You can only occupy one office at a time
In a bit of dialogue in the opening of the Schoolhouse Rock classic song, “I’m Just a Bill,” constituents reach out to their congressman about proposing a new law, and he responds, “You’re right, there ought to be a law.”
In Illinois there needs to be a law against politicians running for two offices at the same time.
More than just a bill
Two years ago, Senate Bill 2412 and House Bill 4488 changed the filing deadline for nominating petitions submitted by municipal candidates. Although this is a statewide law, it has proven particularly detrimental for Chicago voters.
For instance, for the 2023 Chicago elections, the last day for aldermanic and citywide candidates to file their petitions was November 28, 2022. But for the 2027 races, these petitions are due October 26.
This explains the farcical situation in which some announced candidates for the 2027 Chicago mayoral race — including Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cárdenas, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, and Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias — must first face voters on November 3 to retain their current offices.
While she has indicated that she plans to enter the mayoral race, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is also running for reelection for her current post, but as of this writing she has not officially announced her candidacy. In a clumsy attempt — there is no other way for him — when he officially announced his campaign for mayor, Giannoulias uttered this nonsense:
“Running for mayor is like interviewing for a job — a really hard job — and just like anything else, you don’t quit the one you’re in while you’re interviewing for that one.”
That sounds exactly like something a fool would say. Alexi has spent much of his adult life either on the public payroll, or as a nepo-hire at his family-owned financial institution, Broadway Bank, which later failed, costing taxpayers nearly $400 million.
In reality, most private-sector job seekers keep their career change plans secret if they are currently employed, because bosses often view active job searches as disloyalty and may fire them as a result.
Voters theoretically have the chance to oust Giannoulias, as well as Cárdenas, Quigley, and Pappas on November 3. However, Cárdenas and Pappas are running unopposed, while Alexi faces only a poorly funded Republican challenger. As for Quigley, before the March primary he said he planned to run for mayor while also seeking to retain his congressional seat. Yet he made that announcement — unofficially — only after the filing deadline for the primary had passed, ensuring weak competition in the congressional faceoff.
Media laziness
The compliant Chicago media isn’t pressing Giannoulias very hard on his “double run.”
And one journalist seems to be subtly covering for him.
Shia Kapos — who writes the gossipy, in her words “must-read,” Politico Illinois Playbook newsletter — remarked last week about running for two offices simultaneously, “The practice has a long history in Chicago politics.” She cites only two examples: Toni Preckwinkle declaring her candidacy for mayor of Chicago in 2018 while running unopposed for Cook County Board President, and Harold Washington’s 1983 mayoral bid. The then-congressman announced his run a week after winning reelection to his House seat, though he had been involved in a summer voter registration drive to bolster his chances against incumbent Jane Byrne and fellow challenger Richard M. Daley.
Someone who is running for two elected offices can play both sides of the fence in campaigns -- think of a church deacon holding collection baskets in both hands repeatedly walking up and down the aisles. In Giannoulias’ case, last month he indirectly began his mayoral campaign by running a generic television commercial. More importantly, his double run gives him a huge fundraising advantage -- at the end of the second quarter this year, Alexi’s Citizens for Giannoulias campaign had raised $22 million.
Favors
As Secretary of State, Giannoulias is in a prime position to hand out favors.
In Mike Royko’s essential political magnum opus Boss, a true must-read, longtime alderman and Democratic ward committeeman, Vito Marzullo, explained their importance.
"Everyone needs favors. The biggest banker in town needs a favor. The smallest guy in the ward needs a favor. If you don’t do favors, you don’t stay in business.”
Although there is no evidence that Giannoulias has granted any favors — as noted a couple of times in Chicago Contrarian — his campaign accepts contributions from automobile dealerships (which, as Secretary of State, he is responsible for regulating and policing), as well as from companies and individuals connected to the retail car business.
Earlier this year, Just the News reported that Citizens for Giannoulias had collected $300,000 in campaign contributions from “those associated with the trucking and logistics industries in the state from 2021 to 2025.”
While the SoS has fewer regulatory or enforcement responsibilities regarding trucking, it does issue commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) as well as license plates to trucks registered in Illinois.
Giannoulias has a checkered record on commercial driver’s licenses. In a February audit previously covered by Chicago Contrarian, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy found nearly 20 percent of sampled non-domiciled CDLs in Illinois had been issued in violation of federal rules, often to individuals whose immigration status or documentation failed to meet lawful-presence requirements.
Regarding his mayoral run, many unions with members on the City of Chicago payroll have contributed funds to Citizens for Giannoulias. Alexi, financially speaking, is getting the most he seemingly can out of running dual campaigns.
Returning to Schoolhouse Rock and “I’m Just a Bill,” yes, “there ought to be a law” against running for two offices at the same time. Contact your state representative or state senator and urge them to ban this practice — at the very least for statewide and Chicago citywide offices.
The legislation can be called the Alexi Giannoulias One Office at a Time Act.
While Chicago and Illinois will remain national political laughingstocks regardless, let’s give the rest of the country one less thing to snicker about.
