The Illinois State Board of Elections just voted unanimously to remove Chicago Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Mayra Macías from the IL-04 ballot after both fell short of the valid-signature requirement for independent candidates.

The 2027 Chicago mayor money race: Alexi Giannoulias — $21.8M John Kelly Jr. — $2.05M Susana Mendoza — $1.63M Bill Conway — $1.14M Joe Holberg — $1.04M Brandon Johnson — $631K Mike Quigley — $377K 2026 Q2 filings

NEW: Cook County inspector general report finds Commissioner Samantha Steele offered her primary opponent a job to drop out of the race, then lied to the media and refused to cooperate with investigators. She is directed to retake ethics training.

2027 Chicago Mayor Money Race End of Q2 2026 fundraising: 1. Alexi Giannoulias — $21.85M 💰🤑 2. John Kelly Jr. — $2.05M 3. Susana Mendoza — $1.63M 4. Bill Conway — $1.14M 5. Joe Holberg — $1.04M 6. Brandon Johnson — $631K The rest are under $400K

A state election hearing officer is recommending Chicago Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez be removed from the IL04 congressional ballot after he fell 1,222 valid signatures short. The Illinois State Board of Elections will later make the final decision.

A new UChicago Mansueto Institute poll finds Alexi Giannoulias generating the most excitement among likely Chicago voters for the 2027 mayoral race: Alexi Giannoulias 52% Susana Mendoza 47% Maria Pappas 40% Mike Quigley 33% Brandon Johnson 30%

A lot of people ask me "Is Willie Wilson running for mayor again?" I tell them probably. Well, he just loaned $100,000 to his campaign account called "Willie Wilson for Mayor 2027," so I just the answer is almost certainly "yes" now.

I respect France's commitment to not working on a holiday.

State Comptroller Susana Mendoza spent more than she raised in the quarter she entered the Chicago mayor’s race: $145K spent, $139K raised. And 72% of her haul came from one $100K contribution from Dan Webb. She closed the quarter with $1.6M cash on hand.

The Chicago Teachers Union is fielding candidates in just 13 of Chicago’s 20 school board districts. To win a majority on the school board, it must win 11 of those 13 races, 85%. Most of the South Side has no CTU endorsed candidate on the ballot.

I estimate Alexi Giannoulias’ Chicago only cable and network TV buy is at least $300,000, after analyzing public ad disclosures. The ad is for his Secretary of State reelection, but its timing, weeks before mayoral petitions, suggests City Hall ambitions.

After years of fighting for an elected Chicago school board, CTU has candidates on the ballot in only 13 of 20 district races (plus a write-in). It must win 11 of 13 races, 85%, to secure a majority on the board.

Operating Engineers Local 150 paid for this YouTube ad backing Alexi Giannoulias for Illinois Secretary of State. But it ran only in Chicago and is heavily Chicago themed, calling him “Chicago’s Answer.”

Just In: An Illinois election hearing officer recommends removing independent candidate Mayra Macias from the IL04 ballot after finding she failed to meet the 10,816-signature minimum. Macias is challenging Patty García, the heir apparent to retiring Congressman Chuy García.

The Nutella Cafe reopened today!

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is giving away 100,000 bars of soap stamped: “Maria Pappas Mayor: Clean Up Chicago.” 🧼

Marty Quinn is super smart political guy. He was the brains behind the Madigan election machine during its heyday (his nickname was "The General." On Fran Spielman's podcast he predicts Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson makes the runoff and will face either Alexi Giannoulias or Susana Mendoza.

Alexi Giannoulias, rumored Chicago mayor candidate, just reported an additional $2.5 million in contributions. $1M came from billionaire Neil Bluhm and family: $500K from Neil Bluhm, $300K from JMB Realty, and $200K from son Andrew Bluhm.

Very saddened to hear about Russ Stewart’s passing. I started my political career on Chicago’s Northwest Side and Russ was one of the first journalists to use me as a source. Unfortunately, he was one of the last hyper-local political journalists. May he rest in peace.

Ald. Marty Quinn isn’t running for reelection. He’s Michael Madigan’s close ally, former CTU friend turned Brandon Johnson critic, known for constituent services and one of the wildest stunts in recent electoral history with 2019 petitions. www.chicagotribune.com/2019/10/10/r...

Alderman Marty Quinn told Fran Spielman he won’t seek reelection as alderman. Quinn was Michael Madigan’s hand-picked successor to run Chicago’s storied 13th Ward political organization and what remained of the Madigan machine. End of an era.

Cardiologist and whistleblower Dr. Lisa Nee to run for Chicago mayor

Dr. Lisa Nee, a cardiologist and medical whistleblower, officially announces her run for Chicago mayor, with a nice Chicago Tribune profile today, pictured with her dogs. She pitchs herself as an outsider: “I’m inside the community, I’m just outside the political machine.”

Navy officer and downtown alderman Bill Conway just loaned his campaign $500k. If he runs for Chicago mayor, he’d instantly be a top candidate. As the son of the Carlyle Group co-founder, he would have access to raise tons of money for a run for mayor

As of today, these are all publicly reported aldermanic endorsements in the 2027 Chicago mayor’s race: Susana Mendoza has 2, Mike Quigley has 1. Giannoulias and Johnson have not officially announced, so any private or expected support is not included here.

