Mayoral hopeful Bill Quinlan sues in bid to shrink field of candidates

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and two other mayoral challengers have been accused of trying to have it both ways by running for reelection while simultaneously running for mayor.

Attorney William J. Quinlan is now trying to turn that political argument into a legal one that, if successful, could shrink by three the field of candidates seeking to deny Mayor Brandon Johnson a second term.

An election law expert, Quinlan filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court asking a judge to uphold a revised Illinois election law that includes an expedited filing calendar for mayoral candidates.

If Quinlan succeeds, Giannoulias, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas would be forced to make a choice. They could either seek reelection to their current offices or file nominating petitions for mayor. If they tried to do both, they would risk being thrown off the ballot for both offices — if Quinlan wins the case.

Chicago has a long history of politicians who have run for two offices at once without being forced to choose between the two. At most, they faced a few political potshots from opponents. But that was before the election calendar was changed.

Mayoral candidates now must file their nominating petitions by Oct. 26. That’s eight days before the Nov. 3 election. According to Quinlan, that “changes everything.”

“The law says you cannot file two sets of petitions … at the same time for incompatible offices. If you do, you have to withdraw from one of the offices within five days after filing them. If you don’t, you’re disqualified from both,” Quinlan said.

An election law expert who asked to remain anonymous dismissed Quinlan’s lawsuit as a legal long shot. The expert said that the law simply prohibits candidates from filing nominating petitions for more than one office on the ballot in the same election. It does not preclude candidates from filing nominating petitions for offices in two different elections.

Giannoulias, the presumed front-runner with a campaign war chest of $22 million, did not respond to the lawsuit, instead releasing a statement: “Alexi is focused on talking to Chicagoans about the issues they care about: making Chicago a safer, more affordable place to live.”

Quigley dismissed the lawsuit as a publicity stunt by a candidate who “nobody knows, doesn’t have a base and will be lucky to get on the ballot.”

“The guy who was general counsel to [former Illinois Gov. Rod] Blagojevich is going to tell us how we should operate in our lives?” Quigley said of the now-convicted former governor.

Pappas said she has not formally announced her candidacy for mayor, so the suit shouldn’t apply to her.

Quinlan served as an election attorney for leading Democrats, including in the 2012 reelection campaign of then-President Barack Obama, and as an attorney for fired former Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez. He denied the lawsuit is a publicity stunt aimed at raising his political profile.

“The result of this is that you’re going to have a Republican secretary of state, a Republican congressman, and potentially, a Republican treasurer, because if they run for both as they say they’re going to, they will be disqualified from staying on the ballot, and the person on the other side will win,” Quinlan said.

The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment in Quinlan’s favor and an expedited hearing to resolve the issue well before the Nov. 3 election, when all three of the challengers he is targeting are seeking reelection to the offices they now hold.