— Journal Star Newspaper | Kaergard, C. —

For decades, Illinois governors have “augmented” their staffs beyond the authorized number of hires.

It’s a not-entirely-honest but certainly legal process that’s been described as “offshoring” employees. In effect, someone is paid out of the budget for, say, the Illinois State Police or the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, but they work in the governor’s office full time — and not necessarily (or even usually) on topics just related to that agency.

That process officially ended last week when Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation putting an end to the practice.

Doing so wasn’t necessarily his idea, of course. The legislation was pushed heavily by Illinois state Comptroller Susana Mendoza — a frequent Rauner critic.

That, in part, may have been why Rauner tried to resist the effort in the spring before patting himself on the back via press release Tuesday once he inked the bill.

In fact, “he actively opposed it and asked us to vote no,” retiring GOP state Rep. Steven Andersson of Geneva told us in a tweet. “He lost that one.”

How badly? Unanimously in the House, 110-0. The Senate was a bit closer, 46-7, with local Sens. Bill Brady and Chuck Weaver agreeing with the governor.

While Mendoza isn’t Rauner’s biggest fan, she didn’t make the effort all about him, defaulting throughout the entirety of her effort to the same line that was in her news release after the gov signed the bill:

“It was wrong when Gov. Quinn did it. It was wrong when Gov. Blagojevich did it. It was wrong when Gov. Ryan did it. And it was still wrong when Gov. Rauner did it.”

A former state representative, Mendoza didn’t exactly make it a crusade when she held that office. But she came around eventually on it, just as Rauner did in signing the measure.

Certainly it’s a topic that has stuck in the craw of some legislators, since they, after all, approve headcounts and budgets for offices and agencies. “Offshoring” like this effectively flouts their will and makes a mockery of the specific legislative power of appropriation.

One person that didn’t bother, though, is running against Mendoza.

Also a former state representative, Darlene Senger, told us back in April that when she was in the Legislature looking at appropriations, “you know that that’s happening when you’re approving those appropriations.”

She laughed when we suggested that made it “transparent in its dishonesty.”

Indeed, she said, “I know we would go through and question, ‘How many heads do you have from elsewhere?’”

Senger told us that it has an overall benefit.

“It keeps us from having to add more, so if I need somebody and I can bring that person in from over here, I don’t have to add headcount,” she said. “That, to me, is a good CFO policy when you don’t have enough to pay for people already, you don’t add headcounts.”

Others see it differently, of course — including some of those state agency employees who can’t do something, whether it’s hire people or do work differently, when their office’s cash is being used elsewhere.

View the article: Kaergard, C. (2018, August 5). Word on the Street: Hypocrisy abounds in state employee ‘offshoring’ debate. Journal Star. Retrieved from www.pjstar.com

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— Crain’s Chicago Business Newspaper | Greising, D —

The decision by the Moody’s credit rating agency late last month to take Illinois off the watch list for a possible downgrade to “junk” credit status was a good news/bad news/painful news event. The good news is that Illinois will avoid becoming the first state to collapse to a “junk” credit rating, at least for the next 18 months. The bad is that one of any three major risk factors still could cause Illinois’ ratings to plunge. And the painful is that there is no plausible plan to address the state’s crushing debt burden, billions of dollars in unpaid bills and severe pension underfunding.

No one affected by Illinois’ shabby fiscal condition has any good cause to rest easy. And in government, the person who handles these problems day to day is Susana Mendoza, the state’s Democratic comptroller. It is Mendoza’s job to pay the state’s bills. In a state like Illinois, which faced a $16.7 billion backlog of unpaid bills as recently as last November, it can be a thankless and even fruitless task. And when Moody’s names risk factors that might plunge Illinois into junk status, as the agency did late last month, it rivets Mendoza’s attention.

In Moody’s view, any of three factors could plunge Illinois into junk status: a sharp jump in the state’s unpaid bills, a reduction in state pension contributions or a move by the state to absorb the pension liabilities haunting Illinois’ hundreds of local governments.

To hear Mendoza tell it, none of the threats are plausible. She practically scoffs at the last one. “That’s not even on the radar,” she says.

Mendoza has a point. There has been no discussion of having the state absorb local pension liabilities. If anything, the talk has flowed the other way. Mendoza’s political nemesis, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, this spring talked about shifting some of the state teachers’ system’s liabilities to local school districts. Like many Rauner polemics, that one went nowhere.

The Moody’s daydream makes no mathematical sense, either. Weak as many of Illinois’ nearly 670 local funds are—underfunded in aggregate to the tune of $58.6 billion—the statewide funds are much worse. The five statewide pension systems are underfunded by $126.5 billion, with a precarious 39 percent funding ratio. That’s less than half the ratio expected for a healthy public pension fund.

Moody’s concern about the second risk factor—a reduction in state pension payments—reflects Illinois’ sorry payment history. The state never will shake off the blot of the infamous “pension holiday,” in which lawmakers a decade ago sharply reduced pension payments for two straight years. Mendoza and others say that nothing like that could happen again. But bond investors, burned once, won’t stop worrying about getting burned again.

Then there’s the first Moody’s risk factor—the one that, more than any other, is Mendoza’s responsibility. Moody’s is worried Illinois might backslide on its bill backlog. Mendoza counters, says that won’t happen and provides a reason to believe she might be right. With some help from an income tax that has brought in extra revenue, she has made progress in whittling down the unpaid bills from their peak last fall. In response to the sharp growth in overdue bills last year, Mendoza helped engineer the sale of $6.4 billion in bonds last fall that also helped cover some of the debt.

For people who remembered then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s pension bonds—a bait-and-switch in which the governor sold bonds to pay down pension obligations, then used the proceeds to fund a state spending spree—the “backlog bonds” were a scary sight. But Mendoza was as good as her word. Not only did she pay down the bills; she targeted the payments in a way that brought in federal matching funds. The upshot: Nearly $9 billion in overdue bills was paid, according to Mendoza’s calculation.

Mendoza is not done, either. The legislature has approved an arrangement under which the state treasury will lend $2 billion in state funds, at a low interest rate, to Mendoza’s office. Mendoza plans to use the money to pay down the bills even more. Rauner and other critics see such borrowing as an ill-advised effort to mortgage the house in order to pay the credit cards. But the controller will pay roughly the same rate as for last year’s bond issue, and these interest payments will go into state coffers, not into the pockets of private investors. “We’ve got it under control,” Mendoza says of the bill backlog.

Moody’s is right to be cautious about Illinois’ outlook. The state’s sordid fiscal history demands strong doses of skepticism. But finally, after decades of mismanagement, there are signs that at least some of Illinois’ vexing fiscal troubles are being wrestled to the ground.

View the article: Greising, D. (2018, August 10). Maybe, just maybe, Illinois has averted Armageddon. Chicago Business. Retrieved from www.chicagobusiness.com.

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— City Club of Chicago | Mendoza, S —

Watch the video.
Listen to the audio.

Susana A. Mendoza was sworn in as Illinois Comptroller on Dec. 5, 2016, after running for office on a platform of prioritizing the most vulnerable residents at a time when the State was suffering through two years without a budget.

In her first year in office, Mendoza brought together members of both parties to pass the Debt Transparency Act, which, for the first time, provides residents and legislators with a monthly accounting of the debts owed by every state agency. Though the Governor vetoed the legislation, Republican and Democratic members of the House of Representatives unanimously overrode the veto. A second bipartisan vote in favor in the Illinois Senate was nearly unanimous.

During a time of historic fiscal crisis, Mendoza has been an advocate for stability, comprehensive budget solutions and open and transparent financial reporting.

