With mayoral race looming, Mayor Johnson falls further behind Giannoulias in fundraising, has just $631K
<p>Mayor Brandon Johnson spent nearly three times as much money as he raised in the second quarter of this year, and has just over $631,309 in the bank less just two weeks before mayoral candidates start circulating their nominating petitions.</p><p>Johnson already faced a <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/04/16/brandon-johnson-alexi-giannoulias-susana-mendoza-potential-mayoral-bids-campaign-fundraising" >huge fundraising disadvantage,</a> having closed the first quarter of 2026 with $813,125 in campaign cash on hand — compared to $18.3 million for Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.</p><p>Giannoulias has continued to widen that gap.</p><p>A prolific fundraiser, Giannoulias now leads the mayor by at least $21 million, pending his latest quarterly report, which had not been filed as of late Wednesday afternoon. </p><p>The latest reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections show the first-term mayor raised $109,000 and spent $290,000 in the second quarter of 2026.</p><p></p><p>Giannoulias' major donations have included $500,000 from Liz Lefkofsky, wife of Eric Lefkofsky, the billionaire founder and CEO of Tempus AI and co-founder of Groupon; $1 million from the company and family of billionaire real estate and casino magnate Neil Bluhm; $250,000 apiece from the IBEW Illinois PAC, the DRIVE Committee, a Washington D.C.-based political action committee of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and LFO Management LLC; and another $135,000 from the Teamsters local.</p><p></p><p>Giannoulias also received $100,000 contributions from: Jonathan Levin, president of GCM Grosvenor, the global alternative asset management firm run by billionaire businessman Michael Sacks; Monroe Management; Jeffrey Aronin, CEO of Paragon Biosciences; and David Helfand, CEO of Equity Commonwealth.</p><p></p><p>Giannoulias is running for re-election as secretary of state and has not yet declared his candidacy for mayor.
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<p>Mayor Brandon Johnson spent nearly three times as much money as he raised in the second quarter of this year, and has just over $631,309 in the bank less just two weeks before mayoral candidates start circulating their nominating petitions.</p><p>Johnson already faced a <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/04/16/brandon-johnson-alexi-giannoulias-susana-mendoza-potential-mayoral-bids-campaign-fundraising" >huge fundraising disadvantage,</a> having closed the first quarter of 2026 with $813,125 in campaign cash on hand — compared to $18.3 million for Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.</p><p>Giannoulias has continued to widen that gap.</p><p>A prolific fundraiser, Giannoulias now leads the mayor by at least $21 million, pending his latest quarterly report, which had not been filed as of late Wednesday afternoon. </p><p>The latest reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections show the first-term mayor raised $109,000 and spent $290,000 in the second quarter of 2026.</p><p></p><p>Giannoulias' major donations have included $500,000 from Liz Lefkofsky, wife of Eric Lefkofsky, the billionaire founder and CEO of Tempus AI and co-founder of Groupon; $1 million from the company and family of billionaire real estate and casino magnate Neil Bluhm; $250,000 apiece from the IBEW Illinois PAC, the DRIVE Committee, a Washington D.C.-based political action committee of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and LFO Management LLC; and another $135,000 from the Teamsters local.</p><p></p><p>Giannoulias also received $100,000 contributions from: Jonathan Levin, president of GCM Grosvenor, the global alternative asset management firm run by billionaire businessman Michael Sacks; Monroe Management; Jeffrey Aronin, CEO of Paragon Biosciences; and David Helfand, CEO of Equity Commonwealth.</p><p></p><p>Giannoulias is running for re-election as secretary of state and has not yet declared his candidacy for mayor. But he already is running feel-good commercials, apparently trying to raise his name recognition with Chicago voters.</p><p>Johnson’s failure to shift his fundraising into high gear and his refusal to definitively say he'll seek re-election have some political observers continuing to question the mayor’s political intentions.</p><p>Still, he wasn't sounding worried after Wednesday's City Council meeting.</p><p>"Every campaign that I ran, I won. So, my confidence will always remain strong," the mayor told reporters, though he still "not made any declaration of a time line about when I will make my declaration clear" about running again or walking away.
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- <p>Mayor Brandon Johnson spent nearly three times as much money as he raised in the second quarter of this year, and has just over $631,309 in the bank less just two weeks before mayoral candidates start circulating their nominating petitions.</p><p>Johnson already faced a <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/04/16/brandon-johnson-alexi-giannoulias-susana-mendoza-potential-mayoral-bids-campaign-fundraising" >huge fundraising disadvantage,</a> having closed the first quarter of 2026 with $813,125 in campaign cash on hand — compared to $18.3 million for Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.</p><p>Giannoulias has continued to widen that gap.</p><p>A prolific fundraiser, Giannoulias now leads the mayor by at least $21 million, pending his latest quarterly report, which had not been filed as of late Wednesday afternoon. </p><p>The latest reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections show the first-term mayor raised $109,000 and spent $290,000 in the second quarter of 2026.</p><p></p><p>Giannoulias' major donations have included $500,000 from Liz Lefkofsky, wife of Eric Lefkofsky, the billionaire founder and CEO of Tempus AI and co-founder of Groupon; $1 million from the company and family of billionaire real estate and casino magnate Neil Bluhm; $250,000 apiece from the IBEW Illinois PAC, the DRIVE Committee, a Washington D.C.-based political action committee of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and LFO Management LLC; and another $135,000 from the Teamsters local.</p><p></p><p>Giannoulias also received $100,000 contributions from: Jonathan Levin, president of GCM Grosvenor, the global alternative asset management firm run by billionaire businessman Michael Sacks; Monroe Management; Jeffrey Aronin, CEO of Paragon Biosciences; and David Helfand, CEO of Equity Commonwealth.</p><p></p><p>Giannoulias is running for re-election as secretary of state and has not yet declared his candidacy for mayor.
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With mayoral race looming, Mayor Johnson falls further behind Giannoulias in fundraising, has just $631K
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times