Bill Quinlan
Attorney, former general counsel to the governor. Candidate for mayor of Chicago, on the ballot February 23, 2027.
General counsel to Gov. Rod Blagojevich from 2005 to 2008, chair of the youth agency Lawrence Hall, and a former Lincoln Park High School council chair; 56, from the Northwest Side, son of Richard J. Daley's corporation counsel. Entered in September and filed on the last day.
Full platform, open to comments
Campaign website (quinlanforchicago.com)
Campaign money
- Committee: Quinlan for Chicago
- Raised: $282K
- Spent: $78K
- Cash on hand: $204K
- Since the committee formed Sept. 15, 2026, through Sept. 30. Sixteen days of fundraising, no loans. Source
Money figures are each committee's quarterly reports to the Illinois State Board of Elections: spent is total expenditures from January 1 to September 30, 2026 (or since the committee formed), cash is funds available on September 30.
Support
Not listed in the ChicagoSpeaks poll, Sept. 2026 (Mansueto Institute / NORC). 0.0 points of support per $1 million spent.
What they would do
- Says what City Hall is missing is leadership willing to make decisions for people rather than special interests.
I'm willing to make decisions that matter for the people, not special interests.
(Announcement video, Sept. 15, 2026 (CBS Chicago)) - Get basic city services working again and make Chicago the safest big city in the country.
The goal is simple
(Announcement video, Sept. 15, 2026 (CBS Chicago)) - A ten-year budget plan instead of a choice between higher taxes and blind cuts.
We are on the brink of financial collapse that was created by politicians that were worried about getting reelected.
(CBS Chicago, Sept. 15, 2026)
AI summary
Main points
Leadership: Runs on decision-making for people over special interests, and on children deserving better.
Services and safety: Get the basic city services that make a city livable working again, and aim for the safest big city in the country.
Budget: A ten-year budget plan so the city stops choosing between higher taxes and indiscriminate cuts.
Next to the others
Only Quinlan: A ten-year budget plan, and a lawsuit (dismissed) to make Giannoulias, Quigley, and Pappas pick one office.
Safest big city: Quinlan and Johnson both use the phrase; Kelly and Wilson lead with police numbers.
Not covered: Transit and housing targets, which most of the field names.
On money
Calls the city's finances a collapse created by politicians worried about reelection, and would replace the yearly choice between higher taxes and blind cuts with a ten-year budget plan.
We are on the brink of financial collapse that was created by politicians that were worried about getting reelected.
(CBS Chicago, Sept. 15, 2026)
Pizza
No position on record.
Also on the record
- Represented the fired CPS chief Pedro Martinez for free, and sued (unsuccessfully) to make three rivals choose one office to run for. (cbsnews.com)
Compiled from public sources: