Willie Wilson campaign challenges Mayor Johnson ballot filing

A political challenge led by former State Sen. Rickey Hendon seeks to disqualify Mayor Brandon Johnson from the November ballot. The campaign of millionaire businessman Willie Wilson argues that Johnson failed to file the required 12,500 valid signatures. Johnson submitted 33,000 signatures when he filed his paperwork.

Hendon stated that his team of 20 people has reviewed the petitions for the last ten days. He claims the filing contains numerous errors that will drop the valid count below the minimum threshold. These errors include photocopies of signatures, missing addresses, and names from residents living outside Chicago.

"We found a lot of problems, way too many to describe," Hendon said. "I was shocked. I’ve never seen such a poorly put together filing in my life. It was the absolutely worst. I blame his campaign staff. The mayor should fire somebody. Heads should roll. The mayor trusted the wrong people."

Hendon noted that some petitions did not belong to Johnson's campaign. He identified a petition for Melissa Conyears-Ervin, a candidate for treasurer, among the submitted pages. He also pointed to pages where people wrote multiple names and circulator issues. Johnson’s political director, Christian Perry, said he is confident the mayor will survive the challenge.

If the challenge succeeds in pushing the valid count under 12,500, Johnson must gather affidavits from the signers. This process would cost the campaign money and time. Johnson currently holds a 30% approval rating and has $400,000 in his campaign war chest. A fractured coalition of progressive unions also weighs on his re-election efforts.

Frank Calabrese, a veteran political consultant, mounted a similar challenge against Dorothy Brown in 2019. Brown filed roughly 25,000 signatures at that time. Calabrese said he would be surprised if the Wilson campaign knocks Johnson off the ballot. "Assuming that Johnson was telling truth when he said he was filing 33,000 signatures, it’s more likely than not that he stays on the ballot unless his petitions are just atrocious," Calabrese said. "It’s much more likely that he’s gonna be on the ballot than off the ballot if he actually filed 33,000 signatures because he filed 2.5 times the requirement. So that means nearly two-thirds would have to be bad."

Johnson waited until the Friday before the Monday deadline to file his petitions. He submitted 33,000 signatures, a relatively low number for an incumbent mayor. Richard M. Daley, Chicago’s longest-serving mayor, once filed more than 100,000 signatures with help from Democratic ward organizations. Johnson’s delay and lower count left him vulnerable to scrutiny.

Victor Reyes, who advises newcomer Lisa Nee, traced Johnson’s petition troubles to three factors related to the Chicago Teachers Union. These include the civil war between the CTU and SEIU, the rejection of a dues increase by rank-and-file teachers, and the CTU’s focus on school board races. Reyes suggested Johnson may have lost high-end circulating staff because of the union conflict.

The adjudication of challenges will continue until December 17, when the final mayoral ballot is certified. Other candidates have also faced petition challenges. Giannoulias filed a challenge against attorney William J. Quinlan. Quinlan promised to appeal a lawsuit dismissed by a Circuit Court judge. "I’m running for one job, mayor of Chicago," Quinlan said Monday. "They should have to pick one too."

Objections were also filed to the nominating petitions of Susana Mendoza, John Kelly, Giannoulias, Maria Pappas, Mike Quigley, Zoey Ma, Nee, Jesse Maronto, Danielle Carter-Walters, and John Kitover. John Kelly challenged Susana Mendoza’s petitions. Kelly’s residency is also being questioned. He built a $4.4 million compound in suburban Homer Glen but claims a Gold Coast condominium bought two and a half years before the election has been his legal residence since October 2024.