Dorothy Brown Will Run To Become Chicago's 1st Black Female Mayor

CHICAGO, IL — Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown announced Sunday her bid to become Chicago's first black female mayor. In an online video and a presentation at the Hilton Chicago, she threw her hat into the expanding ring of mayoral candidates, despite the cloud of a federal corruption investigation of the clerk's office hanging over her.

If elected, Brown said she would create a "transformative government" in Chicago. She also pledged to use every dollar in the city's budget to benefit the welfare of Chicagoans.

"In order for Chicago to be a world-class city, we must have world-class blocks, world-class neighborhoods and world-class communities," Brown said in her announcement video. "Then we'll truly be a world-class city."

RELATED: $10,000 Buys A Job In Clerk Dorothy Brown's Office: Court Filing

This isn't Brown's first run for mayor. She ran and lost to Richard M. Daley in 2007.

Brown's candidacy means she's part of the mayoral field that includes current Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Chicago top cop Garry McCarthy, perennial candidate Willie Wilson, former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, community activist Ja'Mal Green, Chicago Principals & Administrators Association President Troy LaRaviere and 30-year-old tech entrepreneur Neal Sales-Griffin.

RELATED: Ex-Cook County Clerk Employee Sentenced For Lying To Feds

The nearly five-year federal probe looking into Brown's office deals with alleged job buying and other financial benefits. So far, a former clerk's office employee pleaded guilty to lying to a grand jury as part of a plea deal. A former clerk's office aide is contesting similar charges of lying to the grand jury about the job buying, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Brown has denied the allegations against her and her office.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Dorothy Brown (Photo via Cook County Clerk's Office)