CHICAGO URBAN DAILY
CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)— The clipboard campaign ends Monday.
At 5 p.m. Monday, October 26, the filing window for Chicago’s 2027 mayoral race slams shut — and the next morning, the petition challenges begin. That is when this crowded race gets its first real cuts.
Candidates need 12,500 valid signatures to make the February 23 ballot, and the early totals tell a story about organization. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias turned in 60,000 signatures. John Kelly estimated more than 36,000. Businessman Willie Wilson filed an estimated 35,000 — and said he plans to challenge “everyone.” Chicago Housing Authority board commissioner Matt Brewer submitted more than 32,000. Mayor Brandon Johnson filed about 33,000 on Friday, gathered by 2,500 volunteers, and says he won’t challenge anyone else’s petitions.
But in Chicago, a filed total is a claim, not a result. Signatures get struck for signers not registered at the address given, for circulators who mishandle their sheets, for handwriting that doesn’t match the voter file. A campaign that filed close to the line doesn’t need to lose many arguments before it falls below 12,500 and off the ballot entirely.
The Board of Elections will certify the final ballot by December 17. Until then, the honest sentence is the narrow one: these candidates filed. Whether all of them will be voted on is a question the process, not the campaigns, will answer in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily as the challenges land.
Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.
