Alexi Giannoulias easily captures Democratic nomination for Secretary of State

By Ray Hanania

Alexi Giannoulias easily won the Democratic nomination for Illinois Secretary of State and will face-off on Nov. 8, 2022 in the General Election against Republican Dan Brady.

Giannoulias ran a strong campaign that overcame the endorsement of retiring Secretary of State Jesse White who endorsed Anna Valencia over Giannoulias.

Here’s background on Giannoulias.

As an independent Democrat, Alexi pursued a progressive, reform agenda that focused on innovative initiatives and policies designed to curb ethical abuses, create jobs, safely invest taxpayer dollars and improve the financial futures of all Illinoisans.

Former Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is the lead candidate to succeed Jessie White as Secretary of State. Photo courtesy of WIkipedia

In his first official act, Alexi ended pay-to-play politics in the Treasurer’s office by prohibiting his campaign fund from taking contributions from contractors, banks and office employees.

To prevent young adults from piling up debt, Alexi cracked down on credit card companies by authoring legislation to curb deceptive tactics marketers employed to prey on college students.

Alexi also played a role in helping Illinois-based suit maker Hartmarx avoid liquidation and save 1,000 jobs by threatening to pull state business from the factory’s main creditor, Wells Fargo. He argued that after receiving $25 billion in TARP funds, Wells Fargo had a responsibility to invest in American jobs and workers.

Unlike other states, Illinois weathered the 2008 market meltdown because of the Treasurer’s conservative and diversified investment strategy. Alexi introduced securities lending, which earned more than $2 million revenue for the state in its first year. To address the nation’s worst unfunded pension liability, Alexi drafted legislation to save the state $16 billion dollars by paying down its pension debt.

During a time of record foreclosures, the Treasurer’s office established a program to help Illinois homeowners refinance into sustainable and affordable mortgages so they could keep their homes by guaranteeing a portion of the mortgage before defaulting or missing a payment. Alexi also teamed up with the Attorney General’s Office to pass the Illinois Debt Settlement Consumer Protections Bill that banned the unscrupulous practices of debt settlement companies and prohibited hidden fees.

Alexi also set the pace on environmental initiatives, offering financial incentives for sustainable development and the purchase of hybrid vehicles. In addition, he expanded the state’s scholarship programs, earmarking money for the children of fallen military personnel and students pursuing agriculture-related degrees.

Dan Brady defeated John Milhiser in the Republican Primary for Secretary of State.

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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