Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launched a bid for Chicago mayor Sunday, joining the already large field of candidates eager to deny Mayor Brandon Johnson the second term he has yet to announce he will seek.
Giannoulias, 50, who is running for a second term as secretary of state in November, will simultaneously enter the contest to be Chicago’s 58th mayor.
In a video posted early Sunday morning, Giannoulias said he was running for mayor because Chicagoans “need to demand better from City Hall.”
Giannoulias entered the race buoyed by high name recognition, support from trade unions and a towering lead in campaign cash. He announced his campaign at a rally inside the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134 headquarters in Bronzeville, joined by a cadre of supporters from the City Council, trade unions and the business community. […]
As he spoke to the hundreds-strong crowd that included six aldermen, Giannoulias promised to strike an optimistic tone, arguing the city’s best days remain ahead. And he aired a series of undetailed progressive policy promises, an apparent attempt to block Johnson from casting him as too cozy with business.
It also took only four minutes for Giannoulias to nod to his connection to Obama during his speech, a tie further asserted in pictures flashed to the crowd before the speech began.
Giannoulias called for citywide universal pre-K, an unspecified raised minimum wage and even a key tenant of Johnson’s own platform: higher taxes on the rich — though changes to the state’s flat income tax would require a constitutional amendment. He also carefully avoided criticizing the city’s wealthy, calling them an “inspiration to many people,” a rhetorical choice designed to separate him from Johnson. […]
Giannoulias avoided naming Johnson outright on Sunday but said he would emphasize “competence” when asked how his leadership would differ from the current one on the fifth floor of City Hall. He said the next mayor of Chicago should be open to meeting with the White House — and flatly said “No” when asked if it’s hypocritical for him to run for two offices at the same time.
Despite saying he’ll “lead by raising the minimum wage,” during his speech, Giannoulias said he was not ready to roll out a proposal. Currently set at $17.05, Chicago’s minimum wage rises annually to keep pace with inflation.
Proposing a one-time jump or a quicker escalator could appeal to Chicago voters but put the business community supporting his campaign on edge.
The influential Service Employees International Union — which helped elect Johnson but has since broken with the mayor and has yet to endorse a candidate — has pushed candidates in the past to support a $25 minimum wage.
Johnson has yet to commit to running for a second term but is expected to join the race in the coming weeks. He plans to paint Giannoulias and the rest of the field as beholden to corporate interests.
Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s announcement, Giannoulias said he’s supportive of bringing back the controversial gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter, which Johnson canceled in 2024. He also said he wants to hire 1,000 new Chicago police officers, to be paid for possibly by reigning in police overtime or civilianizing certain desk jobs — an idea mayoral candidates have pushed for year.
Effective leadership requires “forming coalitions and working with people,” and Johnson is “failing at this,” Giannoulias said.
“Jousting with the governor. Making demands at the end of session rather than working earlier to develop policy and build support… His attempt to raise property taxes was rejected by the City Council 50-to-0 and the City Council passed a budget 29-to-19 when he failed to back off the job-killing corporate head tax,” Giannoulias said. […]
Giannoulias said a more responsible school budget must confront the financial elephant in the room — 145 schools with more empty seats than students.
If elected mayor, he’s vowing to tackle that problem, but with a community- and parent-driven process “paired with real investment in students and staff… not closures imposed from downtown with little notice.”
* More…
* NYT | Chicago’s Mayoral Race Is Taking Shape. But What About the Incumbent?: Others are far less convinced that Mr. Johnson is going to get in. And however the field shakes out, Chicagoans have noted, perceived front-runner status at this stage in the race might mean little come next year. After all, the city’s last two mayoral elections were won by candidates who presented themselves as political outsiders and had not been favored to win. “The truth about Chicago politics,” said Joanna Klonsky, a longtime political strategist in the city, “is that conventional wisdom is usually useless. Anything can happen.”
* NBC Chicago | Alexi Giannoulias will run for Chicago mayor in 2027: Candidates began circulating nominating petitions last week for the mayoral race, and Giannoulias is far from alone in his quest to become mayor. Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is also running, as is Congressman Mike Quigley, who like Giannoulias is also running for reelection in November before pivoting to the mayoral race. Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas is also running, as are former Chicago Housing Authority CEO Matt Brewer, businessmen Liam Stanton and John Kelly, and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. […] Petitions for mayor must be filed by the end of October, with the election slated for Feb. 23, 2027. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote in that election, a runoff between the top two candidates would take place in April.
