Mendoza Dings Pritzker for Playing in "Independent" Comptroller Race
Comptroller Susana Mendoza endorses Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim as her successor earlier this month. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
State Comptroller Susana Mendoza has endorsed her preferred choice of a successor, Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim, and as the clock ticks toward the March 17 primary, Mendoza is taking a few not-so-subtle shots at Governor JB Pritzker’s influence in the race.
Pritzker has endorsed Rep. Margaret Croke (D-Chicago), a former Pritzker campaign staffer who later worked in the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. He has also contributed money to Croke’s campaign and is appearing in television ads supporting Croke.
Mendoza has had public spats with Pritzker and his staff in the past over state spending and believes Pritzker’s attempt to install his preferred candidate could weaken the independence of the Comptroller’s office.
“I do think that the Comptroller serves as this check and balance on the executive branch. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve never taken money from the Governor,” Mendoza said in an interview with The Illinoize Tuesday. “While I have enjoyed working with the Governor, I’ve always been very clear that I don’t work for the Governor or for any other constitutional officer. I work for the people of Illinois. It’s the job of the Comptroller to properly manage the finances that come into the state of Illinois. If there’s an economic collapse, or if the revenues do not come in as as well as we thought they were or projected they would, my office still has to figure out how to pay the bills with or without those [revenue] projections materializing. So it’s why you’d always hear me talk at budget season that we should err on the side of being conservative and not for austerity purpose. Voicing that fiscal discipline is important [and] a role that I take very seriously.”
Croke told me last month she wouldn’t have any issue pushing back on the Pritzker administration:
“The Comptroller’s office is an independent constitutional office, and I will be an independent constitutional officer. I worked for JB. I was also deputy chief of staff at the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for two years. And one of the great things about knowing the governor and having worked for the governor is I know that he does not surround himself with ‘yes’ people, and he is not afraid of when one of his team members challenges him,” Croke said. “I think, sometimes independence gets conflated with being combative or adversarial. The reason that I get so much done in Springfield, the reason that I pass so many bipartisan bills is because I collaborate with my colleagues. I’m really proud of the relationships that I’ve built across government in the General Assembly. I think it’s going to serve me very well if I am lucky enough to be the next Comptroller, because it’s going to help me get things done for the taxpayers and the constituents of Illinois.”
But Mendoza raised alarms about parts of the job she believes require independence from the Governor’s office, including signing off on bonding authority.
“I have operated 100% of the time independently in the best interest of taxpayers,” Mendoza said. “That is truly what needs to continue to be the case. I think Margaret Croke is a really nice person. She’s a hard working legislator, but this is a [job that requires] financial expertise along with a fierce level of independence.”
Mendoza said she believes Pritzker’s influence on Democratic primaries, including the Comptroller’s race and U.S. Senate race have been “ham handed.”
Kim, the two term Lake County Treasurer, is trailing in fundraising behind Croke and Sen. Karina Villa (D-West Chicago). There has been little public polling in the race, but many Democrats believe the race is wide open headed into the final week of the campaign.
Click below to view our full interview with Mendoza:
