Mike Quigley Jumps in Chicago Mayor’s Race, but Will Toni Preckwinkle Control Him?

What does Mike Quigley have to offer Chicago?

Democrat Congressman Mike Quigley of the 5th District has jumped into the race for Chicago mayor, claiming that he'll be the business community's best friend -- despite his anti-business votes in Congress and despite his long subservience to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who many assume will be pulling Quigley's strings.

Quigley toyed with running for mayor in 2023 against who would later become the one-term Lori Lightfoot, then hoping to be reelected. But at the time he claimed at 63 years-of-age he felt too old to take on the challenges of trying to fix the mess that is Chicago, adding his family couldn't "make that kind of commitment."

Apparently, Quigley is feeling younger at 67 and has miraculously found a more willing family this time around.

In 2023, Quigley also cited several other reasons he didn't feel he could leave his congressional seat, including helping Ukraine face down Russia. Strangely enough, that threat is still ongoing, yet Quigley now seems to have no compunctions about fulfilling his "critical obligation" to Ukraine. Funny how things “change” despite being the same.

One of the more central reasons Quigley is saying Chicago needs his guidance at City Hall is because the city's business community is under too much pressure from Brandon Johnson's anti-capitalist antagonism.

"If we're going to succeed, the next mayor of Chicago has to be 'Build, Baby, Build,' has to be pro-business" he told WLS-TV on Friday. "Bottom line, we're not going to tax our way out of our problem. We're going to grow our way out of our problem."

Quigley has always portrayed himself as a fiscal moderate. However, his votes in Washington aren't very pro-business. The liberal Democrat is scored at a measly seven percent lifetime conservative rating by Heritage Action and has voted against nearly every major pro-business bill that has come up during his tenure. He also has voted in favor of every disastrous, huge tax hike pushed by the Democrat Party.

He may be voicing the right concerns as he gears up to run for mayor, but his record does not show a man who backs up his support for the business sector with his vote.

Whatever his qualifications, Quigley has already started raising cash for his run at City Hall. And yet, there is the little concern concerning his congressional seat. It turns out, he's running for that, too. His term ends this year and Quigley says he is running for reelection. He is staying in the Democrat primary set for March and fully plans to be reelected to his seat. And then, he says, he'll run for mayor in 2027.

"Look, I’ve filed again for reelection, I’ve got another year to serve, the primary for mayor is in February of 2027," Quigley said, WGN reported. "Look, what I’m trying to show proper respect for the March 17 primary next year, that’s really important. So I don’t want the voters to get too far ahead of ourselves; I want to focus on the issues of the day. You asked me a question and I wanted to answer honestly. I’m not equivocating, I’m just prioritizing the here and now and that is the issues of the day and the primary, March of just next year."

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Looks like he is planning on having his cake and eating it, too.

There are other questions, too.

Before running for Congress, Quigley served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners and left for Washington the year before current Board president, Toni Preckwinkle, took over the position from Todd Stroger in 2010.

So, the question is, will Quigley be his own man, or will he hew towards his past connections to the Cook County Board and become Preckwinkle's man in City Hall?

There is one other problem with Quigley, though it might be a bit more on the lighter side of things. Mike Quigley is openly a Green Bay Packers fan. Indeed, he rooted for the Packers over Bears in the recent playoffs. And he justified his support for the Packers, too.

"You have to be authentic. I'm trying to tell the people of the city of Chicago that lawmakers have to be honest with them. Our problems come when we're not honest," Quigley insisted. "If voters make a decision based on the teams you root for, we all have a big problem."

Anyone is better than Brandon Johnson, granted. But the big question is whether or not Mike Quigley is the cure for what ails Chicago.

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