* Politico | Giannoulias makes it official: The launch also highlighted the political team helping shape the campaign. Alongside longtime adviser and Campaign Manager are political adviser Larry Luster, who is relocating from Springfield to help out, advertising consultant Eric Adelstein, political adviser Endy Zemenides, the New Chicago Consulting fundraising team of Tom Bowen, Christina Nowinski Wurst and Tracy Mayfield, and ARC Strategies co-founder Jordan Abudayyeh, who previously served as spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker.
* ABC Chicago | Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launches Chicago mayoral bid: He pointed to upgrades made during his tenure as secretary of state, including improvements to drivers license facilities. Giannoulias also defended running for reelection in November while simultaneously seeking the mayor’s office. “Running for mayor is like interviewing for a job, a really hard job,” he said. “Just like anything else, when you’re running for a job, you don’t quit the one you’re in while you’re interviewing for that one.”
* WGN | Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announces campaign to be next Mayor of Chicago: As WGN Political Editor Tahman Bradley previously reported, Giannoulias dropped two new campaign commercials in mid-July and ended his last campaign filing period with close to $20 million in the bank, which gives him significant political capital to become a major player in the race to become Chicago’s next mayor. Giannoulias’ campaign will focus on making city government more operationally functional while aiming to address the affordability crisis, improving public safety, growing the economy, addressing the city’s fiscal challenges responsibly, and rebuilding trust between residents and City Hall.
It is a huge pet peeve of mine when pols run for another office without finishing the one they have. These pols literally beg us to vote for them for a term of office, and to cut and run when something better comes along is hugely offensive.
And this case is the absolute worst example of that as Alexi hasn’t even been elected to SOS again and he’s already admitting he has no plans to finish that term.
These offices are supposed to be for the voters, not the pols.
Ugh - he hasn’t even gotten one office reelected and he’s gunning for another one. I wish he’d have done the right thing and stepped aside in the SOS race before doing this.
Isn’t it just shocking that in a democracy where voters actually think about the political resume of their candidates, that sometimes a pol is obliged to run for a higher office while holding a lower one? Well, I’ve never!
Huge war chest may crowd out all the candidates but one , BJ. CTU backing, if he sneaks in as a number 2 candidate all bets are off. This election makes me nervous.
Cycle after cycle the household names who position themselves as the mayoral frontrunner have been cut down to size. But this guy has such tremendous force-of-personality that he will succeed where Garcia and Preckwinkle failed? Sorry. Naw.
So 1,000 more cops who are magically not going to cost any more money, plus we’re gonna right size CPS but somehow not in a way that will generate friction.
Sounds like Alexi’s got a pocket full of magic beans!
The video itself is very uninspiring and boring. It’s a long way till February, being the frontrunner now is neat and all, but he’s going to have to show a lot more than that.
I like Alexi, for the record and would certainly pick him over Brandon.
- It's always Sunny in Illinois - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 11:02 am:
Thinking Obama gave him some fashion tips on wearing his Dad Jeans for the launch video.
A-. A good tone. Well produced. I think it frames his campaign, why he is running, and does a good job of framing why he’s better than any potential opponent. It asks and answers the question that I see so often here, and even I have. This clearly shows they understand the segment of the electorate they are hoping to sway Alexi’s way.
===like a knock-off version of Gavin Newsom===
Alexi is 50. He was elected treasurer 20 years ago. Don’t think about it too hard or you’ll realize how long ago it was Obama won the Democratic primary.
Alexi, beat Madigan’s guy. I still think that means something.
Given how long Alexi has been on our stage I don’t think it’s fair to call him a ‘knock off’ Newsom. You want to describe him as a knock off for a person you never heard about until, maybe, 2020, because of COVID-19 coverage.
I don’t know. maybe I’d be for Alexi, maybe not. Maybe I want to judge by the people around them. there’s some on his staff list that give me pause but I’ve missed who is staffing others announced so far so I’ve not done a big comparison
I have literally never seen any pro-Shotspotter voice explain why Shotspotter was worth the money. I’ve never seen any comparative analysis that suggests it is a good investment of limited tax dollars.
I think the Mayoral Race is heating up with Alexi getting into the race. Sorry to use a wrestling term but it’s a battle royale. I’m sure he’ll fare strongly the answer is can he win. I’d bet if anyone could win the race outright (no runoff) it’s him.
