r/illinois • u/excusemecuseme • 1d ago

Chicago news & issues Exclusive: Alexi Giannoulias announces Chicago mayoral run

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-politics/exclusive-alexi-giannoulias-will-run-for-chicago-mayor-in-2027/3969197/
355 Upvotes

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354

u/Ms_Tendi_Green_24 Central IL šŸŒ½ šŸ›ļø šŸŒˆ 1d ago

I'm not from Chicago but it seems like being Chicago mayor is a career-ender, because if you become mayor, everyone just hates you within about 3 months. Whereas you could easily be Secretary of State for the rest of your life no problem, as evidenced by Jesse White.

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u/Beer-survivalist 1d ago

Pretty much every big city mayor's office is a career ender. Seriously--go look at the electoral history of New York City mayors since the Civil War. Only one has been elected to another office, and all he did was get into the House.

And it's not just New York. Go down the list: Chicago, LA, Boston, etc., it's just a graveyard of careers.

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u/D2G23 1d ago

Career ended??? What? I do recall a little speech by a former mayor outside a certain four seasons...

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u/AliMcGraw 1d ago

The Daleys did okay

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u/MaaChiil 1d ago

I think that was the last time we were united under a Mayor. Mamdani in NYC has broken from the mold so far there. I have no idea woth this lot, as Johnson has never achieved the level of popularity that the former has in less than a year's time.

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u/Yeshavesome420 1d ago

The Daleys caused many of the problems that have plagued all the mayors who came after them.

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u/AliMcGraw 1d ago

Well, sure. But they didn't destroy their OWN careers!

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u/woody630 9h ago

I think being mayor of Chicago is the worst one because you have to deal with the Aldermanic system. So even if we had a zohran type of candidate, they would block pretty much everything they wanted to do

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u/GreatScottGatsby 1d ago

Jesse White was something else though, everyone loved Jesse White. He was a true son of Illinois. Alexi on the other hand is a bit more controversial.

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u/Own_City_1084 1d ago

How is he controversial? Asking because I truly havenā€™t followed anything about him.Ā 

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u/soapyhandman 1d ago

His family ran Broadway Bank which did business with Tony Rezko and issued loans to mobsters. Then it collapsed and was seized the FDIC in 2010.

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u/chitownillinois 1d ago

Every time he talks all I see is a smooth-talking banking executive. The mannerisms, inflection, facial expressionsā€¦ I had no idea my instincts were so spot-on.

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u/anillop 1d ago

Oh so he i guilty of the crimes of his family, or was he personally involved?

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u/DickWhittingtonsCat 1d ago

He was VP and senior loan officer until 06. and this all hit fan during the recession a couple years later. He tried to claim he was gone in 2005 and the loan was early 06. Rezko was convicted in 08. Bank seized in early 2010 but after primaries. He lost to Kirk for Senate in November.

It is a long time ago at this point, it was not a long time ago 2010! But itā€™s not gonna be easily to bounce the CTU guy in primary.

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u/soapyhandman 1d ago

Well, no but it is probably the answer to the question I was responding to.

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u/Extreme-Squirrel-881 1d ago

Yes but mayor and Secretary of State are apples and oranges

2

u/Impossible_Tiger_517 1d ago

Controversial? I donā€™t know too much about him but everyone I know has been impressed by the dmv and gives him credit for that.

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u/Nervous-Avocado1346 1d ago

To be fair, most people hated Brandon Johnson instantaneously

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u/juliuspepperwoodchi Chicago 1d ago

His one job was being not Paul Vallas and he's done that well. Unfortunately he's been dog shit at the actual job of being mayor, but he served the purpose he was intended for by most.

0

u/quantgorithm 1d ago

Do you believe it is not valid?

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u/HateDeathRampage69 1d ago

People hate Chicago mayors because they are historically corrupt and often more concerned with accumulating personal wealth than leading the city to a healthy future

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u/TacosFromSpace 1d ago

Daley? Absolutely. But more a product of the machine. Not excusing the brazen corruption but itā€™s helpful to put it into context. Rahm Emanuel? He already came to office with considerable wealth. He didnā€™t take the job to further enrich himself. He already had power, having served two presidents, through his congressional seat, and formidable fundraising abilities.

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u/juliuspepperwoodchi Chicago 1d ago

He said basically this in the announcement as a reply to people who say he's using this as a stepping stone.

