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.
- 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.