Commit to the facial hair or don’t, the in-between stubble is distracting, at least for me. If he does grow it- will it be a Bork beard or gopher butt? (I’ve been reminiscing about Letterman’s top ten lists)
@ Regular Democrat
I heard an interview with Alexi and I though he sounds exactly like Rahm, no Obama speech pattern mimicking this time, which surprised me, but all of his talking points were just like Rahm. Throwing out numbers no one will check and the way he framed responses.
- Garfield Ridge Guy - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:14 pm:
Nobody should want to be the mayor of Chicago, due to its extremely low pay, high likelihood of low approval ratings and tarnishing one’s personal life, and low likelihood of serious injury. Therefore we should be extremely skeptical of the motives of anyone who desires to be the mayor, unless they can provide specific delineated reasons why they must be the mayor. No candidate has done this so far, and therefore the only ethical choice is to write in a candidate who does not desire to be the mayor (as that candidate will be far more likely to be worthy of being mayor). We’ll see who best shows their worthiness by never announcing an interest in being mayor.
First, how much are you going to change the standard to get 1,000 more cops.
Also why would anyone want to be mayor. Seriously, it seems like a terrible job, you can be SoS for a while and then run for Governor. Being mayor at this point just seems like punishment.
===Being mayor at this point just seems like punishment===
I think people need to get over this belief.
- Remember the Alamo II - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:46 pm:
=== Also why would anyone want to be mayor. ===
This is one of the most ridiculous things that I frequently hear. So nobody should run for mayor because people think it is a terrible job? How is the City’s executive branch supposed to be governed then? It just doesn’t make sense to me.
I’m no AG fan but even I wouldn’t insult him like that.=
Meh, I am not a Chicago resident but I always thought Rahm did a decent job as mayor (Laquon McDonald shooting/video notwithstanding). He was a far far better mayor than the two that followed.
- Senator Clay Davis - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 1:17 pm:
Alexi has always seemed like the Lenny Kravitz of politicians. He looks and sounds perfect, very photogenic, there’s just nothing new or interesting happening there
@Hank sauer - Well his family ran a bank into the ground which cost taxpayers $100mm
Alexi was the senior loan officer for Broadway Bank. He was responsible for credit quality. He helped crash the bank. It wasn’t just his family. He was directly involved.
I’m a bit surprised by so many comments about Alexi and him not being impressive. I’ve always liked him and I guess my thinking is the same I had for Obama, I don’t see anything unlikable about him. @Suspect, I do not know about your mob comment, but yeah, I think I’d watch him talk about anything with his shirt off.
I recently accompanied a geriatric millennial median voter type person to an SoS facility and they joked around about the office decor and in doing so called him “Giuliani” a few times
It made me wonder if this is happening for others, heh
B+ for the ad. Started off strong, then made the gratuitious reference to playing basketball with Obama (let me know when he endorses you, AG, not that he spent some time with you back in the day). Then the ad slipped into what seems to be his campaign slogan of “demand.” Um, mayors do. Who are you demanding from if you are mayor? But the ad was well produced.
I am not an AG fan. I think his history of fiscal malfeasance should have sidelined him from any government office, including SOS (although I recently had a very positive experience getting my Real ID). I’m not voting for him in the first round, but if it goes to a second, I wouldn’t rule it out I guess. Just meh about him.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 9:19 am:
As I’ve said before, I’ll never understand the appeal of Giannoulias as a candidate.
- Just Me 2 - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 9:32 am:
It is a huge pet peeve of mine when pols run for another office without finishing the one they have. These pols literally beg us to vote for them for a term of office, and to cut and run when something better comes along is hugely offensive.
And this case is the absolute worst example of that as Alexi hasn’t even been elected to SOS again and he’s already admitting he has no plans to finish that term.
These offices are supposed to be for the voters, not the pols.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 9:36 am:
Yeah, Friendly Bob, and to get his complete name on them, his campaign buttons will have to be as big as a dinner plate.
- Proud Papa Bear - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 10:04 am:
Ugh - he hasn’t even gotten one office reelected and he’s gunning for another one. I wish he’d have done the right thing and stepped aside in the SOS race before doing this.
- Team Sleep - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 10:08 am:
He did the same thing in 2009-2010. History repeats itself. Not surprising.
- Priscilla Polity - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 10:22 am:
Isn’t it just shocking that in a democracy where voters actually think about the political resume of their candidates, that sometimes a pol is obliged to run for a higher office while holding a lower one? Well, I’ve never!
