An opponent plans to object to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s nominating petitions on Monday, in what would be the first instance of a sitting mayor fighting a signature challenge in almost two decades.
Businessman Willie Wilson, in his fourth run for mayor, announced on Monday that he will be objecting to Johnson’s over 33,000 signatures because he believes they don’t clear the bar of having at least 12,500 valid signees. The announcement came as Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and attorney William Quinlan filed dueling challenges against each other.
Quinlan also objected to petitions for U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas with the same gripe he had with Giannoulias: running for two offices at once. And Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and lobbyist John Kelly faced objections from unidentified campaigns. Other smaller-name candidates also saw their petitions challenged.
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Former state Sen. Rickey Hendon, a Wilson surrogate, filed two challenges, one against Johnson and another against Republican activist Danielle Carter-Walters.
Speaking with reporters, he claimed Johnson had only around 5,000 valid signatures.
“The mayor’s filing was very sloppy, very messy, done unprofessionally and someone should be fired, whoever prepared it for him,” Hendon said. “The mayor can say whatever he wants. I’m actually doing him a favor. Being mayor is a very stressful job. I’m giving him an opportunity to de-stress, spend time with his family. He’ll still end up with a great job at CTU.”
Wilson’s objection against Johnson is the first time a sitting Chicago mayor had their petitions challenged since Mayor Richard M. Daley faced an unsuccessful claim against his in the 2007 race.
Johnson’s campaign manager Christian Perry said in a statement earlier Monday that the challenge will be merely a “distraction.”
“The campaign feels confident that if and when a challenge materializes we have more than enough signatures to withstand a challenge,” Perry wrote.
The mayor said last month he does not plan to challenge any of the other candidates’ petition sheets. His attorney, Ed Mullen, added at the time that he “always” expects to face challenges when he works with candidates.
A whopping 16 contenders for mayor filed for the February 2027 election, but the final ballot will likely be shorter, as other candidates are expected to face challenges too.
Mayoral candidates need a minimum of 12,500 valid signatures, but most gather way more than that to guard against petition challenges knocking them below the threshold. That bare-knuckle objection process is a holdover of the old-school political machine and could have devastating consequences for campaigns.
In the 2019 election for mayor, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle — who ultimately lost to Lightfoot in a runoff — succeeded in getting former Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown kicked off the ballot. That year, activist Ja’Mal Green also withdrew while facing a stiff challenge from Wilson. No one was kicked off of the ballot during the most recent election for mayor.
Election attorneys filed a flurry of challenges Monday afternoon.
Attorney Scott Erdman delivered challenges to the signatures of Dr. Lisa Nee and former realtor Zoe Ma, but refused to say what campaign he was working for. A man who refused to share his name and would not say what campaign he worked for delivered challenges against Mendoza’s signatures.
Quinlan, in his challenges to the candidacies of Giannoulias, Pappas and Quigley, argued as he did in an unsuccessful lawsuit that the three are violating Illinois law by running for mayor as they also seek reelection for their current positions.
“Voters in Illinois deserve to elect someone who will show up and do the job they’re elected to do, not someone who is just waiting for a better one,” Quinlan wrote in a news release.
Moments later, Michael Dorf, campaign attorney for Giannoulias, delivered challenges against Quinlan’s signatures, then blasted them as a “bad” batch.
“They’re bad signatures. Not registered. Many not genuine. Many duplicates,” Dorf said. “He should have spent more time getting his petitions ready and spent less time doing a frivolous complaint.”
Dorf also filed challenges to the candidacies of John Kitover and Jesse Maronto, both of whom failed to file at least 12,500 signatures.
The attorneys who presented the Wilson campaign’s challenges also delivered a challenge against Kelly, attributed to objector Gary Hail. Hail did not respond to attempts to contact him. Hendon said the Wilson campaign was not behind the challenge, and the attorneys, who refused to share their name, declined to say who pushed for it.