Politics

Backed by Trade Unions, Alexi Giannoulias Launches Campaign for Chicago Mayor

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 was set to formally launch his campaign at the Bronzeville headquarters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134, signaling he had the enthusiastic support of the city’s trade unions, none of which supported Johnson during the last mayoral election.

Giannoulias’ video is light on specific policy proposals, although he promises to implement universal pre kindergarten, raise wages and expand affordable housing.

Giannoulias said he would “demand a fairer tax system that protects working families, not billionaires.”

Giannoulias is likely to have an enormous financial advantage in the contest, with $21.7 million on hand in his campaign finance account. He has reported sizable donations from LiUNA Local 1001, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 and the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, records show.

Other declared candidates include Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas and Chicago Housing Authority Board President Matthew Brewer.

Like Giannoulias, all of the declared candidates have promised to steer Chicago on a more centrist path than the course charted by Johnson, who routinely celebrates the fact that he is the most progressive politician elected since former Mayor Harold Washington.

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Read more: Who Is Running, or Thinking About Running, to Become Chicago’s Next Mayor

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Johnson, whose political operation has begun collecting the 12,500 signatures from registered Chicago voters, is likely to have the support of the Chicago Teachers Union if he runs for reelection, with President Stacy Davis Gates urging him to “get off the sidelines” in an appearance on WTTW News’ Chicago Tonight.

Johnson marched with the daughter of slain civil rights icon the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of his march through Marquette Park, where he was met by white supremacists who hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at him.

Johnson scheduled a full day of community events for Sunday.

It is less clear whether the Service Employees International Union will back Johnson again, after a deep breach with CTU over which labor organization should represent school district support staff.

Giannoulias’ History

A native Chicagoan whose parents were born in Greece, Giannoulias graduated from the Latin School of Chicago, where he played basketball.

After attending the University of Chicago, Giannoulias graduated from Boston University, where he majored in economics. Afterward, Giannoulias played professional basketball in Greece.

Giannoulias earned a law degree from Tulane University and returned to Chicago to work at Edgewater’s Broadway Bank, founded by his father, before being elected Illinois treasurer in 2006. 

As treasurer, Giannoulias was blamed for overseeing the state’s Bright Start college savings program when it lost $150 million in investments.

Rather than seek a second term as treasurer in 2010, Giannoulias ran for the U.S. Senate, defeating former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman to win the Democratic nomination. Republican Dan Rutherford replaced Giannoulias as treasurer.

Giannoulias narrowly lost that race to then-U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, who won election to the seat once held by President Barack Obama, a friend of Giannoulias’ and frequent teammate in basketball games. 

Giannoulias’ two-minute announcement video includes pictures of the mayoral hopeful playing basketball with the former president and him telling a Chicagoan that he played with him “many times.”

That bitter Senate race was defined by the failure of Broadway Bank, which was seized by regulators after it failed to secure enough capital to repay loans officials authorized.

Giannoulias blamed the aftermath of the Great Recession for pushing the bank under and his relatives for making bad loans after he became state treasurer.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. paid more than $383 million to cover the bank’s losses, records show.

Kirk capitalized on its failure as well as the bank’s decision to lend $22.7 million to political fixer Antonin “Tony” Rezko, who hoped to redevelop a vacant plot of land south of the Loop and north of Chinatown along the Chicago River.

Rezko, who also had deep ties to Obama, was convicted in 2008 on federal corruption charges after a jury agreed he forced companies who wanted state business to pay him kickbacks.

Those plans failed, and that land remains vacant, even as it is now slated to be transformed into a new neighborhood with a new stadium for the Chicago Fire soccer team with the assistance of a massive city subsidy.

Kirk also blasted Giannoulias for approving millions of dollars in loans to individuals linked to the Chicago mob and other convicted felons. Giannoulias told the Chicago Tribune he regretted not scrutinizing those loans more closely.

While serving as a senior director for BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Giannoulias returned to public service in 2018 when former Mayor Rahm Emanuel — another Obama friend and ally — nominated him to serve on the board of the Chicago Public Library.

During his confirmation hearing, Giannoulias declined to promise members of the Chicago City Council he would not seek elected office again.

In 2022, Giannoulias returned to statewide office by handily defeating Republican Dan Brady to replace retiring Secretary of State Jesse White.

In the Democratic primary, Giannoulias won 46.3% of the vote in Chicago, with City Clerk Anna Valencia finishing a distant second place with 38.5% of the vote, records show.

During that contest, Valencia blasted Giannoulias for writing a November 2016 op-ed in the Chicago Tribune urging Democrats to “unify” behind then President-elect Donald Trump.

While serving as secretary of state, Giannoulias — who overturned decades of Illinois tradition and began referring to secretary of state’s offices as DMV offices — focused on expanding the services available to residents online.

Giannoulias, who is married with four daughters younger than 10, also used social media in a way few state officials had in the past, posting pictures of himself working while stretched out on his office’s floor, joking that he was doing “tummy time.” Pediatricians recommend newborns spend hours of the day on their stomach to strengthen their muscles.

Giannoulias, who also frequently posts videos of his workouts and time on the basketball court, drew online attention when he posted a picture snapped while marching in the 2023 Chicago Pride Parade, which was nearly rained out. Giannoulias, wearing his signature Jordan gym shoes with pink laces, was wearing a white T-shirt that had become nearly see through in the deluge, showing off the fruits of his labor in the gym.

Giannoulias, who also serves as the official state librarian, championed efforts to stop book bans and was in charge of implementing a state law that allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain standard driver’s licenses to be used as identification.

In addition, Giannoulias championed efforts to change state law to increase the age for mandatory behind-the-wheel driving tests from 79 to 87, and implemented the first digital drivers’ licenses and state identification cards.

Giannoulias was also forced to mobilize his office’s resources to help residents get Real IDs, which are now needed for domestic air travel to comply with new federal laws.

During the aggressive immigration raids that swept Chicago, Giannoulias joined other Democratic officials in condemning what the Trump administration called “Operation Midway Blitz.”

Giannoulias released an audit that found immigration agents had accessed data collected by automatic license plate readers in violation of state law and called on the vendor to stop sharing that information.

Activists and immigrant rights advocates have called for those systems to be dismantled, despite their use in fighting crime.

Giannoulias also warned federal agents that swapping or altering license plates is against state law after videos surfaced of agents telling members of the public attempting to identify the vehicles they used they often switched plates to avoid detection.

No federal immigration agents have been charged for violating state law during the ongoing immigration enforcement raids.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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