The Office of the Illinois Comptroller is charged with maintaining the State’s central fiscal accounts and ordering payments into and out of the funds. The Comptroller’s Office maintains a website that gives residents detailed information about the State’s fiscal health; employee salaries; outstanding bills; and vendor contracts. Mendoza recently oversaw a revamp of the website to make it user-friendly and easier to navigate.

Mendoza is a trailblazer when it comes to women in politics. She was the first Hispanic independently elected to statewide office in Illinois after her historic win as the first woman elected City Clerk in Chicago in 2011.

Mendoza was elected during a special election to fill out the remaining two years of the term won by her friend, the late Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.

Following Topinka’s example of offering candid assessments of State finances regardless of whether or not they ruffled feathers in either party, Mendoza quickly began delivering on a promise to be a truth-telling fiscal watchdog.

Born in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood to Mexican immigrants Joaquin and Susana Mendoza, Mendoza moved to the southwest suburbs as a child, driven from her neighborhood by gang violence. Mendoza made a name for herself early on as a soccer superstar. Growing up playing as the only girl on all-boys traveling teams, she was often the best player. Mendoza was a standout athlete in high school, earning All-State and All-Midwest Honors and becoming the first woman to make the Bolingbrook High School Wall of Fame.

Mendoza won a soccer and academic scholarship to Truman State University in Missouri, earning All-Midwest honors in soccer and graduating in 1994 with a B.A. in Business Administration. She moved back to Little Village and worked in advertising/public relations, the hospitality industry and the City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development.

Mendoza was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2000 as the youngest member of the Illinois General Assembly and served six terms, representing communities in Chicago’s southwest side including the neighborhood in which she was born. In the General Assembly, Mendoza was recognized for her leadership and legislation on social services, education, law enforcement, job creation and animal welfare. She was a leading sponsor of HR 1650 which created the panel to impeach former Governor Rod Blagojevich, and she served as an active alternate member of the impeachment committee.

In 2011, Mendoza was elected Chicago City Clerk, taking charge of an office responsible for more than $100 million in annual revenue. Working closely with animal rights groups, Mendoza took on the puppy mill industry and won, spearheading the Companion Animal and Consumer Protection Ordinance. This new law effectively banned Chicago pet stores from selling dogs, cats or rabbits unless the animals are sourced from humane shelters or animal rescues.

She successfully transitioned 1.3 million Chicagoans away from an inefficient and archaic seasonal Chicago city vehicle sticker sales program to a streamlined Year-Round Sales program. Her massive technology overhaul and forward-thinking policies led to reduced fraud, increased efficiency and new revenues for the city of Chicago at lower taxpayer cost.

Both then as Clerk, and now as Comptroller, Mendoza has worked to make government more open, accountable and transparent.

Comptroller Mendoza is championing a package of transparency legislation advancing through the State legislature. Among those items is Mendoza’s Truth in Hiring bill, which requires governors to report all their employees on the governor’s payroll instead of concealing them in other state agency payrolls. Both houses of the legislature passed the bill to over-whelming bi-partisan veto-proof majorities. The legislation awaits the Governor’s signature.

Mendoza lives in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood with her husband, David Szostak, their 5-year-old son David Quinten Szostak, and her 82-year-old mother.

Watch the video: Mendoza, S. (2018, September 4). Transparency Revolution: How Budget Transparency Will Help Illinois’ Recovery. City Club of Chicago. Retrieved from www.cityclub-chicago.com.

The post City Club of Chicago: Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza in 2018 [VIDEO] appeared first on Susana A. Mendoza, Illinois Comptroller.

— Chicago Sun-Times | Editorial Board —

On Oct. 3, the Chicago Sun-Times invited the candidates for state comptroller to speak with the editorial board as part of its endorsement process. Watch the video above to find out why Democrat Susana Mendoza is seeking re-election.

The Sun-Times also sent the nominees for Illinois comptroller a list of questions to find out their views on a range of important issues facing the state of Illinois.

Mendoza submitted the following responses:

Watch the candidate video on the Chicago Sun-Times website.

The job of state comptroller involves more than writing checks. How would you keep fellow elected officials and the public informed about the level of state debt? What would you do to encourage the state to make responsible financial decisions?

Mendoza: You need not rely on promises. You can look at my record for the year and a half I have served as Comptroller to see how I will keep the public informed about the level of state debt and use my office to make responsible financial decisions. You can look at my website every day where I update the state’s debt level in our Backlog Voucher Report. Here are a few examples:

I was surprised to learn when I took office as Comptroller, the state’s Chief Fiscal Officer, that I couldn’t see half the state’s bills. I got a call from a Republican state representative. He said he had a nursing home chain based in his district that was owed $21 million by the state and he asked if I could help.

I had my staff check and we saw the bills we had on-hand for them totaled about $2.1 million. I called the representative to give him what I thought was the “good news” that it was only $2.1 million and we could probably free up some of that for them. He checked back with his constituent and they said, No –it’s $21 million. And that’s how I learned about the practice of agencies sitting on bills, sometimes for years at a time, before they forward them to my office, and my office’s inability to see those liabilities when they’re at the state agencies.

I thought it was pretty bad, early in my tenure that I went to bed thinking we had a backlog of $13 billion in unpaid bills. I woke up and found out it was a backlog of $14 billion. What happened overnight? The state Department of Health and Family Services sent over a billion dollars worth of bills they had been sitting on for almost an entire year. Now my office has to plan and cash-manage to make sure we make required monthly payments to our bond-holders; to the pension funds, to schools. It doesn’t help to have a surprise batch of $1 billion in bills dropped on my lap that I had no idea even existed. Could you run a business like that?

So I drafted the Debt Transparency Act, which requires state agencies to report to my office every month the amount of unpaid bills they are sitting on; whether any late payment interest penalties are owed on those bills, as well as on bills my office has paid; and whether they have sufficient appropriation authority from the Legislature to cover their expected bills for the fiscal year.

Now that all seems pretty common-sense, and all the legislators I talked to were surprised my office didn’t already have that information and were happy to support the bill. It turned out the only requirement agencies had to report debt was a once-a-year, single-page report delivered inn October, but was only current as of June 30th. I talked to every legislator and my bill passed with bipartisan majorities in both houses.

The governor surprised a lot of people by vetoing the bill, saying it would be “burdensome.” Nobody was buying that. I traveled the state talking to legislators and editorial boards, all of whom endorsed an override of the governor’s veto. The governor’s legislative director, Darlene Senger, tried very hard to convince legislators to vote against transparency for the Comptroller’s office by upholding his veto of my Debt Transparency Act. But all those Republican and Democratic legislators apparently found my arguments in favor of transparency more persuasive. For the first time in the history of Illinois, the House of Representatives unanimously overrode the governor’s veto. In the Senate, all but 3 senators voted for the override.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Debt Transparency Act. It really revolutionizes state finance. I didn’t realize as a legislator – and none of my fellow legislators I spoke with did either – that we used to draft budgets based on year-old numbers. At your home, do you balance your checkbook just once a year? With year-old numbers? This year, for the first time, legislators had current numbers as they worked with each other and the governor’s office to draft the consensus budget that passed this year.

Now, instead of a once-a-year report that is three months old, we publish the Debt Transparency Report every month. You can see the reports and every reporting agency’s numbers on our website, which is really the best window into Illinois’ finances. Thanks to the DTA we learned for the first time just how much in Late Payment Interest Penalties the state had racked up during the 2-year budget impasse: More than $1 billion.