Rumored Chicago mayor candidate Alexi Giannoulias reports $1.1 million in campaign donations, led by $500K from Liz Lefkofsky. Her husband, Eric Lefkofsky, is the billionaire founder of Groupon and Tempus. Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts also gave $7,300.

It’s… a wetland prairie garden 😮 🎥: Michael Ognisanti

Chicago mayoral candidate Matt Brewer reports $76K in large individual contributions, plus $10k candidate loan. His largest single donation, $25,000, came from Sidney Herman, chair of Bartlit Beck, the law firm where Brewer works.

Just in: In Watson v. RNC, SCOTUS says federal Election Day does not force states to toss mail ballots received after Election Day if they were postmarked on time. Big for Illinois: our 14-day window survives. Close races may still move after Election Night.

With so many Chicago mayoral candidates, I ranked them by who could best win a runoff against another top-tier candidate. Alexi Giannoulias would fare best, while Republicans would fare worst in a roughly 90% Democratic city.

New in the 2027 Chicago mayoral race: Former CHA Board Chair Matthew Brewer has officially launched his campaign. The South Side native and Bartlit Beck partner just dropped his campaign website.He could complicate Brandon Johnson’s re-election path.

Dr. Lisa Nee is entering the 2027 Chicago mayor’s race with an unusual résumé: cardiologist, MBA, former ICU nurse, UIC-trained doctor, VA whistleblower, and lifelong Chicagoan raised in Humboldt Park.

Willie Wilson appears likely to run for Chicago mayor again, loaning $50,000 to Willie Wilson for Mayor 2027. It would be Wilson’s 4th try for mayor. His best showing came in 2015, when he finished 3rd with 10.66% of the vote.

Former Chicago Ald. and current Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas is formally jumping into the Chicago mayor’s race, with a kickoff announcement tomorrow in Back of the Yards on the South Side.

The Chicago Bears Stadium bill was just filed. Senate Amendment 2 to HB958 creates the Municipal Stadium Authority Act, which would allow certain large Cook County municipalities to establish a public authority to help finance and build a professional sports stadium.

Four candidates filed today for Chicago School Board President: Victor Henderson: attorney, Urban Prep board, Sendhil Revuluri: ex-CPS Board VP under Lightfoot Jessica Biggs: CPS Board member, ex-principal Jennifer Custer: CPS Board member

Danielle Carter-Walters, the face of “Chicago Flips Red,” filed a committee to run for Mayor of Chicago. Chicago mayoral elections are nonpartisan, but her own committee paperwork checks the box: “Republican.”

Cook County Commissioner Samantha Steele told ABC 7 she twice identified herself as an "elected official" while refusing to give Chicago police her driver’s license or leave her car after a crash because she was “just expressing that I know my rights.”

A very kind birthday shoutout from @shiakapos.bsky.social in POLITICO Illinois Playbook today. Small thing, but it really made my day feel special.

New Suffolk/Tribune favorability numbers show a split 2027 Chicago mayoral field: Alexi Giannoulias: 42% fav / 7% unfav Susana Mendoza: 38 / 11 Brandon Johnson: 34 / 44 Mike Quigley: 21 / 12

When was the last time a major political figure was excommunicated?

Two celebrity Chicago mayoral contributions reported today: $5,000 from hall of fame quarterback John Elway to John Kelly $10,000 from trader and media personality Jon Najarian to Mike Quigley

2027 Chicago mayor money race, 2026 Q1 cash on hand: Alexi Giannoulias: $18.3M Susana Mendoza: $1.63M Brandon Johnson: $813K

Cook County Commissioner Samantha Steele commits another crime and LIES on her quarterly report and says she spent zero dollars! She had massive campaign signs and sent a district wide mailer.

The biggest story in the world right now is that the president of the United States is a demented old man who takes pleasure in torturing and killing people and is committing crimes with impunity. And yet most legacy media outlets are too cowardly to tell it like it is.

Saturday night is the perfect time to note that I finally published the historical Chicago zoning data I put together a few years ago danielkayhertz.com/zoning

THE FIGHTING ILLINI ARE HEADING TO THE FINAL FOUR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 21 YEARS! This team is so fun to watch. The defense has improved all season, Andrej Stojaković is a big reason why, and Wagler and Mirković have been awesome.

Toni Preckwinkle currently has about 69% of the vote against Brendan Reilly. That is significantly better than her 61% against perennial candidate Bob Fioretti in 2018. I thought Toni would win, but this was a huge blow out.

Finally, we have proof that "Elect Chicago Women" PAC, is funded by AIPAC. Elect Chicago Women took $4,011,200 from United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC. "ECW" spent at around $9 million in IL09 and IL08.

Is Samantha Steele the first person to be a one-term elected official in both Indiana and Illinois? She was assessor of Tippecanoe County, Ind., for a single term before moving to Illinois, getting elected and losing her reelection bid four years later