Looking toward 2026 & 2027

 Next year we have another election. There is an open seat for Dick Durbin's US Senate spot in this state and what's is Gov. Pritzker going to do as far as a third term.

Rahm Emanuel has been making his rounds lately question is will he run for that open Senate seat next year, does he want to run for Governor next year, does he want to be back in Chicago's mayoral office in 2027, or does he want to run for President in 2028?

And this recent column from CapFax's Rich Miller discussing some possibilities for 2026 and the mayoral race in 2027.

Will Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias choose to run for re-election as Sec. of State next year and/or is he going for the mayor's office in 2027.

Susana Mendosa - our current state comptroller. She already ran for mayor in 2019 and lost and this column makes sure to note she was elected state comptroller in 2018, ran for may in 2019 and that didn't quite work out for her. And just think she was campaigning for office and then had to turn around and do it again so soon.

If Pritzker runs for Governor again he needs a new Lt. Gov and he fell in behind her. Juliana Stratton wants to succeed incumbet Dick Durbin in the US Senate. Who might Gov. Pritzker choose as his running if he runs again in 2026.

And of course with possible other retirements such as Congressman Danny Davis or Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky retired and closer still 2nd District Congresswoman Robin Kelly seeking Durbin's senate seat. For those running for office next year there are opportunities abound.

However, with  Mayor Brandon Johnson unpopularity right now the main question is who else may want to take City Hall's 5th floor in 2027? Anyone know any other names other than what's on Wikipedia?

Sun-Times: Mayor Johnson takes aim at Rahm Emanuel, ex-mayor's 'neoliberal agenda'

Rahm Emanuel

Does Mayor Brandon Johnson view his predecessor as a threat? It sure seems that way if you believe this report from the Chicago Sun-Times:

Johnson’s barbs directed at Emanuel came when he was asked during his weekly City Hall news conference whether the school funding increase he plans to seek next week during a lobbying trip to Springfield would be enough to avert a stalled, $300 million, high-interest loan at the Chicago Public Schools.

Instead of answering the question directly, Johnson unleashed a tirade against Emanuel, whom he has attacked before, though never so aggressively.

The mayor said he was watching an interview with Emanuel recently and was “incredibly bothered by his temerity.” Johnson said there has been a “long, sustained movement” in Chicago to push back against the “neoliberal agenda” that Emanuel championed to “set up austere budgets” targeting African-Americans and the “public accommodations” that support them.

“The playbook that Donald Trump is running is a playbook that Emanuel executed in this city,” Johnson said.

“We didn’t get here because we just happen to have a tyrant in the White House. We got here because someone gave him the script… The shutting of schools. The firing of Black women. Privatizing our public education system is why the system is as jacked up as it is today.”

Johnson said Emanuel, who famously closed nearly 50 public schools in 2013 in one fell swoop, had “immense disdain for public education and particularly Black, Brown and poor children, and he was vocal about it.”

“He told one of my heroes — sheroes — that 25% of children won’t become anything. Those are his words directly to Karen Lewis,” Johnson said of the late Chicago Teachers Union president whose planned 2015 mayoral campaign against Emanuel was derailed when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“And now, he’s prancing around this country asking people to reconsider him,” Johnson said. “It is not just frustrating. It is beyond offensive.”

I've commented a lot about the prospect of a future third term for Rahm Emanuel and there is speculation on him running for either Governor next year, mayor in '27, or even President in '28.

The reason why he had forgone a third term in '19 was because of his standing among city voters. It was clear he was unpopular and think about it, he had to deal with a runoff in '15.

In considering the last two mayors we had, we know what we were getting. We might have an issue with what happened with Laquan McDonald and that was a tragedy, however, the last two mayors didn't know what they were doing.

What are your thoughts on the former Mayor Emanuel possibly running for another term as Mayor? You see anyone else who you'd think would be a better candidate?