Politics
Chicago Election Board Opens Petition Challenges Against 12 Mayoral Hopefuls and Eight Aldermen
Chicago's election board began hearings Monday on challenges to nominating petitions filed by 12 of 16 mayoral candidatesâincluding Mayor Brandon Johnsonâand eight sitting City Council members, setting up weeks of ballot fights ahead of the February 2027 election.
The Chicago Board of Elections opened its first round of petition challenge hearings Monday, launching a process that could reshape the 2027 municipal ballot before a single vote is cast.
Challenges have been filed against 12 of the 16 candidates running for mayor, including incumbent Brandon Johnson, according to the board's candidate list. The field of contested mayoral petitions also includes Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.
To qualify for the February ballot, mayoral candidates must submit 12,500 valid signatures from registered voters. Election law requires each signature to come from a registered voter, and voters may sign only one nominating petition.
City Council candidates face a much lower barâ473 signaturesâbut that threshold has not shielded sitting aldermen from scrutiny. Eight current Council members are among those whose petitions are being challenged, the board's list shows.
Among them is 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins. Richard Omoniyi-Shoyoola, Hopkins' only declared 2027 opponent in the ward, is also facing a challenge. A similar dynamic is playing out in the 5th Ward, where Ald. Desmon Yancy and potential challenger Ryan Green are both contesting petition challenges.
Other sitting aldermen facing challenges include William Hall in the 6th Ward, Anthony Beale in the 9th Ward, Monique Scott in the 24th Ward, Emma Mitts in the 37th Ward and Angela Clay in the 46th Ward. In the 9th Ward, Beale's potential opponent Cecelia Harrison is also facing a challenge.
The 7th Ward could prove especially contentious: Ald. Gregory Mitchell is facing multiple challenges to his nominating petitions, as are all five candidates seeking to run against him.
In several wards, a successful challenge could leave an incumbent without any opponent on the ballot. All three of Ald. Stephanie Coleman's potential opponents in the 16th Ward are facing challenges, and the same is true for candidates running against Ald. David Moore in the 17th Ward and Ald. Walter Burnett in the 27th Ward. In the 29th Ward, both of Ald. Chris Taliaferro's potential opponents have been challenged, as have the two candidates hoping to unseat 31st Ward Ald. Felix Cardona.
Hearing officers will be assigned to each case, and the Board of Elections will decide in the coming weeks whether challenged candidates remain on the ballot or are disqualified.
The consolidated election is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2027. If no candidate wins a majority in any race, a runoff between the top two finishers would be held Tuesday, April 6, 2027.
The volume of challengesâparticularly against a sitting mayor and a dozen mayoral contendersâunderscores how high the stakes are in a city still navigating the political fallout of recent election cycles. Petition objections have long been a tool in Chicago politics, but the breadth of this year's filings means the board's rulings could significantly narrow the field before voters weigh in.
For community groups and voters, the hearings are the first test of whether the 2027 ballot will reflect the full range of declared candidates or a filtered version shaped by procedural fights. The board has not yet indicated how quickly it expects to resolve the cases.