Biography
Alexi Giannoulias is the Democratic Secretary of State of Illinois, seeking re-election. A businessman and former state treasurer (2007–2011), he is running on continuing "momentum on modernization" of the office's services and has announced a run for Chicago mayor in 2027.[1][2][3]
Giannoulias lives in Chicago. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Boston University in 1998 and a law degree from Tulane University in 2002.[2] The Sun-Times reports that he played professional basketball in Greece and that he got his start in politics as a basketball-playing friend of Barack Obama.[3]
Giannoulias founded and was CEO of Annoula Ventures, and he served as chairman of the Illinois Community College Board.[2] After leaving the treasurer's office in 2011, according to the City Club of Chicago, he became a senior director at BNY Mellon Wealth Management and taught at Northwestern University.[4]
He was elected Illinois State Treasurer in 2006 and served from 2007 to 2011.[2][4] He was sworn in as the 38th Secretary of State on January 9, 2023, succeeding Jesse White, and won the Democratic primary for re-election on March 17, 2026.[2][4] In the office he has promoted online appointment scheduling for ID renewals and the deployment of kiosks at facilities; the Sun-Times also reports that he rolled back testing requirements for elderly drivers.[3] The Sun-Times describes him as a frontrunner in Chicago's 2027 mayoral election.[3]
- 1.Illinois Secretary of State election, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-10-19 Reference
- 2.Alexi Giannoulias · Ballotpedia Reference
- 3.What to know about the Illinois secretary of state race between Alexi Giannoulias and Diane Harris · Chicago Sun-Times / WBEZ · 2026-10-01 News report
- 4.Secretary Alexi Giannoulias · City Club of Chicago · 2026-10-19 Reference
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.
On the ballot
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