Giving taxpayers this kind of a window into state finance puts them in a position to demand more accountable budgets from their legislators and the governor.

After two years without a budget, the Governor appeared hell-bent on forcing a third year without a budget to further cripple our state, so I used my position to meet with legislators of both parties and educate them on the dire consequences of a third year without a budget and the resulting plunge into junk-bond status. I released a video that went viral, getting 2.8 million views in just two days. Republican and Democratic legislators came together and overrode the Governor’s veto so we could finally have a budget. That budget gave the governor authority to issue up to $6 billion in bonds to pay off old debts.

The governor said he wasn’t interested in doing that. So I had to launch a statewide tour to make the case, to civic groups and editorial boards that this was as simple as refinancing your home. If you’re paying 12 percent on your mortgage and you can get 3.5 percent, you do it. Right? After two months of fighting me on this, the governor relented and agreed to the refinancing. So I attacked the highest interest-accruing debt first. As I paid down billions of dollars of Medicaid debt, I got federal matching funds and was able to turn that $6 billion into $8.8 billion. I slashed the backlog of bills from $16.7 billion to about $8 billion today. That lower interest rate – 3.5 percent compared to 12 percent – will save Illinois taxpayers about $4 billion to $6 billion over the life of the bonds.

That’s how I think the Comptroller’s office should be used.

What would be your top three priorities?

Mendoza: 1) Using a moral compass to prioritize which bills get paid first: Honoring our debt service and pension obligations; keeping nursing homes and hospices afloat; keeping the state’s school doors open – all take precedence over less urgent uses of state funds. The Comptroller’s Office continues to function in triage mode even after we passed a budget. It will take years to bounce back from the devastation inflicted upon small businesses, colleges and universities, and service providers as a result of the budget impasse. (See Question # 3).

2) Transparency: The transparency revolution we have brought to the state budget – actual numbers that you the taxpayers of Illinois can see – empowers taxpayers to demand more responsible budgets from their legislators and the governor. The Debt Transparency Act (DTA) for the first time gives us an up-to-date accounting of the bills that make up the bill backlog — as well as the interest owed on them. This marked the first year legislators worked on the budget with fresh numbers thanks to the DTA. The DTA was just the first of four transparency initiatives that passed the legislature with unanimous or near- unanimous-margins. (See Question #9) We have ideas for more in the coming legislative sessions.

3) Modernizing Technology: The upgrades we are undertaking, which you have already begun to see on our revamped website, will make the Comptroller’s office a model of payroll and accounting innovation. In the same way I pushed a technology upgrade through the Chicago City Clerk’s office, moving from once-a-year to year-round city sticker sales, I hope to upgrade the Comptroller’s systems that issue all the state’s checks. The upgrade at the clerk’s office brought millions of dollars in savings to city taxpayers and the upgrades in the Comptroller’s office should likewise bring efficiencies. In my nearly two years on the job, I have introduced the lowest budgets in 20 years, doing more with less and returning $1 million to state taxpayers.

Our state now has a budget, but it continues to struggle with a $8 billion backlog of unpaid bills. How would you prioritize which bills get paid first?

Mendoza: When I took office in the depths of the budget impasse, I found myself in a position that the Comptroller was never meant to be in — making life-or-death decisions about who gets paid now and whose payments have to wait. That’s because the state doesn’t have enough money to pay all its bills.

Bills owed to hospice centers were backlogged some 4-6 months, Some nursing homes were on the verge of closing because the state had not paid them in so long. Quarterly categorial payments in the state’s schools were running nearly a year behind. These are the funds that schools rely on to fund special education programs and transportation for children with special needs. Social service agencies around the state were closing, cutting back services, laying off staff. Who WAS getting paid? Certain government contractors. My predecessor quietly transferred about $70 million in the days before I took office to pay some connected consultants.

Committed to running the Comptroller’s Office to be both morally and fiscally responsible, I quickly re-arranged priorities to make sure services for the state’s most vulnerable got paid first. In order to avoid any further damage to our credit ratings, I start by paying our debt service payments and pension obligations. Medicaid and General State Aid payments are next. Nursing homes, hospice centers, children and adults with disabilities and those caring for them are at the front of the line once those other mandated payments are met. I have and will continue prioritizing education payments at every level, from early childhood through K-12, colleges and universities. With billions still in the backlog, my office continues to operate in triage mode, making sure that we are able to be responsive to struggling vendors who are on the verge of missing payrolls or struggling to stay in business.

When I was running for Comptroller, I promised to move the employee bonuses that a few politically connected employees got just before Election Day to the back of the line for payment in Illinois. The incumbent I was running against said that could not be done, and that I must not understand how the Comptroller’s office works. On my very first day in office I made that change she said could not be done. I included legislator paychecks among the expenses that could go to the back of the line, but the courts eventually overruled me on legislative pay.

Do you support a constitutional amendment to merge the state offices of treasurer and comptroller? Why or why not?

Mendoza: No. I have supported merging government officers where it makes sense and where there exists actual duplication of efforts. But it is important to understand the history of why these offices were separated in the first place. The framers of the state constitution were familiar with the potential for corruption in having one officer in charge of receiving money, investing it and paying it out. That’s because Orville Hodge, the former Auditor of Public Accounts, whose office had the combined duties of Treasurer, Comptroller and Auditor, embezzled over $6 million in state funds in the 1950’s – the equivalent to $57 million in today’s money – far more than the farcical projected savings number that has been thrown about. The framers separated the offices to serve as a check-and-balance on the Governor’s office and each other.

But Orville Hodge is ancient history and we have computers now so that couldn’t happen again, right?

Not only can it still happen, it actually did happen. As recently as 2012. Right here in Illinois. Rita Crundwell, the combined Comptroller and Treasurer of Dixon, IL, was convicted of embezzling $53.7 million from the town’s taxpayers. It’s a sad fact that the two largest government embezzlement schemes in the history of the United States of America both happened in Illinois and they both happened at the hands of people who served in a combined treasurer/comptroller role.

Different states have different governance structures regarding their financial officers. In Illinois, the Comptroller is the state’s Chief Financial and Accountability officer. Merging those two functions diminishes the important checks and balances created by the Constitution. There have been times and will be times again when both offices are held by Republicans and I will argue this same point just as strongly then. Who else believes these checks and balances are important? The credit rating agencies who assess Illinois’ worthiness for bond investors. They say they may lower their outlook on Illinois credit worthiness if that important internal control is removed. So not only would a merger for merger’s sake not save money – it would cost Illinois taxpayers money.

Please challenge backers of the “Save $12-$14 million by combining offices” canard to show their math. How do you save $12-$14 million by merging an $8 million office with a $23 million office? Even if you assume you could lose one entire HR department, a communications department and a general counsel, that doesn’t even reach $1 million. To save more than that, they would need to abolish statutorily mandated critical functions of both offices, like the state’s oversight of cemetery trust funds; collection of debt for other offices of government; the Bright Start program; and collecting and reporting municipal financial information. The numbers just aren’t there. Force them to spell out which programs they would abolish.

The truth is, there are negligible savings and the risk of far greater costs to taxpayers if we put an ideological drive to “shrink” government – without really shrinking it – over common sense. Let us not forfeit these critical internal controls and vital checks and balances.

Illinois’ unfunded pension liability has ballooned to more than $130 billion. What should be done about that?

Mendoza: The Comptroller’s primary role in confronting our pension liabilities is to make sure the state’s pension obligations are paid every month on-time and in-full. As Comptroller, I have made this a priority. By reliably paying our pension liabilities on time and in full we provide a layer of confidence to both the state worker and the market. Reliability also avoids further exacerbating the crisis and creating greater uncertainty in the size of the state’s unfunded obligations. The ratings agencies have thanked me for my firm stand about making regular pension and debt service payments.

