Fourteen people filed to run for Chicago mayor. The challenges that could shrink the field are due Nov. 2

Fourteen people filed nominating papers to run for mayor of Chicago by Monday's 5 p.m. deadline, including Mayor Brandon Johnson, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. WTTW, citing the Board of Election Commissioners, put the number at 16. The Board has not yet posted its official list.

Why it matters: the field you see on Feb. 23 will be smaller than the one that filed. Starting today and through Nov. 2, candidates and voters can challenge one another's petitions, and campaigns have said they will.

This updates our Oct. 26 story on the last day of filing.

Who filed

According to the Sun-Times, the five who filed on the first day, Oct. 19, were Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, lobbyist John Kelly, former Chicago Housing Authority board chair Matthew Brewer, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley and businessman Willie Wilson. Johnson filed on Friday, Oct. 23.

Eight filed on the last day: Comptroller Susana Mendoza, cardiologist Lisa Nee, Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, attorney William Quinlan, businessman Joe Holberg, Danielle Carter-Walters and Zoe Ma.

Pappas, Cardenas, Holberg, Carter-Walters and Ma filed within the last hour, which puts them in a lottery for the last spot on the ballot, the Sun-Times reported. The Board must hold such lotteries by Nov. 4, under its election calendar.

Candidates need at least 12,500 valid signatures. The counts the campaigns gave reporters range from about 13,000 (Carter-Walters) to "slightly shy of" 40,000 (Pappas), per the Sun-Times. Johnson said he filed 33,000.

Who says they'll challenge

Giannoulias' campaign manager told the Sun-Times that every rival's petitions would get the same scrutiny. Wilson's election lawyer said his campaign had checked its signatures at the Board before filing. Political operatives quoted by the paper expect several rivals to challenge one another.

What our records add

Committees are not candidacies. Our mayor's race page lists 17 people with a campaign committee registered with the Illinois State Board of Elections for this race. Comparing that list with the reported filers:

• Liam Stanton has a committee but dropped out in August and endorsed Giannoulias, Block Club Chicago reported.
• Jessica Maronto submitted petitions but said she would fall short of the required number, according to Block Club.
• Jabari L. Taylor and Latonia Brooks have committees, but neither appears in the Sun-Times' list of filers.
• Block Club reported that John Kitover also submitted petitions. He has no committee for this race on our list, and neither does Pappas.

Those gaps may explain part of the difference between the Sun-Times' 14 and WTTW's 16. We will list candidates on our mayor page, each linked to its source, once the Board publishes its filings.

The incumbent's record. Johnson is the only candidate with a record on the current City Council's votes. Our analysis found his legislation passed 524 of 525 times. His veto of a 30-vote borrowing rule held this month when an override fell one vote short.

The alderperson bar is much lower. A Council candidate needs 473 signatures. For where those races stand, see our story on petition cushions in the ward races.

What's next

• Nov. 2: objections due at the Board's office, 69 W. Washington St., Suite 800, the Board said.
• By Nov. 4: ballot-position lotteries.
• Dec. 17: the Board certifies the ballot.
• Feb. 23, 2027: Election Day. If no one wins a majority, the top two meet April 6.

We will post each objection on our objections page.