U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley raising cash for possible Chicago mayor run

As if running for reelection to Congress while battling President Donald Trump’s agenda wasn’t keeping him busy enough, veteran Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley has been raising cash — a lot of it — for a possible mayoral bid in Chicago.

Focused explicitly on electing Quigley mayor, the Friends of Mike Quigley political committee has raked in tens of thousands of dollars since forming in August, state records reveal.

Chicago voters will choose their next mayor in February 2027. Quigley, whose 5th Congressional District includes parts of suburban Cook and Lake counties, lives in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.

Quigley has considered running for mayor several times but never committed to it.

Political experts think that will change.

“I do think that he will run in 2027 and that he will be a leading candidate,” said Dick Simpson, a former Chicago alderman and a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “He has always wanted to be mayor.”

Quigley couldn’t be reached for this story. He addressed the “will he or won’t he” question when he spoke to City Club of Chicago in August but didn’t give a definitive answer.

“There’s a lot of talk about future elections,” Quigley told his audience. “Right now we should be talking about not who should run, but what needs to be done.”

Cash is flowing

Quigley will face four opponents in the March 2026 Democratic primary for the 5th District seat: Matthew Conroy, Anthony M. Tamez, Jonny A. Bishop and Ellen A. Corley. Three Republicans are running in their own primary: Tommy Hanson, Kimball Ladien and Barry Wicker.

A legislator since 2009 who previously had served on the Cook County Board, Quigley is better known and better funded than all of his challengers. Whereas the Quigley for Congress campaign committee had more than $1.2 million in the bank as of its most recent quarterly report, none of the other seven candidates has logged any fundraising activity, Federal Election Commission records show.

Quigley’s mayoral campaign has been active financially, too.

Led by former Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney, the committee launched with an empty bank account but received its first contribution within days — $25,000 from Quigley’s congressional campaign.

The two organizations’ funds aren’t allowed to mix, but the campaigns can donate to each other.

By the time the mayoral committee filed its first quarterly report in mid-October, it had received more than $54,000 and spent nearly $27,000.

That’s significantly more action than was reported by Quigley’s previous mayoral campaign committee, which existed for less than two months ahead of the 2023 election. Its only reported activity was a $53,300 poll donated by Quigley’s congressional campaign.

Donations have continued to pour in since October, including 30 of $1,000 or more — totaling $115,300 — as of this week.

Notable donors include Lester Crown, the former chair of Henry Crown & Co., who with his wife, Renee, donated a total of $14,600; former state Sen. Heather Steans, who gave $5,000; and restaurateur Billy Lawless Jr., who gave $2,000.

Is this the right time?

Quigley cited his duties to democracy, the need to fight for American values abroad and the war in Ukraine among the reasons he stayed in Congress and didn’t run for mayor in 2023.

Since then, first-term Mayor Brandon Johnson has faced blistering criticism from voters, the city council and the media. A poll conducted in October by a nonpartisan research group put Johnson’s job approval rating at 31%, up slightly from the summer, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

If Quigley is going to run, Simpson said, this is the time.

“Quigley represents a good, moderate choice to actually run the city based upon his previous experience,” Simpson said. “He should be able to get endorsements and raise money so as to be an early favorite in the media and social media.”

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and entrepreneur Joe Holberg already have announced plans to run for mayor. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and Comptroller Susana Mendoza are considered potential challengers, too.