As I have done since day one, I will continue to educate legislators and the Governor on the necessity of tackling this issue. The current governor has chosen to ignore these warnings, as he has proven year after year that the pension shortfall is only something he campaigns against — not something he has ever introduced a single proposal to fix. The previous administration under Governor Quinn made the pension shortfall a priority — passing a bill in 2011 to put all new hires from that point forward on a reduced, more sustainable pension plan. Then, after years of serious effort and compromise — passed a bill to address pensions that the state supreme court threw out. That court ruling severely limited the options available for the state to address the pension problem.

I think legislators are anxious to re-address the problem, and I think they will have a strong ally in Governor Pritzker to once again take up the pension problem, which has been put on the back-burner by the current administration for the past four years. The provision in the current-year budget allowing state employees to cash out their pensions now was not a bad proposal but, I do not see as many people taking advantage of it as the legislature and administration budgeted for. There is some merit to the Cullerton “consideration” model to incentivize employees to choose plans that will not cost the state so much in the long run. Furthermore, any talk about new revenue streams should include specific earmarks dedicated to our existing pension debt.

There is a push in Illinois to legalize marijuana, in part to increase state revenue. What is your view on that?

Mendoza: We have to be careful not to let the state’s need for revenue drive the policy on marijuana. I favor a two-part analysis:

Should we legalize marijuana? Illinois’ experience since legalizing marijuana for a fixed number of medical conditions has been positive. The data so far appears to show that the states that have legalized marijuana have not experienced significant increases in crime or drug dependency as a result of that legalization.

Prosecution of marijuana use falls disproportionately on minorities though use of marijuana is not concentrated among minority populations. Arrest and Incarceration rates show the criminal justice system treats marijuana as a social/recreational drug in one community and a criminal violation in the other.

Keeping marijuana illegal empowers and enriches the gangs that distribute it widely in Illinois despite it being nominally illegal.

So I would support legislation to legalize and regulate the sale of marijuana in Illinois. A benefit of that would be defunding the criminal gangs that control the technically illegal but widely available marijuana distribution in Illinois under the current system.

How much should we tax marijuana? If marijuana is legalized, I think we should adopt a tax policy that targets revenues from marijuana to particular policy goals: law enforcement; drug dependency treatment; education; and/or paying down pension liabilities.

To avoid a repeat of the lottery experience, we would have to first establish a benchmark level of funding for education or whichever policy goal is designated. We should require that these new funds would not be used to supplant existing funding for these state programs.

The taxation level would be negotiated legislatively but should be in line with liquor and cigarette taxes.

Do you support a graduated income tax? Why or why not?

Mendoza: I absolutely support abolishing Illinois’ regressive flat-tax system which charges middle-class taxpayers the exact same rate as billionaires. Illinois taxpayers need look no further than some of our neighboring states to see systems that charge middle-class taxpayers no more than they are paying now and perhaps even less and those able to pay more a little more. This would help Illinois pay down its debt and do a better job tackling its worst-in-the-nation pension shortfall. I do not favor the kind of county income tax Indiana has.

Chicago and Cook County are on their way to paying a $13-an-hour minimum wage. Should the state of Illinois increase its minimum wage, which is currently $8.25 an hour? Please explain.

Mendoza: Yes. A gradual increase in the statewide minimum wage is overdue. State residents from Galena to Cairo need a more livable minimum wage. Majorities in both houses of the Illinois legislature passed an increase in the minimum wage and Governor Rauner vetoed it. I am confident under a better governor next year, Illinois residents will get a minimum wage that more fairly compensates them for their work.

When is it appropriate for the comptroller to take public positions on legislation before the General Assembly?

Mendoza: Whenever she can make a positive difference for the people of Illinois.

Dawn Clark Netsch, Dan Hynes, Judy Baar Topinka, all appropriately championed legislation during their terms as comptroller. Secretary of State Jesse White; Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Treasurer Michael Frerichs appropriately take public positions on a variety of legislation before the General Assembly.

The drafters of the Illinois Constitution created the office of Comptroller as an elective office — not a ministerial, appointive office — because the framers wanted an independent advocate, not someone to keep their head down and take orders from the governor or the legislature.

I’m very proud of the strong legislative record I compiled in less than two years:

1) The Debt Transparency Act (DTA), for the first time gives us an up-to-date accounting of the bills that make up the bill backlog — as well as the interest owed on them. Prior to the DTA’s passage, legislators worked on the budget each spring with nearly year-old numbers reported in October that were only current as of June 30 of the previous year. It’s hard to overstate the importance of the DTA, which the governor vetoed, incorrectly saying it was “burdensome.” His legislative director, Darlene Senger, focused her efforts on trying to get legislators to uphold the Governor’s veto of the greatest transparency reform in the history of the Comptroller’s Office – the very office she seeks to lead. Thankfully, Republican and Democratic legislators heeded my calls for greater transparency and unanimously voted against her and the governor. This marked the first year legislators worked on the budget with fresh numbers thanks to the DTA. The DTA also answered the question for the first time of how much the state had racked up in late-term interest penalties over the course of that impasse: $1 billion – and how much deficit spending occurred in Fiscal Year 2017: $2.5 billion.

2) I also passed the Truth-in-Hiring Act because for as far back as we could trace, governors have been presenting dishonest budgets to the public. The Truth-in-Hiring Act requires anyone working for the governor to appear on the governor’s payroll, instead of allowing governors to mask the size of their budgets by paying for their employees out of other agencies’ payrolls, depriving state agencies already scarce resources. This deceptive practice, utilized by governors of both parties, is known as “offshoring”, and is now illegal.

3I also passed the Budgeting for Debt Act which will require governors to account for late payment interest penalties in their proposed budgets and map out how they plan to pay down the late payment interest penalties that have accrued as a result of the budget impasse. During the last budget impasse, the state racked up $1.104 billion in late payment interest penalties. Moving forward, future budgets can no longer ignore those outstanding liabilities and must address them head-on.

4) And, I passed the Lender Transparency Act (LTA) which for the first time will provide clarity regarding the participating lenders in the Vendor Payment Program who profit from the state’s chronically late payments. While these lenders serve an important function in helping Illinois vendors survive by fronting them money while waiting for the state to pay them, it comes at a cost to taxpayers of 12 percent interest on late bills. It’s a great deal for lenders, and a raw deal for taxpayers. Up to now, there’s been very little visibility on who makes up these lending groups; where their financing comes from and who’s profiting from the states’ financial dysfunction. The LTA puts the Vendor Payment Program into state statute, requires information on the program be made available to the public, and requires that the Auditor General audit the program.

I consider that strong legislative record an argument in favor of my re-election. If the qualities you seek in a Comptroller are obedience and silence, I’m probably not your candidate.

What are the biggest differences, as the potential comptroller, between you and your opponent?

Mendoza: Independence.

I’m energetic; experienced; concerned about the impact of our actions on Illinois citizens; and I’ve demonstrated that even during the most partisan times, I can work with members of both parties to get the job done.

When I was elected to the House in 2000 after running against Speaker Madigan’s candidate twice, I knew I wasn’t going to get any help passing my bills from my own party leadership, so I cultivated friends across the aisle, going down to Southern Illinois, to my Republican colleagues’ districts, to visit their farms and explore their coal mines. I listened when they talked about the issues important to them. All my bills passed the legislature with bipartisan majorities. I forged relationships that are still paying off today.

