Real Estate Figures Join Chicago Mayoral Race

A pair of real estate-adjacent figures formally entered the race for Chicago mayor.

Chicago Housing Authority board member and businessman Matthew Brewer and Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas are both running for mayor. Crain’s reported that both fresh candidates in a jam-packed mayoral field bring a wealth of real estate experience to the table, and solving the city’s housing crisis is expected to be a hot-button issue.

Brewer was the interim chair of the CHA, and is still in the middle of a power struggle with incumbent mayor Brandon Johnson over the future of the housing authority’s leadership. One of Brewer’s first actions as interim was asking the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate Johnson’s nominee for CHA head for possible conflicts of interest.

Brewer’s move effectively blocked Johnson’s nomination of former Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. Johnson responded by attempting to override a 7-2 “surprise” vote to install Keith Pettigrew as CEO by filing a pending lawsuit, challenging the vote. According to the publication, Johnson called acts while Brewer was interim head “invalid.”

Cardenas served as an Alderman and was Chicago City Council floor leader under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, but notably broke with her after accusing her of misusing pandemic relief funds, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His claim to fame is abstaining from a 2008 vote to privatize the city’s parking meters, as well. As a review commissioner, he’s handled property tax assessment appeals for taxpayers across the city.

If either candidate is elected, they’ll be tasked with addressing the $1 billion budget shortfall, as well as dealing with a debilitating construction pipeline logjam. Key redevelopments in and around downtown are injecting life into the office space real estate market, but housing remains a massive issue as politicians spar over who has zoning authority. Cardenas and Brewer join around a dozen candidates for the mayoral race. Johnson has not publicly confirmed that he will be running for re-election.

— Hunter Cooke