Daniel Biss facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Daniel Biss
Biss in 2018
22nd Mayor of Evanston
Incumbent
Assumed office May 10, 2021
Preceded by	Steve Hagerty
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 9th district
In office January 8, 2013 – January 6, 2019
Preceded by	Jeffrey Schoenberg
Succeeded by	Laura Fine
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 17th district
In office January 12, 2011 – January 8, 2013
Preceded by	Elizabeth Coulson
Succeeded by	Laura Fine
Personal details
Born	Daniel Kálmán Biss (1977-08-27) August 27, 1977 (age 47) Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Karin Steinbrueck
Children	2
Relatives	Miriam Fried (mother) Jonathan Biss (brother) Raya Garbousova (grandmother)
Education	Harvard University (BA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA, PhD)
Signature
Scientific career
Fields	Algebraic topology
Institutions	University of Chicago
Thesis	The Homotopy Type of the Matroid Grassmannian (2002)
Doctoral advisor	Michael Hopkins

Daniel Kálmán Biss (born August 27, 1977) is an American mathematician and politician. He is currently the mayor of Evanston, Illinois. Before becoming mayor, he was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate.

Before he entered politics, Biss was a math professor at the University of Chicago. He taught there from 2002 to 2008.

Biss is a member of the Democratic Party. He first ran for the Illinois House of Representatives in 2008 but did not win. He ran again in 2010 and won, serving from 2011 to 2013. In 2012, he was elected to the Illinois Senate and served until 2019.

In 2018, Biss ran for Governor of Illinois but did not win the Democratic party's nomination. He was elected mayor of Evanston in 2021. In 2025, he announced he was running for a seat in the United States House of Representatives.

Early Life and Education

Daniel Biss was born into a Jewish family of talented musicians. His mother, Miriam Fried, and father, Paul Biss, are violinists. His brother, Jonathan Biss, is a famous pianist. His grandmother, Raya Garbousova, was a well-known cellist from Russia.

Biss went to high school in Bloomington, Indiana. He was very good at science and was a finalist in a national science competition in 1995.

He studied mathematics at Harvard University and graduated with high honors in 1998. He then earned his master's degree and Ph.D. in math from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2002.

Academic and Political Career

Math Professor

Before becoming a full-time politician, Biss was an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago from 2002 to 2008.

During his time as a mathematician, some of his published research papers were found to have serious mistakes. In 2007, another mathematician found a "serious flaw" in two of Biss's papers. Biss thanked the mathematician for finding the error and published corrections.

Another paper he wrote with a co-author also had a "fatal error." In 2017, a different paper was officially retracted, or pulled, by the journal that published it. The journal said the paper's ideas were unclear and most of the results were false. The journal editors made it clear that the mistakes were not intentional.

When these errors were reported in the news during his campaign for governor, his team said it was just "silly opposition research" brought up by his political opponents.

Illinois State Politician

Biss at the Bud Billiken Parade in 2015

In 2008, Biss ran for a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives but lost. He then worked as a policy adviser for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. In 2010, he ran for the same seat again and won.

In 2012, Biss was elected to the Illinois Senate. His district included several suburbs north of Chicago, such as Evanston, Skokie, and Wilmette.

As a state senator, Biss gave a speech supporting a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois, which later became law. He also worked on a bill to fix problems with the state's pension system, which provides retirement money for government workers. However, the Illinois Supreme Court said the law was unconstitutional. Biss later said he made a mistake in supporting the bill.

Running for Governor

Biss's 2018 campaign logo for governor.

Biss speaking at an event during his campaign for governor.

In 2017, Biss announced he was running for governor of Illinois. He joined a field of other Democrats who wanted to challenge the Republican governor, Bruce Rauner.

Biss briefly chose a running mate, but they had a disagreement over a political issue, so he picked a new one: State Representative Litesa Wallace.

He was supported by many politicians, professors, and groups like National Nurses United and Our Revolution, an organization connected to Senator Bernie Sanders.

On March 20, 2018, Biss lost the Democratic primary election to J. B. Pritzker, who went on to become governor.

Mayor of Evanston

Biss's 2021 mayoral campaign logo

After leaving the state senate, Biss led a nonprofit group called Rust Belt Rising, which helps train Democratic candidates. In 2020, he announced he was running for mayor of Evanston.

Biss won the election in February 2021 with a large majority of the vote. He was re-elected in 2025.

As mayor, Biss has focused on several key issues:

• Housing: He wants to increase the amount of housing in Evanston to make it more affordable. He has supported plans to allow more apartments to be built in the city.
• Environment: He passed a "Healthy Buildings Ordinance" to help reduce carbon emissions from buildings.
• Campaign Finance Reform: Biss supported a new city law that changes how elections are paid for. The law provides city money to match small donations from regular people. This helps candidates who don't have large, wealthy donors.

2026 Congressional Campaign

In May 2025, Biss announced he was running for the United States House of Representatives. He is seeking to represent Illinois's 9th congressional district. The current representative, Jan Schakowsky, is retiring. Biss is running in the Democratic primary against other candidates, including Laura Fine, who took his place in the state senate.

Policy Positions

Biss speaking at a protest in 2018

• Election Reform: Biss supports making it easier for people to vote. He has supported automatic voter registration and ranked-choice voting, a system where voters rank candidates in order of preference.
• Healthcare: Biss supports universal health care, meaning everyone should have health insurance. He would like to see a state-level single-payer healthcare system.
• Gun Policy: In 2010, the NRA Political Victory Fund, a group that opposes most gun control laws, gave Biss a low rating of 7%.
• Labor Unions: Biss is a strong supporter of labor unions, which are organizations that protect workers' rights.

Electoral History

Illinois House of Representatives

2008

2010

Illinois Senate

2012

2014

Illinois Governor

2018 Illinois Democratic primary results for governor by county

Map legend

     Pritzker—70–80%
     Pritzker—60–70%
     Pritzker—50–60%
     Pritzker—40–50%
     Pritzker—30–40%
     Biss—40–50%
     Kennedy—30–40%
     Kennedy—40–50%

Evanston Mayor