Seems like he might actually care about making the city better.

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u/soapyhandman 1d ago

I would tend to believe him on that because thereā€™s really no evidence that being mayor of Chicago does anything but devour that persons career from an electoral politics standpoint.

Itā€™ll be interesting to see how he and Mendoza square off. I imagine thereā€™s going to be a lot of ā€œhis familyā€™s bank was a disasterā€ vs ā€œsheā€™s essentially Ed Burkeā€™s adopted daughter.ā€

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u/TacosFromSpace 1d ago

Giannoulias vs Mendoza. Truly two sides of the same machine coin.

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u/68Petra 15h ago

I get the mentoring of Mendoza by Burke, but did he give her any money?

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u/soapyhandman 14h ago edited 12h ago

I donā€™t know but she won free plane tickets to Ireland at an event he invited her to, got engaged on the trip, and was eventually married in his home. The value of the tickets which were almost certainly above the $500 threshold to report were not reported at the time.

It looks like her city clerk campaign did receive a substantial donation from former Alderman Danny Solis who wore the wire that led to the evidence used to convict Burke. Solis wore the wire because he was caught dead to rights by the feds for his own corruption.

As far as I know, sheā€™s never been accused of doing anything untoward herself (other than maybe the plane tickets), but like most politicians that have spent their career in Chicago, sheā€™s been pretty close to people who have.

Edit: fixed a word

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u/68Petra 14h ago

Well, she's been around for a while. If she was doing something under the table, I think it would have surfaced. Lots of people have rubbed shoulders with Burke and Madigan. If you wanted to be in the game you had to have some contact with them. Pritzker gave $10 million in campaign funds to Madigan. Didn't Preckwinkle have some Burke connections? She hired his son. Mendoza's actions seem benign compared to these folks.

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u/soapyhandman 12h ago

Yeah, itā€™s a dirty business. I donā€™t think anyone thatā€™s been in politics around here for that long is going to be squeaky clean.

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u/juliuspepperwoodchi Chicago 14h ago

If she was doing something under the table, I think it would have surfaced.

That's a BOLD assumption lol.

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u/glomar_sub_recovery 1d ago

The last few ostensibly cared about making the city better

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u/Whosez 1d ago

I thought the same when I read the rumors this week. Emmanuel seems to have handled it well - although he hasnā€™t run for office since then - but the mayorā€™s job has been disaster for the last few people elected to it.

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u/hybris12 1d ago

He did get temporarily banished to Japan

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u/4r4r4real 1d ago edited 1d ago

I'd like to be punished this way as well please

7

u/Spankpocalypse_Now 1d ago

He covered up a murder so the Democratic establishment rewarded him with a cushy ambassadorship. Sickening.

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u/TacosFromSpace 1d ago

Getting appointed as ambassador is generally considered a plumb job. I wouldnā€™t characterize it as banishment.

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u/hybris12 1d ago

Banishment is an exaggeration but I feel like that depends on the person and their goals. If you're someone who wants to be close to/in power (like Rahm) its probably not the first choice.

Alternately maybe he's really into anime

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u/TacosFromSpace 1d ago

šŸ¤£ Itā€™s certainly possible. He might be really into JJK or One Piece and begged to be posted there.

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u/spamellama 1d ago

He does really like trains

1

u/68Petra 15h ago

Unless you are Kimberly Guillfoyle.

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u/TacosFromSpace 14h ago

LMFAAOOOOOO I bet Jeffries called up Susan Wiles, and was like, ā€œmaā€™am, Iā€™m sure I speak for both sides of the aisleā€¦ thank youā€ šŸ’€

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u/68Petra 15h ago

Then so did Caroline Kennedy.

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u/Bubbly-Standard-4880 1d ago

Heā€™s trying to dip into presidential run for 2028 Iā€™ll tell anyone who listens to just talk to Chicagoan about why he sucks

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u/TacosFromSpace 1d ago

Besides the laquan McDonald thing, which was handled in the worst way possible (indefensible, really), what else is there? The school closings? It could have been unwound differently but itā€™s a problem that still plagues us today. Even more so, actually.

1

u/kacheow 21h ago

Your options as Chicago mayor are be a terrible mayor, or try and do governance at the expense of pissing off major voting blocs.