When I introduced my Debt Transparency Act last year, I talked to just about every legislator from both parties about the need for this important transparency reform. Governor Rauner did not want to disclose how many unpaid bills he was hiding at agencies, so he sent his legislative director, my opponent Darlene Senger, out to convince the GOP house members she had served with until recently that this bill would be “overly burdensome.”

This legislation was necessary because, before, Illinois taxpayers bore the cost of hidden interest on Illinois’ enormous bill backlog with no clarity about how deeply in debt the state was, or how much interest is accruing on overdue bills, or how long it will take to pay that debt off.

Taxpayers deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent. Fortunately, instead of accepting my opponent’s arguments, legislators listened to me and voted unanimously to override the Governor’s veto of my bill. This was the first time in history that a governor’s veto was overridden unanimously in the House of Representatives.

This was by all accounts the biggest transparency reform for the Office of Comptroller since the office was created in 1970 and my opponent worked against transparency, as well as increased accountability for wasteful spending and unnecessary spending on interest payments, for the office she wants to lead. I believe that alone should disqualify her.

Here’s another difference. When I first heard 13 veterans at the state’s Quincy Veterans Home had died from Legionnaires Disease, my first thought was — Oh my God. Are the other residents there safe? What can we do?

When my opponent Darlene Senger heard the news, her first thought, recorded in an email to her fellow senior staffers on Governor Rauner’s team was to say, “We can maybe tie this back to Duckworth.” She wanted to deflect blame for the deaths of 13 war veterans away from her boss and onto Senator Tammy Duckworth, a decorated war hero who had left the state’s Veterans Affairs office six years before the Legionella Outbreak. Senger’s concern was protecting her boss, Governor Rauner, not the veterans, and it speaks to a lack of character that disqualifies her for a position of public trust.

View the article and watch the video: Sun-Times Editorial Board. (2018, September 30). Illinois Comptroller Democratic nominee: Susana A. Mendoza. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved from www.chicago.suntimes.com.

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— WGN Radio | T. Hush —

Listen to the audio.

Friend of the show Susana Mendoza, Democratic State Comptroller, stop by to talk about the Democratic party’s female-led panel on sexual harassment and how issues related to sexual misconduct are handled.

View the article: Hush, T. (2018, September 30). Susana Mendoza discusses sexual misconduct panel and encouraging women in politics. WGN Radio. Retrieved from www.wgnradio.com.

The post Susana Mendoza discusses sexual misconduct panel and encouraging women in politics [AUDIO] appeared first on Susana Mendoza for Mayor.

— The News-Gazette Newspaper | The Editorial Board —

“The News-Gazette endorses Democratic incumbent Susana Mendoza for re-election … Mendoza has been an effective comptroller who has earned a second term in office … Mendoza has shown herself to be an energetic, thoughtful steward of this office.”

Elected in 2016 to fill out the balance of the two-year term created by the death of late Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, Mendoza is seeking a full term in her own right.

She faces Republican Darlene Senger, a former state legislator from Naperville. She has degrees in finance from Purdue and DePaul universities.

Senger, obviously, is qualified to serve in the comptroller’s office, which keeps track of state spending.

But there’s no reason to make a change, because Mendoza has shown herself to be an energetic, thoughtful steward of this office.

As a former state legislator and city clerk in Chicago, Mendoza has a long background in politics.

A protege of Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, Mendoza is a hard-worker, who has demonstrated she can be as partisan as she is competent.

Her constant war of words with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner was driven by both policy and political concerns. If a Democrat takes over the governor’s office, Mendoza likely will remain as outgoing, but not nearly as outspoken, as she has been for the past two years.

As noted in our previous endorsement of Democratic Treasurer Michael Frerichs, it would be a substantial step forward if taxpayers had the opportunity to vote on merging the offices of comptroller and treasurer.

Mendoza is opposed to consolidation, stating that the status quo should remain in place because, among other things, she has been so effective in her new duties.

Since consolidation is not an issue now, keeping her in place is the right move for Illinois.

View the article: The Editorial Board. (2018, October 2). Backing Susana Mendoza, Erika Harold in November. The News-Gazette. Retrieved from www.news-gazette.com.

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— Farm Week Now Radio | J. Talyor —

Listen to the audio.

Asked to describe her two years in office as Illinois Comptroller, Susana Mendoza used the words “truth-telling watchdog” and said she continues to seek transparency with the state’s fiscal situation.

“We moved forward with some of the most historic transparency reforms in the history of the state of Illinois,” Mendoza said. “And that was meant to allow taxpayers a better idea of how their money is being spent. I really, truly believe taxpayers should know how their tax dollars are being spent and when we know we can hold people accountable.”

Mendoza was elected to fill out the remaining two-year term of the late Judy Baar Topinka in 2016 and admits there has been a learning curve on the job.

“I walked into this job during the worst fiscal crisis in the history of the state of Illinois,” Mendoza said. “And it’s been a wonderful experience, no matter how challenging it may be to get to navigate the state through its worst fiscal crisis.”

Mendoza’s political career included a 10-year stint as a state legislator, and she was also the first female elected as Chicago City Clerk.

As she seeks re-election, she cites cutting the state’s bill backlog in half, from $16.7 billion to less than $8 billion, as a top accomplishment during her two years in office.

And even though her political background originates in Chicago, she said she continues to reach out downstate.

“I have taken it upon myself, even before I was elected comptroller, to get deep into central and southern Illinois to visit farms and speak about how incredibly important agriculture is to our economy,” Mendoza said.

View the article: Taylor, J. (2018, October 5). Transparency remains a priority for Mendoza. Farm Week Now Radio. Retrieved from www.farmweeknow.com.

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— Chicago Sun-Times | Editorial Board —

Watch her candidate video on the Chicago Sun-Times website.

Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza spent a decade serving Chicago’s Southwest Side as a state representative. That experience — that legislative savvy — really showed last year when she succeeded, as comptroller, in pushing through legislation to make the state’s bill-paying process more transparent.

Soon after taking office two years ago, Mendoza saw a sizable deficiency in the way state agencies reported their bills.

“I was surprised to learn,” she wrote in a Sun-Times candidate questionnaire, “that I couldn’t see half the state’s bills.”

State agencies, Mendoza discovered, were allowed to sit on bills for a year or longer before turning them over to the comptroller. That was something nobody would tolerate with mortgage or credit card payments, she reasoned, and it wasn’t doing the state of Illinois any good, either.

To fix the problem, Mendoza spearheaded passage of the Debt Transparency Act, gathering support for the bill from both Democrats and Republicans. Then, after Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed the bill, she went around the state to champion the bill with newspaper editorial boards.

The final result: The General Assembly overrode Rauner’s veto, and now the comptroller’s office receives monthly reports on all bills. There is a more full and honest accounting.

Mendoza, a Democrat, took over the comptroller’s office in the middle of the state budget standoff between Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan, also a Democrat. Like her Republican predecessor, Leslie Munger, she did a credible job of triage when it came to deciding which bills to prioritize for payment — because there wasn’t nearly enough money to pay them all. And she used the bully pulpit of her office to let the public know just how bad the state’s finances were.

Mendoza also led an effort, to which Rauner ultimately agreed, to refinance a large portion of the state’s unpaid back bills. Instead of paying 12 percent interest on most of that debt, the state now will pay 3.5 percent, saving taxpayers at least $4 billion over the life of the bond deal.

Mendoza has been more of a political player than the usual Illinois comptroller, which cuts both ways for us. While it probably was for the greater good, for example, that she loudly urged legislators to override the governor’s budget veto last year, we can only hope she’ll be just as tough on a fellow Democrat, J.B. Pritzker, if he is elected governor.

We endorse Mendoza for a full four-year term over Republican Darlene Senger, also a former state representative, and Libertarian Claire Ball, an accountant.

View the article and watch the video: Sun-Times Editorial Board. (2018, October 10). ENDORSEMENT: Susana A. Mendoza for Illinois comptroller. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved from www.chicago.suntimes.com.

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— WTTW Chicago Tonight | Blumberg, N and Plamore, R. —

About this candidate

Name: Susana Mendoza
DOB: May 13, 1972
Family: Husband, David M. Szostak and son, David Q. Szostak
Occupation: Comptroller of Illinois
Political Experience:

• Elected State Rep.: Jan., 2001 – May, 2011
• Elected Chicago City Clerk: May, 2011 – Dec., 2016
• Elected Comptroller of Illinois, Dec., 2016 – present.

Website: susanamendoza.com

About this office

The Illinois comptroller is an executive branch office of state government charged with maintaining the fiscal accounts of the state of Illinois and ordering the Illinois treasurer to make payments into and out of those accounts.

Candidate Q&A

What is your vision for this office?

My vision for the office is one that has a moral compass when it comes to making decisions about paying the state’s bills.

The Comptroller must make value judgements about which state vendors owed money by the state will be paid first. When I took office in the depths of the budget impasse, I found myself in a position that the Comptroller was never meant to be in — making life-or-death decisions about who gets paid now and whose payments have to wait. That’s because the state doesn’t have enough money to pay all its bills.

Bills owed to hospice centers were backlogged 6 months. Some nursing homes were on the verge of closing because the state had not paid them in so long. Quarterly categorial payments in the state’s schools were running nearly a year behind. These are the funds that schools rely on to fund special education programs and transportation for children with special needs. Social service agencies around the state were closing, cutting back services, laying off staff. Who WAS getting paid? Certain government contractors. My predecessor quietly transferred about $70 million in the days before I took office to pay some connected consultants.

Committed to running the Comptroller’s Office to be both morally and fiscally responsible, I quickly re-arranged priorities to make sure services for the state’s most vulnerable got paid first. In order to avoid any further damage to our credit ratings, I start by paying our debt service payments and pension obligations. Medicaid and General State Aid payments are next. Nursing homes, hospice centers, children and adults with disabilities and those caring for them are at the front of the line once those other mandated payments are met. I have and will continue prioritizing education payments at every level, from early childhood through K-12, colleges and universities.

With billions still in the backlog, my office continues to operate in triage mode, making sure that we are able to be responsive to struggling vendors who are on the verge of missing payrolls or struggling to stay in business.

My vision is also of an efficient office that is on the cutting edge of transparency and technology.

I have a record of leading by example on budget-cutting. In the City Clerk’s Office, my hands-on approach to the job helped me cut overtime spending by more than 70 percent, reduce payroll by more than 10 percent, saving Chicago taxpayers millions, and in fact, provide a better level of service to constituents.

As Comptroller, I’ve stayed true to my record of doing more with less. While state agency directors refused to volunteer cuts to their budgets during appropriation hearings last year, I cut my office budget by $2.2 million compared to the last full-year budget in FY2015, down from $25.4 million to $23.2 million, representing the lowest budget request for the Office of the Comptroller in 20 years.

Upon taking office, I shrunk the office’s fleet of cars from 11 to 9, replacing an old sedan with a used SUV the staff uses to carpool from Chicago to Springfield and around the state. I have implemented policies requiring employees to carpool or take public transportation for work trips. The previous Comptroller allowed individual staff to use personal vehicles to unnecessarily drive themselves all over the state and claim costly mileage reimbursements. The cost-cutting travel measures I enacted, allowed me to cut the office’s annual travel expenses down from $265,000 a year to $47,000 my first year, without sacrificing our ability to meet with taxpayers, businesses or service providers throughout the state.

I managed my budget so well, that I was able to return $1 million dollars to the state’s coffers last fiscal year and remain on track to do as well or better this year.

When it comes to transparency, I have done about ten years worth of work in less than two years as Comptroller. I launched a transparency revolution that includes several pieces of legislation passed by the General Assembly with unanimous or nearly-unanimous support. Before my signature bill, the Debt Transparency Act, the Governor’s agencies only reported their account balances once a year, and those numbers were woefully out of date by the time they were made public. Now taxpayers can view agency-by-agency detail of how the state spends their money on our website.

That website has also been revamped to make it simpler to navigate so taxpayers, journalists and civic groups can easily find the important fiscal information the Comptroller’s office provides. It’s one of first of several technology upgrades I am leading. I’m working to make the Comptroller’s office a model of payroll and accounting innovation. In the same way I pushed a technology upgrade through the Chicago City Clerk’s office, moving from once-a-year to year-round city sticker sales, I hope to upgrade the Comptroller’s systems that issue all the state’s checks. The upgrade at the clerk’s office brought millions of dollars in savings to city taxpayers and the upgrades in the Comptroller’s office should likewise bring efficiencies.

What is the most pressing issue facing constituents, and how can you help address it?

The state’s fiscal condition is the most pressing issue in Illinois. As Comptroller, I have made every effort to help put the state on better fiscal footing, and bring some stability and predictability to schools, providers and business across Illinois, and I will continue to do so.

I’ve worked to calm the markets. Illinois suffered eight credit downgrades during the last four years. Governor Rauner cavalierly dismissed concerns about the downgrades as he forced a two-year budget impasse on the state and tried for a third, saying, “Who cares what Wall Street thinks?”

We all need to care what Wall Street thinks about Illinois’ budget and finances because if they lower our ratings, that costs all Illinois taxpayers more when the state goes to market with bonds. Instilling confidence with the markets is always a challenge, but especially so when dealing with what is still a significant backlog of unpaid bills and a state with a history of imprudent fiscal decisions.

After two years without a budget, the Governor appeared hell-bent on forcing a third year without a budget to further cripple our state, so I used my position to meet with legislators of both parties and educate them on the dire consequences of a third year without a budget and the resulting plunge into junk-bond status. I released a video that went viral, getting 2.8 million views in just two days. Republican and Democratic legislators came together and overrode the Governor’s veto so we could finally have a budget. That budget gave the Governor authority to issue up to $6 billion in bonds to pay off old debts.

The Governor said he wasn’t interested in doing that. So, I had to launch a statewide tour to make the case, to civic groups and editorial boards that this was as simple as refinancing your home. If you’re paying 12 percent on your mortgage and you can get 3.5 percent, you do it. Right? After two months of fighting me on this, the Governor relented and agreed to the refinancing. I attacked the highest interest-accruing debt first. As I paid down billions of dollars of Medicaid debt, I got federal matching funds and was able to turn that $6 billion into $8.8 billion. I slashed the backlog of bills from $16.7 billion to about $8 billion today. That lower interest rate – 3.5 percent compared to 12 percent – will save Illinois taxpayers about $4 billion to $6 billion over the life of the bonds.

That’s how I think the Comptroller’s office should be used.

I believe my transparency efforts will help Illinois recover from the worst fiscal crisis it has ever seen. It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Debt Transparency Act. It really revolutionizes state finance. I didn’t realize as a legislator – and none of my fellow legislators I spoke with did either – that we used to draft budgets based on year-old numbers. At your home, do you balance your checkbook just once a year? With year-old numbers? This year, for the first time, legislators had current numbers as they worked with each other and the Governor’s office to draft the consensus budget that passed this year.

