Politics

Ald. Brendan Reilly to Run for Cook County Board President, Challenging Preckwinkle

Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) announced Wednesday he will run for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, challenging Toni Preckwinkle for the nomination of the Democratic Party.

Preckwinkle, 78, announced in March that she would seek a fifth term in office, vowing to oppose efforts by President Donald Trump to slash funding for Medicaid and counties that prohibit local law enforcement agents from helping federal agents enforce federal immigration laws.

In a launch video, Reilly, 53, touted his record as an independent member of the Chicago City Council, fighting “four mayors,” and said he disagrees with Trump “on most policy” and vowed to fight to protect Cook County’s health care system, which relies on federal funding.

“I strongly oppose Trump’s decision to send troops to cities without first coordinating with local leaders and law enforcement,” said Reilly, who helped Trump, then a real estate developer best known as a reality television star, cut the ribbon on Trump Tower in his downtown ward.

Trump has sent National Guard troops and armed military personnel to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and has threatened repeatedly to do the same in Chicago. The president has said the troops are needed to fight crime, while Gov. JB Pritzker has repeatedly said that is an excuse to launch an unconstitutional federal overreach.

“Those who say Chicago doesn’t have a public safety problem are either lying to you or hiding behind an armed security detail,” Reilly said, implicitly criticizing Preckwinkle and Johnson, who are close allies.

Preckwinkle’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from WTTW News.

The fact that more than 50 people were shot, including eight who were killed, in separate shootings across Chicago during the Labor Day holiday weekend proves that more must be done to reduce crime and violence, Reilly said, echoing the president’s rhetoric.

Homicides in Chicago have decreased nearly 30% in 2025, as compared with the same period a year ago, and the number of shootings is down 35%, according to city data.

Reilly called Preckwinkle and Johnson’s rejection of help from the federal government “an insult to every family being forced to live through the violence.”

Both Preckwinkle and Johnson have urged Trump to help Chicago and Cook County fight crime and violence by restoring hundreds of millions of dollars cut from violence prevention programs and by tightening laws that are designed to stop the flow of illegal guns into Chicago.

Reilly, who got his start in Illinois politics as an aide to now convicted former House Speaker Michael Madigan, said he would reduce property taxes, build housing and “root out corruption” in Cook County government as president of the board.

Reilly was first elected to the City Council in 2007 after defeating then-Ald. Burt Natarus, a close ally of former Mayor Richard M. Daley. Reilly has been reelected five times, facing no opposition in each election, presiding over a boom in development in the Loop.

Reilly told the Chicago Tribune he has abstained from alcohol for the last year and a half after a health scare.

In 2021, Reilly was attacked by two men outside Boss Bar, a well-known late-night establishment. A man was later convicted of battering the alderperson. In 2023, Reilly told police a man struck him in the face with a belt during a dispute over a game of pool at Boss Bar.

In September 2024, Reilly posted a picture of a pager with the words “Mazol Tov,” spelled incorrectly, on the social media platform X during a City Council meeting.

Israel attacked Hezbollah in Lebanon using pagers rigged to explode, killing dozens and injuring thousands.

Reilly deleted the post about an hour after he posted it after it was condemned by other City Council members.

The primary election is set for March 17.

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

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