website for the officeCook County Treasurer Maria Pappas announced her plans to run for Chicago mayor in 2027. 

In a statement on Tuesday, Pappas said "I'm unofficially in the race and am not getting out."

Pappas said she plans to "win another term as Cook County Treasurer" and then make an official announcement regarding her mayoral run. 

The granddaughter of immigrants from the Greek island of Crete, Pappas was raised in Warwood, West Virginia. She came to Chicago as a young woman to pursue her postgraduate education, and managed the day one drug abuse center to keep people free from drugs at the Altgeld Gardens public housing development.

Pappas won a seat as a commissioner on the Cook County Board in 1990. She served two terms representing the North Side and the North Shore suburbs on the County Board.

Pappas ran for Cook County Board President in 1994, but lost to John H. Stroger Jr. In 1998, Pappas was elected treasurer, while future U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley succeeded her on the County Board.

As treasurer, according to the website for the office, Pappas inherited an office full of out-of-date equipment — "four working computers, six typewriters and many, many letter-openers." The bio credits Pappas for bringing the county treasurer's office into the digital age, as well as making the office more accessible to the public — in particular ensuring that property owners got their refunds.

Pappas made an appearance Monday morning on CBS News Chicago's morning news. She talked with Dana Kozlov about a dramatic jump in Chicago property tax bills that happened as an effect of a drop in revenues collected from downtown commercial properties.

An analysis from Pappas' office found that taxes collected on commercial properties in the Loop dropped $129 million in 2024, while the median tax bill rose to nearly $4,500. Communities of color with large low-income populations were hit particularly hard, with some having seen their property tax bills more than double.

"In West Garfield Park, it's up 133%, OK?" Pappas said. "So in African American neighborhoods — North Lawndale is up 98%, and 82% in Englewood. So you're saying, how in the world did this happen This happened because the commercial base of the city—all these high-rises, commercial buildings that you see downtown—are unrented because the businesses have left the city."

Pappas urged those hit with huge tax bills to appeal their property taxes as residents, vote in future elections, and read their tax bills carefully.

Pappas did not say anything about running for mayor on the air in her interview with Kozlov.