Now, instead of a once-a-year report that is three months old, we publish the Debt Transparency Report every month. You can see the reports and every reporting agency’s numbers on our website, which is really the best window into Illinois’ finances.

Thanks to the DTA we learned for the first time just how much in Late Payment Interest Penalties the state had racked up during the 2-year budget impasse: More than $1 billion. One of my most recent transparency initiatives requires, for the first time, that governors say how they plan to pay for those penalties in their budgets.

No matter how bad the problem is, we can’t start to solve it until we can truly see what we’re dealing with. Giving taxpayers this kind of a window into state finance puts them in a position to demand more accountable budgets from their legislators and the Governor.

Candidate Statement

Hi, I’m Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza.

It’s been the greatest privilege of my life to get to serve the people of Illinois by managing the state through the worst fiscal crisis in its history.

And I have a record to be proud of. Since taking office less than two years ago, I’ve cut the bill backlog in half; championed a bond deal that produced lower interest rates, saving taxpayers a net $4 – $6 billion in late payment interest penalties; and because I believe that you deserve to know how your tax dollars are being spent, I’ve led a transparency revolution!

I’ve passed four major transparency reforms including the Debt Transparency Act – the largest transparency reform in the history of the Comptroller’s Office which requires new monthly instead of outdated yearly reporting of the state’s financials.

I cut my own budget, managed it so well, that I returned $1 million to the state treasury, and introduced the lowest Comptroller budget in 20 years.

At a time when the Comptroller’s Office is being asked to do more than ever before, and has had to work harder than ever before, we are doing more with less and leading by example.

Our newly revamped website shows our daily tally of the state’s unpaid bills stands at $7.4 billion today compared to $16.7 billion a year ago.

I’m proud to run an administration as bipartisan as my legislative service. And why can I say that? Because just like during my time in the legislature, as Comptroller, all of my bills passed with unanimous or near-unanimous bipartisan majorities, with Democratic and Republican chief co-sponsors.

So to recap: I’ve passed the Debt Transparency Act; the Truth in Hiring Act; I cut my own budget; slashed our bill backlog in half saving taxpayers billions. We’re on a roll and I’m just getting started.

If you like what I’ve done in less than two years, imagine what I can do in four.

I respectfully ask for your continued support and vote.

Thank you.

View the article and watch the video: Blumberg, N and Plamore, R. (2018, October 9). CANDIDATE FREE TIME – Susana Mendoza: Candidate for Illinois Comptroller. WTTW Chicago Tonight. Retrieved from www.news.wttw.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 10, 2018

CONTACT:
press@susanamendoza.com

Susana Mendoza Releases First TV Ad of 2018 Re-Election Campaign: “Tough As Nails”

CHICAGO, IL – Today Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza released her first television ad of her re-election campaign: “Tough As Nails.” This ad highlights Mendoza’s fierce ability to take on challenges, whether on the soccer field or against Governor Rauner, and fight for what she believes in. In December 2017, Politico described Mendoza as a “tough-as-nails one-time All Midwest soccer star.”

As Illinois’ fiscal watchdog, Mendoza has transformed the Office of the Comptroller and shifted its priorities back to protecting the people. In only two years in office, Mendoza has achieved a long list of accomplishments including: passing the Debt Transparency Act to provide greater disclosure of state debt and save taxpayers billions; introducing the lowest Comptroller budget in 20 years; and recovering more than $36.5 million in outstanding debt for more than 400 local governments around Illinois.

Mendoza has led the resistance against Governor Rauner’s disastrous administration. Just as she did on the soccer field, Mendoza never backs down from a challenge. She has the strength and determination to keep fighting for the people of Illinois as Comptroller.

Watch “Tough As Nails” (play the video at the top of the page) or on YouTube.

Full transcript below:

Susana Mendoza:

All I wanted to do was play soccer. And my mother said oh no, honey, you can’t play soccer. Only boys play soccer. My dad said if she wants to try it, let’s try it. After the first time she gets kicked in the shins, it’s gonna hurt, she’s not gonna want to play. I got kicked in the shins, I just kicked back harder.

Soccer Coach John Randall:

They said, ‘Coach, she’s a girl!’ and I said I know, she’s the best player I have.

Susana Mendoza:

I do play in a male-dominated world, but when people tell me I can’t do something, it just motivates me even more.

###

View and download the PDF version of this release here.

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— Chicago Tribune | Editorial Board —

In the race for comptroller, incumbent Susana Mendoza is challenged by Republican Darlene Senger and Libertarian Claire Ball.

In 2016, Democrat Mendoza, a former Chicago city clerk and state representative, defeated Comptroller Leslie Munger, who had been appointed to the position in 2014 by Gov. Bruce Rauner after the death of Judy Baar Topinka a month after the 2014 election. On day one of her new job, Mendoza found an $11 billion (and climbing) pile of unpaid bills waiting on her desk.

With the state’s budget impasse in full swing, Mendoza grabbed her bullhorn and launched an impassioned effort to reset the bill-paying priorities for a state in crisis. In a flash, she became one of the governor’s most vocal critics. We like her gusto.

We asked Mendoza about rumors of a potential Chicago mayoral run. She demurred, but she also wouldn’t pledge to stay in her state job for a full four years if she wins. Even if the comptroller job proves a steppingstone for Mendoza, though, she has plunged into the state’s finances with impressive fervor. She pushed Rauner to borrow $6 billion to start paying down the state’s massive backlog of unpaid bills. She advocated for the Debt Transparency Act, which requires state agencies to file monthly reports on unpaid bills, and successfully lobbied lawmakers to override Rauner’s veto of the bill. She also fought for passage of two other laws aimed at improving the bill-paying process — one authorizing the treasurer to use special funds to accelerate vendor payments (and avoid late fees) and one that requires increased disclosure from certain financial institutions working with the state.

These three new laws are helping Illinois rebuild its standing with creditors, even as credit agencies such as Moody’s note that it will take far more than this legislation to correct the state’s financial mess.

Mendoza’s often harsh words about Rauner, a Republican, can give make her look partisan. She did pledge to us that, as comptroller, she would critique a Democratic governor just as rigorously.

During our endorsement session, both Senger and Ball — a studious accountant making her second run for the office — failed to keep up with Mendoza on nearly every issue surrounding the comptroller’s race. Mendoza is endorsed.

View the article: Tribune Editorial Board. (2018, October 12). Endorsement: Re-elect Susana Mendoza for comptroller and Mike Frerichs for treasurer. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from www.chicagotribune.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 14, 2018

CONTACT:
Rebecca Evans | press@susanamendoza.com
(312) 888-1983

Susana Mendoza is Running for Mayor of Chicago

Launches neighborhood campaign focused on the next generation, not just the next four years

CHICAGO, IL – Susana Mendoza launched her campaign for Mayor of Chicago this morning, committing to a vision that invests in the future of Chicago and its neighborhoods.

A fiscal watchdog and fierce proponent of government transparency, Mendoza has spent the past two years leading the resistance against Governor Bruce Rauner while expanding government transparency and cutting the state’s bill backlog in half as the twice-elected Illinois Comptroller. Her campaign released a video Wednesday morning announcing her candidacy.

“Chicago is so many things: gritty, hardworking, welcoming,” Mendoza says in the video. “It’s a city of neighborhoods, of all kinds of people. And it must become the city of the future.”

In addition to her work as Comptroller, Mendoza has a long record of public service as a state representative in the Illinois Legislature, where she wrote and passed legislation that saved the jobs of 3,000 teachers who would have lost them due to antiquated immigration rules and created the Illinois School Breakfast Program. As Chicago City Clerk, Mendoza modernized the city’s 105-year-old sticker program so people would not have to wait in line for hours and fought Mayor Emanuel’s efforts to dramatically raise city sticker prices.

