Former Chicago mayoral candidate Willie Wilson has formally announced his presidential run. 

Billing himself as the "people's candidate," Wilson, who announced the formation of his exploratory committee last month, said he opted to run after putting a good deal of thought into the idea of running for the nation's highest office.

"This has not been an easy decision for me," Wilson said in a statement Monday. "But I know that it is the right decision."

"I am running to put America first," he added. "I believe we can recover at least $5.5 billion from foreign aid and give a portion of it to rebuilding Ferguson and Baltimore instead of Baghdad."

Wilson, a businessman worth millions, is running as a Democrat. He came in third in the February mayoral race, which his campaign says pushed the election into a runoff. Although he funded his mayoral run, Wilson will raise funds to help pay for his presidential race.

Wilson is expected to start campaigning in Iowa later this week.