless I constituted it this way.
For reference: Indiana is now No. 61 in KenPom (76 in OER, and 51 in DER). I was told that they are the conference favorite. I was also told Illinois cannot play defense. More on this in a bit.
- Conference Bottomfeeder (Year 1-2): 26-39 in his first two seasons, 11-27 in the Big Ten. I would call this 1990s Era coaching. Up the line, full court pressure, etc.
- Respected NCAA Tournament Team (Year 3+): This will be five-straight non-bubble NCAATs for Underwood, six if you count the COVID-19 cancellation of 2020.
- Big Ten Power (Year 3+): In turn, this makes you a Final Four contender on semi-annual basis, at a minimum. I don’t mean make a Final Four, but be a Top Four seed. No one believes that NC State had a better season than Illinois last year.
- National (and International) Program (Year 4+): Playing games on CBS on Thanksgiving by request, re-hiring arguably the country’s top assistant coach (Orlando Antigua), signing two potential lottery picks from two countries outside the United States. I could go on, but I won’t. You get it.
- Blue Blood (Never): This outdated term continues to keep Indiana fans from jumping off the nearest bridge for the last three-plus decades. Illinois will never be here. UCONN can’t get into the club with six National Championships since 1999.
Having said that, I’m going to say this.
John Calipari is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He has taken three different programs to the Final Four: Massachusetts, Memphis and Kentucky. He is an all-time great coach with a dazzling record (814-260, for a .758 winning percentage).
Calipari won an NCAA Tournament and cut down the nets in 2012, his third year in Lexington leading the Cats. He was outstanding at Kentucky (410-123), winning games at a .769 clip during his 15-year tenure.
He inexplicably missed the NCAA Tournament twice, going just 9-16 in 2021. His last three years, Kentucky lost 30 games and twice in the NCAAT to vastly inferior teams against No. 15 St. Peter’s and last year against No. 14 Oakland.
Please read the words I type. Do not create a false narrative around comparing Calipari and Underwood, in totality.
Underwood certainly has not had the career of Calipari — it’s not close — nor will he likely end up in the Hall of Fame anywhere outside of Champaign. Not impossible, but not likely.
Looking to the future, it’s clear which coach of the pair from the Thanksgiving matchup in Kansas City has the brighter future. This isn’t close, either.
While Underwood’s Illini blitzed Arkansas with a barrage of threes, high ball screens and floor spacing for play makers, Calipari and Kentu…Arkansas…had a plan “to attack the rim all game,” according to Calipari post-game.
Arkansas ATTEMPTED 17 threes. Illinois MADE 15. Illinois was +30 in in this category.
Frees (points at the free throw line) and threes (points behind the arc) is something I look at during every halftime, and after every game.
Illinois was +29 in this category. BU’s squad scored 90 points on the elite Arkansas defense, which was ranked No. 8 in KenPom DER prior to the contest.
The Illini had 60 of their 90 points (67.7%) of their points on Frees and Threes. Check on this stat every game that Underwood and Illinois play the entirety of the season. It will likely tell the story.
Factor in 2P% defense and you can get the winner of every game Illinois plays this year. The defensive strategy of Illinois is to defend the bucket and the arc. Despite giving a bucket full to Alabama in the lone loss (100-87), Illinois is currently No. 21 in DER.
Let’s take a look at pace of play, and how it affects efficiency, from a large scale perspective. What Illinois is doing is hard to copy.
For that matter, the Illinois offense is now No. 18 in OER (Offensive Efficiency Rating). Of the top 21 in DER on KenPom, Illinois has the FASTEST tempo, at No. 36.
In summary, Illinois plays in the Top 10% in pace of play and ranks even better in efficiency at both ends. It’s not only extremely difficult to do, but largely unnecessary.
When you play fast and efficient on offense, defense lessens in importance in direct correlation with how more efficient your offense can be. In short, play fast and good on offense and you outscore your opponent and win based on simple math.
Here are the avearages for defensive and offensive efficiency. The lower the number, the faster the pace.
Top 5 DERs in terms of pace average: 260.6
Top 5 OERs in terms of pace average: 66.8
Illinois pace of play: 36 (Top 21 in both DER and OER)
I know it’s a lot of numbers. I get it. Underwood has embraced the numbers game and turned Illinois from a Big Ten Bottomfeeder to a National Program.
You may not like it, but you’re gonna learn to love it.
Please take The Scientific Poll.
Poll
What is the win ceiling for Illinois men’s basketball in 2024-25?
This is threes and frees. This is creating space. This is the winning formula.
This is Illinois Basketball.
Illinois
Kasparas Jakucionis scores a season-best 23 points as Illinois tops No. 19 Arkansas
KANSAS CITY (AP) — Freshman Kasparas Jakucionis scored a season-high 23 points, Tomislav Ivisic had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Illinois beat No. 19 Arkansas 90-77 on Thursday in the Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase.
Jakucionis hit two free throws to give Illinois a double-digit lead with 3:49 remaining in the game. Arkansas had a turnover and a missed jumper on its next two possessions and Jakucionis hit an open 3-pointer to make it 85-71 at 2:42.
Kylan Boswell added 18 points for Illinois (6-1). Head coach Brad Underwood broke a tie with J. Craig Ruby (1922-36) for fifth place in program history with 149 wins.
Adou Thiero went 12 of 21 from the line and scored 26 points for Arkansas (5-2). Zvonimir Ivisic had 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Takeaways
Tomislav Ivisic won the battle against his twin brother, Zvonimir. Along with his double-double, Tomislav Ivisic made 6 of 9 3-pointers and blocked three shots. The 7-foot-1 center, playing his first college season, had 13 points and seven rebounds in the first half.
Key moment
Illinois stated the game on a 21-6 run and maintained at least a nine-point lead the rest of the way. Ben Humrichous made the Illini’s fifth 3-pointer with 12:36 left in the first half while Arkansas was 3 of 9 from the field.
Key stat
Illinois made 55% of its shots in the first half, including 9 of 16 from 3-point range, while Arkansas was 0 for 7 from long distance and shot 44% overall. The Illini finished 15 of 31 from distance. Arkansas shot 5 of 17 beyond the arc.
Up next
Arkansas plays at Miami in the second SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday. Illinois plays at Northwestern on Dec. 6 to begin Big Ten play.
Illinois
Park Ridge, Illinois house left uninhabitable after fire
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