Chicago race for mayor: Who will be on the ballot in 2027?

CHICAGO - Monday is the final day for the candidates running for Chicago mayor and aldermen to file their paperwork to get on the ballot in next February's election.

Incumbent Mayor Brandon Johnson is running for a second term. But he's facing a potentially large field of challengers as his approval ratings have sunk, and he's struggled to get much of his progressive agenda passed through an increasingly independent City Council.

Each of the 50 aldermanic seats that comprise the City Council are also on the ballot next year.

Election Day for the first round of voting in the mayoral race is Feb. 23. If no candidate earns a majority of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff election that will be held on April 6.

Here is a rundown of the candidates who filed their petitions.

Matt Brewer

Brewer is an attorney and former board chair of the Chicago Housing Authority. He launched his campaign just months after a power struggle with Johnson over CHA leadership in which Brewer pushed for new CEO Keith Pettigrew.

While he said that a face-off with Johnson wasn’t his inspiration to run for mayor, Brewer said his experience helping run the CHA did. He made affordable housing a key point in his campaign announcement.

The Grand Crossing native holds degrees from Stanford University, Yale Law School and Harvard Business School, according to his biography. He said he also founded the city's first Black-owned cannabis dispensary and co-owns The Wiener’s Circle.

Alexi Giannoulias

Giannoulias has been Illinois' Secretary of State since 2023, overseeing agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles, where touted his efforts to "modernize" services and reduce wait times.

He is widely seen as a top-tier contender due to his lead in recent polling and because, as of Oct. 1, he had nearly $20 million in his campaign war chest, far more than the other candidates.

Giannoulias previously served as the state’s treasurer from 2007 to 2011. He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010, losing to Republican Mark Kirk.

He also served as vice president of Broadway Bank in Chicago. After Giannoulias left the bank, it collapsed during the Great Recession and was seized by federal regulators.

Between earning his bachelor’s degree at Boston University and a law degree at Tulane, he played professional basketball for a year in Greece.

Brandon Johnson

Johnson beat out former Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a crowded 2023 election field and then defeated Paul Vallas in the runoff with the backing of progressive voters, Black residents and the influential Chicago Teachers Union.

But his term in office has been marked by struggles to pass his progressive agenda in the City Council and continued concerns over the city government's long-term financial health. Despite a historic drop in violent crime, Johnson's approval rating remains quite low. A recent poll from the Mansueto Institute at the University of Chicago found only 22% of respondents approved of Johnson's handling of his post as mayor.

While this time around, Johnson maintains his support from the CTU, other major union groups like SEIU are backing Giannoulias.

Johnson's fiscal policies like reintroducing taxes on large corporations based in the city and raising the so-called "subminimum" wage for tipped workers have not gotten the OK from a City Council that's increasingly been flexing its independent muscles and is no longer a rubber stamp.

Still, the former teacher, organizer and Cook County Board commissioner has repeatedly attacked "corporate-aligned" alders for those legislative challenges.

Susana Mendoza

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza has served as the state’s "chief fiscal control officer" for nearly a decade, during which she was tasked with maintaining the state’s fiscal accounts and the paying of its bills.

The Chicago native previously served as a state legislator for a decade and then as Chicago’s city clerk before being elected to comptroller in a special election in late 2016.

She also previously ran for mayor in 2019, a year that featured a deep field after then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel declined to run for a third term. Mendoza garnered only 9% of the vote, coming in fifth place. Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle advanced to the runoff, which Lightfoot won decisively.

John Kelly

Kelly is a lobbyist who previously worked for the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

He's also helped run local political campaigns, and represented "many" Fortune 100 companies in his lobbying, including a deal to bring Bally’s Casino to Chicago, according to his campaign.

Kelly says public safety would be his top priority as mayor, and argued that residents "don't feel safe" and that no "set of statistics changes what people experience," an apparent reference to the city's historic drop in crime.

He holds a degree in political science from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Mike Quigley

Quigley has been in U.S. House of Representatives since 2009, representing parts of Chicago's North Side.

The Lakeview resident also previously served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners. He started his career as an aldermanic aide.

In Congress, Quigley has supported Medicare for All, abortion rights and LGBTQ rights, legislation to improve the environment, and making federal buildings safer for birds. He's also touted his role in helping secure $2 billion to extend the CTA Red Line into Chicago's Far South Side.

Quigley has laid out his approach to tackling the city's $1 billion in debt and endorsed the city adopting a charter, essentially the equivalent of a constitution for a municipality.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt University, a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago and a law degree from Loyola University Chicago.

Willie Wilson

Wilson has been a perennial candidate for public office after having a wide-ranging business career, from owning multiple McDonald's franchises to producing a gospel music television program.

He ran for mayor of Chicago in 2015, 2019 and 2023, for the U.S. Senate in 2020 and even for U.S. President in 2016. In 2023, he came in fifth place in the first round with a little over 9% of the vote.

Wilson has also had a prolific philanthropy career. His many gas and grocery giveaways to Chicago and suburban residents have drawn much attention.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he also gave out free medical supplies like masks. One of his other business ventures was founding a medical supplies company.