- 44 - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 10:24 am:
Huge war chest may crowd out all the candidates but one , BJ. CTU backing, if he sneaks in as a number 2 candidate all bets are off. This election makes me nervous.
- Sorry. Naw. - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 10:27 am:
Cycle after cycle the household names who position themselves as the mayoral frontrunner have been cut down to size. But this guy has such tremendous force-of-personality that he will succeed where Garcia and Preckwinkle failed? Sorry. Naw.
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 10:32 am:
So 1,000 more cops who are magically not going to cost any more money, plus we’re gonna right size CPS but somehow not in a way that will generate friction.
Sounds like Alexi’s got a pocket full of magic beans!
- Interested observer - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 10:49 am:
Like Friendly Bob Adams, I’ve never understood the appeal of Giannoulias. But he now seems like a knock-off version of Gavin Newsom.
- Alton Sinkhole - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 10:57 am:
The video itself is very uninspiring and boring. It’s a long way till February, being the frontrunner now is neat and all, but he’s going to have to show a lot more than that.
I like Alexi, for the record and would certainly pick him over Brandon.
- It's always Sunny in Illinois - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 11:02 am:
Thinking Obama gave him some fashion tips on wearing his Dad Jeans for the launch video.
- Candy Dogood - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 11:18 am:
===Rating?===
A-. A good tone. Well produced. I think it frames his campaign, why he is running, and does a good job of framing why he’s better than any potential opponent. It asks and answers the question that I see so often here, and even I have. This clearly shows they understand the segment of the electorate they are hoping to sway Alexi’s way.
===like a knock-off version of Gavin Newsom===
Alexi is 50. He was elected treasurer 20 years ago. Don’t think about it too hard or you’ll realize how long ago it was Obama won the Democratic primary.
Alexi, beat Madigan’s guy. I still think that means something.
Given how long Alexi has been on our stage I don’t think it’s fair to call him a ‘knock off’ Newsom. You want to describe him as a knock off for a person you never heard about until, maybe, 2020, because of COVID-19 coverage.
- Regular democrat - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 11:24 am:
Rahm is back but he is taller younger and has changed his name. He is now greek orthodox too. But he has not changed his positions on anything.
- Amalia - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 11:36 am:
I don’t know. maybe I’d be for Alexi, maybe not. Maybe I want to judge by the people around them. there’s some on his staff list that give me pause but I’ve missed who is staffing others announced so far so I’ve not done a big comparison
- Homebody - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 11:39 am:
I have literally never seen any pro-Shotspotter voice explain why Shotspotter was worth the money. I’ve never seen any comparative analysis that suggests it is a good investment of limited tax dollars.
- Levois - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 11:42 am:
I think the Mayoral Race is heating up with Alexi getting into the race. Sorry to use a wrestling term but it’s a battle royale. I’m sure he’ll fare strongly the answer is can he win. I’d bet if anyone could win the race outright (no runoff) it’s him.
- Loyal Virus - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 11:42 am:
Commit to the facial hair or don’t, the in-between stubble is distracting, at least for me. If he does grow it- will it be a Bork beard or gopher butt? (I’ve been reminiscing about Letterman’s top ten lists)
- Excitable Boy - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 11:51 am:
- Rahm is back -
I’m no AG fan but even I wouldn’t insult him like that.
I had high hopes for Johnson that were dashed nearly immediately. I have no hope this time around.
- Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 11:55 am:
Old enough to remember when the ILGOP would have been all over a candidate running for two gigs at once.
Then again, those cats were wildly competent.
Darren Bailey wouldn’t be allowed to park cars at an old school ILGOP pow wow.
- Oklahoma - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:01 pm:
I think Alexi is a very strong candidate and a clear frontrunner.
That being said, if he wants to avoid the Rahm comparisons, maybe he shouldn’t be hiring only Rahm retreads.
They didn’t want to do the job the first time around. What makes them want to do it now.
- BigLou - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:07 pm:
@ Regular Democrat
I heard an interview with Alexi and I though he sounds exactly like Rahm, no Obama speech pattern mimicking this time, which surprised me, but all of his talking points were just like Rahm. Throwing out numbers no one will check and the way he framed responses.
