election: Mayor Lori Lightfoot files for 2nd term - Chicago Tribune

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot filed her petitions to tally for re-election connected Monday arsenic Chicago’s predetermination rhythm enters a bare-knuckle play wherever candidates for section bureau effort to sound each different disconnected the ballot.

“With the filing today, 1 section successful the run ends and different opens,” she said aft submitting a stack of nominating papers that, sitting connected the Board of Elections table, astir reached her shoulders. Surrounded by supporters and Chicago archetypal woman Amy Eshleman, Lightfoot quipped that her heap of more-than-40,000 signatures “looks similar capable to me” earlier expressing that the adjacent absorption is connected telling voters “why the lone rational prime is to instrumentality maine to office.”

She touted her record, asserting she’s tally the country’s “most equitable” vaccine program, made advancement toward transforming Chicago into the “safest large metropolis successful the nation” and protected “workers and workers’ rights.” She besides tried to evoke the vigor of her archetypal run successful 2019 arsenic 1 of insurgency and alteration — though this clip she present runs arsenic the incumbent.

“What’s connected the ballot is, bash we instrumentality to the presumption quo that near immense swaths of our metropolis of our residents retired of the equation, retired of the aboriginal of Chicago? Or bash we support forging up connected the way that we’ve been on?” Lightfoot said. “And the way that we’ve been on, folks, unapologetically, it’s astir equity. It’s astir inclusion. It’s astir making definite that nary portion of our metropolis is forgotten, that each portion gets resources and gets dealt successful to the prosperity of our city.”

Chicago’s nominating petition process is 1 of the astir salient holdovers of the old-school governmental machine. To tally for mayor, a campaigner indispensable taxable 12,500 signatures from voters, which tin beryllium disqualified connected constrictive method grounds. So far, six candidates person submitted signatures to tally for mayor: Ald. Sophia King, activistic Ja’Mal Green, Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, erstwhile Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, businessman Willie Wilson and authorities Rep. Kam Buckner.

[ Who's in, who's retired and who's filed to tally for Chicago mayor ]

Ald. Roderick Sawyer and U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, a aboriginal introduction to the contention arsenic an announced candidate, are expected to articulation them connected Monday.

Lightfoot’s determination not to record connected the archetypal time drew scorn from rivals, who said it reflects organizational challenges arsenic the politician fights an uphill conflict to triumph reelection. But Lightfoot has shrugged disconnected the criticism.

She besides went against accepted contented Monday by submitting her petitions archetypal happening connected the past time of filing alternatively than astatine the extremity of the day. That means she’s besides forgoing the accidental to beryllium past connected the ballot, which is often preferred if a campaigner doesn’t look first.

The incumbent politician said her deficiency of involvement successful playing that crippled was due to the fact that she isn’t disquieted astir sanction designation — and due to the fact that “I really got a metropolis to tally arsenic well.”

“The presumption connected the ballot is if you are an unknown, and radical don’t cognize you. They cognize who I am,” Lightfoot said, to which a protagonist added to reporters, “You amended listen.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, with Chicago archetypal woman Amy Eshleman, smiles arsenic she is greeted by cheering supporters earlier filing her nominating petitions for her reelection bid connected Nov. 28, 2022, successful downtown Chicago. (Michael Blackshire / Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago archetypal woman Amy Eshleman ballot aboriginal for the midterm predetermination astatine NEIU El Centro, Nov. 3, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

The conjugation of supporters flanking Lightfoot included the colorfully dressed activistic Wallace “Gator” Bradley, a pardoned ex-gang enforcer who has been a predominant beingness astatine Chicago City Hall, and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, a longtime subordinate of the city’s Black governmental constitution who precocious fended disconnected a progressive superior challenger to triumph a 14th word successful Congress.

Once each the signatures are filed astatine the extremity of the time Monday, candidates volition person until Dec. 5 to situation their rivals’ signatures and get them kicked disconnected the ballot.

In the 2019 predetermination for mayor, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle — who yet mislaid to Lightfoot successful a runoff — succeeded successful getting erstwhile Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown kicked disconnected the ballot. That year, Green besides withdrew portion facing a stiff situation from Wilson.

Election lawyers often promote candidates to cod astir 3 times the minimum fig of signatures due to the fact that challengers tin usage charges of forgery, fraud and much insignificant technicalities to invalidate signatures and sound opponents retired of the race. Lightfoot connected Monday said she amassed much than 40,000 signatures, much than 3 times the threshold.

Election time is Feb. 28 with a runoff scheduled for April 4 if nary campaigner gets much than 50% of the vote.

The six candidates who filed archetypal happening connected Nov. 21 volition beryllium successful a lottery to find who’s archetypal connected the ballot.

In closing remarks earlier walking retired the elections committee room, Lightfoot sought to pass the media that though incumbents similar her look a “tough environment,” her candidacy is not to beryllium counted out.

“I cognize however to physique coalitions. I cognize however to bring radical together,” Lightfoot said. “Every azygous clip there’s been a situation and you each are speculating, ‘She can’t get it done due to the fact that of this, that and the different and radical don’t similar her property and whatnot,’ we deliver, each azygous time. So people that.”