Cook County’s Democratic incumbents plant flags for 2026 re-election bids
“Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele is widely rumored to be considering a run for assessor but has not yet publicly declared her intentions. If she runs for assessor, she would have to give up her board seat, which is also up in 2026 along with that of fellow commissioner George Cardenas. So far, Liz Nicholson, a Democratic fundraiser, has filed paperwork to run in Steele’s district. Fellow commissioner Larry Rogers, who defeated a Kaegi-backed challenger last year, said he might run to unseat Kaegi next year, or help fund a candidate to challenge him.”
Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon, who won a special election to replace the late Karen Yarbrough last year, is also expected to run.
Though he has not made a formal declaration, either, Kaegi has filed paperwork with the state board of elections to run for a third term. Those reforms, in theory, would help low-income people pay fast-rising property tax bills, but Kaegi and allies don’t have a way to pay for it yet.
The $500,000 loan from Kaegi to his campaign brings his self-funding total to $5.6 million since he first ran for office in 2017, according to the Illinois Sunshine database.
“I love this work. I’m running for re-election because there’s more work to be done. Making the Assessor’s Office fairer is a crucial part of maintaining the public’s trust in local government. We need that now more than ever,” Kaegi said in a statement.