The Illinois secretary of state brings two decades of public life, a substantial campaign organization and a distinctly Greek American story to the 2027 contest.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has officially entered the race for mayor of Chicago, adding one of the state’s best-known political figures to what is shaping up to be a closely watched 2027 election.

Giannoulias announced his candidacy on Sunday, August 2, declaring that Chicago needs a city government capable of being both “competent and compassionate.” He also prefaced his Greek heritage early on in his announcement video, showing how important his immigrant heritage is to him.

He launched the campaign during an event at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134 headquarters in Bronzeville, surrounded by supporters, elected officials and representatives of several labor organizations.

“Chicago deserves a City Hall that works as hard as the people it serves,” Giannoulias told the crowd.

The announcement places Giannoulias, a former Illinois state treasurer and the state’s current secretary of state, among the leading candidates seeking to govern one of America’s largest and most politically consequential cities.

It also creates a moment of particular interest for Greek Americans. Giannoulias was born and raised in Chicago by Greek immigrant parents. His mother, Anna, is from Chania, Crete, while his late father, Alexis, came from Kalavryta in the Peloponnese.

Should he win, the city famously known as America’s “Second City” could have an unmistakably Greek name on the mayor’s office door at City Hall.

Giannoulias, 50, grew up in Chicago and attended the Latin School of Chicago, where he played basketball. After attending the University of Chicago, he graduated from Boston University with a degree in economics.

He subsequently moved to Greece and played professional basketball before returning to the United States to earn a law degree from Tulane University.

His political career began at a relatively young age. In 2006, Giannoulias was elected Illinois state treasurer at 30, becoming the youngest state treasurer in the country at the time.

He served from 2007 until 2011 and emerged as a prominent figure in Illinois Democratic politics. Giannoulias was an early political ally of Barack Obama, and the two became known for their friendship and shared interest in basketball during Obama’s rise from Illinois politics to the White House.

In 2010, Giannoulias became the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate seat previously held by Obama. He narrowly lost the general election to Republican Mark Kirk in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races that year.

Giannoulias then spent more than a decade outside elected office while remaining involved in public service, education and business. He chaired the Illinois Community College Board, worked at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, taught at Northwestern University and served on the Chicago Public Library Board.

He returned to statewide politics in 2022, winning election as Illinois secretary of state and succeeding Jesse White, who had held the office for 24 years.

Since taking office in January 2023, Giannoulias has made modernization a central theme of his administration.

His office introduced the “Skip the Line” appointment system, expanded the number of transactions residents can complete online and established specialized facilities and telephone services for seniors and younger drivers. The goal, according to Giannoulias, has been to reduce the amount of time residents spend waiting at driver-services facilities.

The office has also introduced self-service kiosks at selected grocery stores, allowing residents to complete certain license, identification and vehicle-registration transactions without visiting a traditional facility.

Illinois began offering digital driver’s licenses and state identification cards through smartphone wallets under his administration, while the secretary of state’s office has continued expanding online and remote services.

That record is expected to become a major part of Giannoulias’ argument that he can modernize Chicago government and improve the way residents interact with City Hall.

His initial mayoral proposals include universal prekindergarten, property-tax reform, a higher minimum wage and the construction of additional housing affordable to working Chicagoans.

“Chicago should never become a city reserved only for the wealthy,” Giannoulias said during his campaign launch.

He has also proposed hiring 1,000 additional police officers by 2030, in part by returning officers currently performing administrative duties to neighborhood assignments and reducing the city’s reliance on police overtime.

Giannoulias enters the contest with a substantial financial and organizational advantage. His political campaign fund reported nearly $22 million on hand before his announcement, giving him the resources to compete across Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods and expensive media market.

The mayoral race is expected to attract several prominent candidates from Illinois Democratic politics. Mayor Brandon Johnson has not yet formally announced whether he will seek a second term.

Giannoulias is also seeking reelection as Illinois secretary of state in November 2026. The Chicago mayoral election will follow on February 23, 2027. Should no candidate receive more than 50 percent of the vote, the two leading contenders will advance to an April 6 runoff.