- Garfield Ridge Guy - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:14 pm:
Nobody should want to be the mayor of Chicago, due to its extremely low pay, high likelihood of low approval ratings and tarnishing one’s personal life, and low likelihood of serious injury. Therefore we should be extremely skeptical of the motives of anyone who desires to be the mayor, unless they can provide specific delineated reasons why they must be the mayor. No candidate has done this so far, and therefore the only ethical choice is to write in a candidate who does not desire to be the mayor (as that candidate will be far more likely to be worthy of being mayor). We’ll see who best shows their worthiness by never announcing an interest in being mayor.
- Larry X - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:15 pm:
Born to run. Definitely would be an upgrade at Mayor.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:22 pm:
===extremely low pay===
The mayor is paid more than $200K a year. I’m not sure what world you live in, but that ain’t bad, especially considering all the other benefits.
- Hank sauer - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:25 pm:
Well his family ran a bank into the ground which cost taxpayers $100mm
- OneMan - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:28 pm:
First, how much are you going to change the standard to get 1,000 more cops.
Also why would anyone want to be mayor. Seriously, it seems like a terrible job, you can be SoS for a while and then run for Governor. Being mayor at this point just seems like punishment.
- Pundent - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:29 pm:
=Nobody should want to be the mayor of Chicago, due to its extremely low pay=
The guys got around $20M in his campaign fund. Do you really think he’s concerned about his W-2?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:31 pm:
===Being mayor at this point just seems like punishment===
I think people need to get over this belief.
- Remember the Alamo II - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:46 pm:
=== Also why would anyone want to be mayor. ===
This is one of the most ridiculous things that I frequently hear. So nobody should run for mayor because people think it is a terrible job? How is the City’s executive branch supposed to be governed then? It just doesn’t make sense to me.
- Lincoln Lad - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 12:51 pm:
Mendoza v. Alexi should be fun to watch…
- Suspect - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 1:11 pm:
Is he required to answer the obligatory questions about his families’ banks laundering mob $$$$ with his shirt off?
- JS Mill - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 1:11 pm:
=- Rahm is back -
I’m no AG fan but even I wouldn’t insult him like that.=
Meh, I am not a Chicago resident but I always thought Rahm did a decent job as mayor (Laquon McDonald shooting/video notwithstanding). He was a far far better mayor than the two that followed.
- Senator Clay Davis - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 1:17 pm:
Alexi has always seemed like the Lenny Kravitz of politicians. He looks and sounds perfect, very photogenic, there’s just nothing new or interesting happening there
- Save Ferris - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 1:39 pm:
@Hank sauer - Well his family ran a bank into the ground which cost taxpayers $100mm
Alexi was the senior loan officer for Broadway Bank. He was responsible for credit quality. He helped crash the bank. It wasn’t just his family. He was directly involved.
- Lurker - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 1:40 pm:
I’m a bit surprised by so many comments about Alexi and him not being impressive. I’ve always liked him and I guess my thinking is the same I had for Obama, I don’t see anything unlikable about him. @Suspect, I do not know about your mob comment, but yeah, I think I’d watch him talk about anything with his shirt off.
- Suspect - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 2:53 pm:
Lurker - he was repeatedly pounded over his families’ and their banks mob connection in his loss for US Senate to Mark Kirk.
Your criteria for support is underwhelming - perhaps better suited for a magazine ad . . . . .
- Stephanie Kollmann - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 3:39 pm:
I recently accompanied a geriatric millennial median voter type person to an SoS facility and they joked around about the office decor and in doing so called him “Giuliani” a few times
It made me wonder if this is happening for others, heh
- Leslie K - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 4:48 pm:
B+ for the ad. Started off strong, then made the gratuitious reference to playing basketball with Obama (let me know when he endorses you, AG, not that he spent some time with you back in the day). Then the ad slipped into what seems to be his campaign slogan of “demand.” Um, mayors do. Who are you demanding from if you are mayor? But the ad was well produced.
I am not an AG fan. I think his history of fiscal malfeasance should have sidelined him from any government office, including SOS (although I recently had a very positive experience getting my Real ID). I’m not voting for him in the first round, but if it goes to a second, I wouldn’t rule it out I guess. Just meh about him.
- Sue - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 5:26 pm:
Personally think it is time for an Hispanic to have the opportunity- all in for Mendoza
- low level - Monday, Aug 3, 26 @ 7:39 pm:
==Also why would anyone want to be mayor.==
Gee. There are about 10 people running so far. Sounds like a really awful job /s.