Federal immigration enforcement among hot topics at Illinois U.S. Senate candidate debate

Funding for federal immigration enforcement was one of the first topics the Democratic frontrunners for U.S. Senate in Illinois discussed at a debate Monday night.

U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly (D-Illinois) and Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton took part in the debate, hosted by WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics, and UChicago's International House.

Sasha Ann Simons, host of WBEZ's "In the Loop," moderated the debate, along with Jennifer Steinhauer of UChicago's Institute of Politics and Tina Sfondeles of the Sun-Times.

The candidates are running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois).

All three candidates called for dismantling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after federal agents shot and killed Renee Good earlier this month, and Alex Pretti this past weekend, in Minneapolis.

"I believe we have to abolish Trump's ICE. In light of what happened with Alex Pretti and Renee Good, what we're seeing now cannot continue," Krishnamoorthi said. "So these are the legislative reports that need to happen — one, not a single dollar more for ICE or [the Department of Homeland Security]. That's the way I voted last week, and that's the way the Senate would vote."

"We need to dismantle ICE," said Kelly. "We need to impeach (DHS Secretary) Kristi Noem, and we need to build an agency people can trust."

Meanwhile, Stratton slammed Krishnamoorthi for taking campaign donations from an ICE contractor.

"He's accepted funding for ICE contractors. That is not the example of somebody who's going to stand up to Donald Trump and fight for our communities," Stratton said. "I want to abolish ICE, because this agency can't be reformed."

Krishnamoorthi said he donated the money to migrant rights groups.

Kelly also criticized Stratton for taking money from a political action group linked to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Stratton responded, saying she was the only candidate onstage who had not accepted corporate PAC donations.

The candidates were also asked whether they would support a mandatory retirement age for federal government leaders, as former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed recently.

"I would include in it, across all three branches of government, 75 years, you're out. You're 75 years old? Done," Emanuel said last week. "And that would be in the legislative branch, it would be in the executive branch — including the cabinet. It would be also in the Supreme Court and all the federal courts. Up and out. And we can no longer look like a poor imitation of the Politburo."

Krishnamoorthi said he would support term limits, along with longer terms, for members of Congress, along with "maybe age constraints."

"I would consider it. I think we should have term limits for Congress in general. I think each term should be longer," he said. "It's right now two years, so basically, when you have your business card that says, you know, 'member of Congress,' it might as well say, 'candidate for Congress,' because unfortunately, you have to be campaigning a lot."

But Krishnamoorthi said Congress currently needs "a lot of other reforms as well."

Kelly said federal leaders should be evaluated for what they're accomplishing, not their age.

"You know, it's interesting about that, when people talk about age, because we work with a lot of people — Nancy Pelosi, people love; Bernie Sanders, people love; Jim Clyburn, people love," she said. "So I would like to see people looked at on the work they do, not the age they are."

Kelly did, however, call for term limits for the Supreme Court.

Stratton also said the focus should be on what national leaders are accomplishing.

"The most important thing about becoming the next United States senator is your being able to trust that we're going to get things done," she said. "It's not about the age per se. It is about, what do you do when you get there? Are you getting things done for the people that you represent?"

Other topics about which the candidates were asked about topics such as a wealth tax, worries about job security in the face of the advances in AI, and whether they support any of President Trump's current or proposed policies.