ready to make the tough calls for chicago.
Mike Quigley
Mike Quigley has never backed down from hard work or tough fights.
Serving on the House Appropriations Committee, Quigley works daily on issues that matter most to Chicago—transit, housing, infrastructure, and fiscal responsibility. He has brought home billions for projects ranging from the CTA Redline extension for the Southside to affordable housing across the city, all while calling for the dollars to be spent more efficiently.
Bringing Resources Home to Chicago.
Whether it was taking more than 200 stitches playing hockey or standing up to the Chicago Machine, Donald Trump, or Vladimir Putin, Mike refuses to fold when the going gets tough.
Now, he’s ready to face the big challenges threatening the future of the city he loves — because Chicago deserves bold, smart leadership, not warmed over ideas or half-measures. Mike can get big things done because he’s unafraid to stand up and do what’s right:
Beating a Broken Political Machine, Reforming Cook County, and Cutting Taxes on Working Chicagoans.
Few people gave Mike Quigley any hope of winning as he fought a lonely battle against the Chicago machine that was wasting taxpayer dollars on patronage and raising taxes on working people. But Quigley beat the machine, cut the sales tax, and implemented competitive bidding, spending cuts, and modernized operations. He did it once, he can do it again.
Taking On Trump and Putin.
As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Quigley helped build the case to impeach Donald Trump, and traveled to the frontlines to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Speaking Truth to Power and Demanding President Biden Step off the Ticket.
While others stayed silent, Mike Quigley was one of the first to call for President Biden to step off the ticket, because he knew the second Trump term would pick up where it left off on January 6. He was right.
“Before we ask Chicago taxpayers for one more dollar, we must show that we’ve done everything possible to deliver essential services efficiently and effectively,”
Quigley Will Do What Others Won’t: Fix the Budget.
For years, leaders in City Hall have swept serious financial problems under the rug, and attempted to fix our structural deficit with temporary fixes and increases in debt and revenue. This approach is no longer sustainable.
Consolidate back-office functions (HR, IT, legal), reduce management layers (supervisors manage 6-8 people rather than 3), and eliminate non-critical positions from the over 4,000 roles that are currently vacant, saving $147 - $257 million
Centralize procurement. Currently, every department makes individual purchases, meaning we are not buying in bulk and getting economies of scale. Serious reform could save $55 - $111 million
Cost recovery for large events. Ensuring we are getting reimbursed for all the police, traffic enforcement, and clean up we provide to hundreds of events could generate $21 million
Modernize our vehicle fleet of 15,000 vehicles over 36 departments by reducing duplicative purchases and maintenance, selling inactive vehicles, and centralizing services
Adopt a real estate strategy that assesses the city’s 500 facilities, 10,000 vacant land parcels, sells profitable land and property, consolidates office space, and maximizes Riverwalk revenue
Ensure employee benefits match peer city benefits. Our public servants deserve excellent benefits; but it’s hard to believe the Mayor identified not one reform. We could offer credits for employees who go on a spouse’s plan, reduce HMO employee contributions to incentivize movement from PPOs to HMOs, or negotiate better prescription drug plans
Optimize public safety service delivery. Public safety professionals are essential to our city, which is why we must ensure their services are delivered efficiently and effectively. Civilianizing administrative roles currently performed by sworn officers, expanding telehealth diversion to handle non-critical 911 calls, and reducing 311 hours from 24/7 could save millions, yet the Mayor proposed none
Finally, the biggest challenge facing our budget - underfunded pensions - is excluded from the EY report. The tough but honest truth is: unless Chicago tackles its pension debt, it will never escape its budget hole.
Economic Development
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Opportunity for All Chicagoans
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Inclusive Growth
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Fiscal Responsibility
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Bold Leadership
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Economic Development ✦ Opportunity for All Chicagoans ✦ Inclusive Growth ✦ Fiscal Responsibility ✦ Bold Leadership ✦
