Chicago mayoral candidates make their pitches -- and take aim at Brandon Johnson

More than half of the candidates vying to become Chicago's next mayor gathered Thursday night in Lake View to launch the 2027 campaign just nine days after the midterm election.

A forum held at Temple Sholom on the city's North Side and moderated by Rabbi Shoshanah Conover featured 10 of the 16 candidates who filed petitions for mayor last month.

Each candidate was initially given two minutes to answer questions on public safety, education and antisemitism, though that was later cut to one minute as the large panel quickly ate up time.

Notably absent was incumbent Mayor Brandon Johnson, who was at a community budget town hall in Uptown at the time. So was Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who has been a fundraising powerhouse as his focus shifted to a run for mayor.

Chicago Public Schools was an early point of contention, with former state counsel Bill Quinlan taking the first shot at Johnson while suggesting closing under-enrolled schools and renovating or building new ones to operate more like “rec centers.”

“I don’t want to close the schools, I want to fill the schools,” U.S. Rep. D-Ill., Mike Quigley quipped back, saying he wanted to push for the creation of 50,000 affordable homes in underserved neighborhoods across the city.

Anastasia Busby/For the Sun-Times

The conversation often trailed over to housing, with businessman Joe Holberg calling for 100,000 housing units.

On the issue of antisemitism, several candidates took the chance to criticize Johnson over his push for a resolution supporting a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza took the largest swing at the incumbent mayor, saying the city’s report on antisemitism was “incomplete” under the Johnson administration and pledged to revamp it.

“It is the mayor’s job to bring down the temperature,” Mendoza said.

Lobbyist John Kelly used the question to push his public safety platform of adding 1,000 Chicago police officers, though Quinlan retorted that the solution to all crime, including hate crimes more specifically, wasn’t as “simple” as hiring more officers.

The forum quickly became an experience measuring contest in weighing each candidate’s prior political offices, leaving some of the more independent candidates to lean into policy ideas when asked about working to gain support in City Hall.

Co-founder of Chicago Flips Red Danielle Carter-Walters pushed for school choice to funnel more money toward private schools, while Cook County Green Party chair Zoe Ma backed a universal basic income program for the city.

Anastasia Busby/For the Sun-Times

Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas touted his 20 years in City Council, including as a committee chair and as floor leader for ex-Mayor Lori Lightfoot — “don’t hold it against me,” he asked the audience to laugh.

Former Chicago Housing Authority Chair Matt Brewer also said his appointment by Lightfoot and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel were evidence of his ability to coalition-build.

Mendoza touted her “trifecta” of experience in the statehouse as City Clerk and now outgoing state comptroller. Kelly said his time as a lobbyist would make him an effective coalition builder.

Quigley pointed to his time in Congress to highlight previous budget pushes, but also called for the City Council’s own version of the Congressional Budget Office, which he said could lead to a more transparent budget process with more chance for input from alderpersons.

“The next mayor has to be willing to be, on paper, weaker,” Quigley said. “We need a city charter that codifies that.”