Thirteen candidates will vie for the right to deny Brandon Johnson a second term and become Chicago’s 58th mayor, but only if they can survive cutthroat petition challenges that could narrow the field considerably.
Joining the mayoral field on the final day of filing were: retiring Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza with a self-reported 26,000 signatures; cardiologist and political newcomer Lisa Nee with what she says are 31,000 signatures; Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas with a self-reported 31,500 signatures; and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas with what she said is "slightly shy of" 40,000 signatures.
Also joining the mayoral field on the final day of filing were attorney William Quinlan, businessman Joe Holberg, conservative Danielle Carter-Walters and former real estate developer Zoe Ma.
Five candidates filed their nominating petitions on the first day of filing: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias; lobbyist John Kelly; former Chicago Housing Authority Chair Matthew Brewer; U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley and millionaire businessman and perennial political candidate Willie Wilson.
That brings the total number of mayoral candidates to 14 — but that is likely to change.
Campaign managers and veteran political operatives said they expect the crowded mayoral field to shrink substantially as candidates closely scrutinize each other's nominating petitions to make certain they have the required 12,500 valid signatures to remain on the ballot.
No one will be immune from those challenges no matter how it looks, or whom it might knock off the ballot. That includes Johnson, who skipped opening day, and therefore, the lottery for the top spot on the ballot. He said he filed 33,000 signatures Friday.
That’s a relatively low number for an incumbent mayor. Richard M. Daley, Chicago’s longest-serving mayor, once filed more than 100,000 signatures with the help of the once-powerful Democratic ward organizations filled with city workers.
“I’m looking at everybody — particularly the African American ones,” Wilson told the Chicago Sun-Times. “And if somebody do challenge me, I’m very confident that we’re OK. But that’s up to them if they want to spend the money.”
Asked whether he believes Johnson will have a problem making the ballot, Wilson said, “He’s the mayor. He’s been through this before. He ought to have his stuff in order, I would think."
The challenge period begins Tuesday and ends Nov. 2. The adjudication of challenges will continue until Dec. 17, when the final mayoral ballot if certified.
“I know for a fact that different people have pulled Dr. Wilson’s petitions and are going through them line-to-line," said former state Sen. Ricky Hendon, who is handling petition challenges for Wilson. "The only thing I can guarantee is they can’t get him because we did the work, went down to the Board of Elections and verified the signatures before we filed them. Some campaigns did not do that."
Giannoulias' campaign manager Hana Jubeh said the presumed front-runner plans to scrutinize everybody’s nominating petitions and will use his $19.3 million campaign war chest to challenge anyone whose signatures appear shaky.
Former President Barack Obama launched his political career by knocking incumbent state Sen. Alice Palmer off the ballot.
“Everybody has to do the work to get on the ballot. If you don’t have the signatures, that’s a problem. … That’s why they have the challenge process. Everyone is gonna be held to that scrutiny," Jubeh said.
Veteran political operative Victor Reyes, advising the Nee campaign, expects Giannoulias to concentrate his challenges on Quigley and others with the greatest potential to draw votes along the “vote-rich” north lakefront.
That’s where Johnson sealed his 2023 mayoral victory, and where the 2027 election is expected to be decided once again.
“You do everything you can to structure the race regardless of how they beat you up” for being the big-bucks candidate who “compromises democracy,” said Reyes.
Kelly is likely to challenge Mendoza, who is targeting the same conservative voters in Northwest and Southwest Side wards that are home to scores of police officers and firefighters. And Mendoza is likely to challenge Cardenas, the only other Hispanic in the race.
Giannoulias could challenge Kelly and Mendoza, as well as Pappas, a fellow Greek-American with whom he has a long-standing rivalry.
"He’s going for a first-round win and, with all of that money, he has the resources and the ability" to narrow the field enough to improve his chances, Reyes said.
Pappas filed her petitions wearing a shirt reading, "No biceps, just brains," a veiled jab at Giannoulias that she said "speaks for itself."
That was a reference to what she told the Sun-Times about Giannoulias the day candidates began circulating nominating petitions. “If you want to be mayor of the city of Chicago, your IQ has to be higher than your body temperature. … That’s what’s going to be required in the mayor’s race."
Pappas and Cardenas were among five candidates filing within an hour of the deadline on Monday, thereby entering a lottery for the coveted last spot on the ballot. The others were Holberg, who said he gathered 32,000 signatures; Carter-Walters, who said she had 13,000 signatures; and Ma with a self-reported 17,000 signatures.