Mendoza, 46, was born in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood but at age 7 her family was forced to move after someone was murdered on their block.

“My parents were like so many parents traumatized by gun violence every day in this city,” Mendoza said. “They felt like they had to leave. No family should have to leave their city because their neighborhood isn’t safe.”

After graduating from college, Mendoza moved back to Little Village because she wanted to make a difference there for other families. She was elected to six terms, representing the Southwest side district in the Illinois House of Representatives.

“What happens in any neighborhood, what happens anywhere, affects all of us everywhere,” Mendoza said. “Every parent in Chicago should be able to expect that when they send their child to a neighborhood school, they will get a good education and, most importantly, they’ll come home safely.”

Mendoza certainly understands the importance of safe neighborhoods and a quality education. She and her husband, David, currently live in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood with their 5-year-old son who attends a neighborhood Chicago Public School. And they know what it’s like to get a big property tax hike in the mail.

“The job of mayor isn’t for a caretaker or someone who protects the status quo,” Mendoza said. “Every Chicagoan deserves a mayor who every waking moment, every day asks herself one fundamental question: Did I do enough?”

“This election is about the next generation, not just the next four years.”

Watch “Future” (play the video at the top of the page) or on YouTube.

SCRIPT

MENDOZA:

Chicago is so many things: gritty, hardworking, welcoming.

It’s time to make this city work for everyone. This election is about the future of Chicago and I believe in that future.

Yes, we have challenges. And the challenges people face in the city are my challenges too.

We live in a middle-class neighborhood and we pay high property taxes.

My child goes to a Chicago Public School and we’re proud to be Chicago Public School parents for the next 13 years.

Safe neighborhoods, good schools, high property taxes, they’re not just issues to me.

I live them too.

I was born in the city of Chicago. I lived in the Little Village community on the Southwest side.

Violence was an issue then too. I know what it feels like to be scared to walk to school.

And then, there was a shooting right on our block.

My parents were like so many parents traumatized by gun violence every day in this city. They felt like they had to leave.

No family should have to leave their city because their neighborhood isn’t safe.

Every parent in Chicago should be able to expect that when they send their child to a neighborhood school, they will get a good education, and most importantly they’ll come home safely.

As a kid, it wasn’t my choice to leave the city, but after college, it was my choice to come back to try to make a difference.

Because when I see a problem I need to fix it. I just can’t sit on the sideline.

The job of Mayor isn’t for a caretaker.

Every Chicagoan deserves a Mayor who every waking moment, every day asks herself one fundamental question: Did I do enough?

No matter what our challenges, we can tackle them–together.

There is nothing we can’t do.

I’m Susana Mendoza and yes, I’m running for Mayor. We can shape Chicago’s future together. Let’s get to work.

###

View and download the PDF version of this release here.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 14, 2018

CONTACT:
Rebecca Evans | press@susanamendoza.com
(312) 888-1983

Susana Mendoza se Postula para Alcalde de Chicago

Lanza una campaña de barrio centrada en la próxima generación, no solo los próximos cuatro años

CHICAGO, IL – Susana Mendoza lanzó su campaña para Alcalde de Chicago esta mañana, comprometiéndose con una visión que invierte en el futuro de Chicago y sus vecindarios.

Como vigilante fiscal y feroz defensora de la transparencia del gobierno, la Contralora Mendoza pasó los últimos dos años liderando la resistencia contra el gobernador Bruce Rauner, mientras que redujo las deudas pendientes del estado por más de la mitad. Su campaña lanzó un video el miércoles por la mañana anunciando su candidatura.

“Chicago es muchas cosas: resuelta, trabajadora, acogedora”, dice Mendoza en el video. “Es una ciudad de barrios, de todo tipo de personas. Y debe convertirse en la Ciudad del futuro.”

Además de su trabajo como Contralora, Mendoza tiene un largo historial de servicio público como representante estatal en la Legislatura de Illinois, donde escribió y aprobó legislación que salvó los empleos de 3,000 maestros quienes estaban en peligro de perder sus trabajos debido a las reglas de inmigración anticuadas. También creó el Programa de Desayuno Escolar de Illinois. Como Secretaria Municipal de la Ciudad de Chicago, Mendoza modernizó el programa anticuado de calcomanías vehiculares de la ciudad para que las personas no tuvieran que esperar en fila durante horas. También luchó contra los esfuerzos del alcalde Emanuel para aumentar drásticamente los precios de las calcomanías vehiculares de la ciudad.

Mendoza, de 46 años, nació en el vecindario de La Villita en Chicago pero a los 7 años de edad, su familia se vio obligada a mudarse después de que alguien fue asesinado en su cuadra.

“Mis padres, como muchos otros padres, fueron traumatizados por la violencia por armas de fuego cada día en esta ciudad”, dijo Mendoza. “Ellos sintieron que tenían que irse para poder protegernos. Ninguna familia debería tener que salirse de la ciudad debido a la inseguridad de su barrio.”

Después de graduarse de la universidad, Mendoza se mudó de nuevo a La Villita porque quería hacer una diferencia allí para otras familias. Fue electa por seis mandatos, en representación del 1er Distrito de la Cámara de Representantes de Illinois.

“Lo que sucede en cualquier barrio, lo que sucede en cualquier lugar, nos afecta a todos en todas partes,” dijo Mendoza. “Cada padre en Chicago debería poder mandar a sus hijos a una escuela pública donde recibirán una buena educación y saber que regresarán a casa felices, sanos y a salvos.”.

Mendoza sin duda entiende la importancia de vecindarios seguros y una educación de calidad. Ella y su esposo, David, viven en el vecindario de Portage Park de Chicago con su hijo de 5 años que asiste a una escuela pública de Chicago. Ellos entienden lo que es tener que pagar altos impuestos a la propiedad.

“El trabajo del alcalde no es para un cuidador o alguien que protege el status quo”, dijo Mendoza. “Cada residente de Chicago merece tener una alcaldesa que en todo momento de cada día se pregunte una cosa fundamental: ¿Hice lo suficiente? ¿Y qué más puedo hacer?
“Esta elección se trata de la próxima generación, no solo de los próximos cuatro años”.

Vea el video.

GUIÓN

MENDOZA:

Chicago es tantas cosas: resuelta, trabajadora, acogedora.

Es una ciudad de barrios. De todo tipo de personas. Y tiene que convertirse en la Ciudad del futuro.

Ya es hora de creer y confiar de nuevo en nuestro potencial, nuestra pasión y en las posibilidades de hacer que esta ciudad funcione para todas y todos. Esta elección se trata del futuro de Chicago y yo creo en ese futuro.

Claro que sí tenemos nuestros desafíos. Y los desafíos que la gente enfrenta en la Ciudad son mis mismos desafíos.

Vivimos en un barrio de clase trabajadora y también pagamos altos impuestos a la propiedad.

Soy la madre de un estudiante de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago y estoy muy orgullosa de que por los próximos 13 años, nuestro hijo estudiará en las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago.

Barrios seguros, buenas escuelas, altos impuestos a la propiedad – estas no son solo cuestiones políticas para mí.

Yo también las vivo.

Yo nací en la ciudad de Chicago en el barrio de La Villita.

En esos tiempos también había violencia y yo recuerdo muy bien que sentía miedo caminando a la escuela.
Un día de repente hubo un tiroteo. Asesinaron a alguien muy cerca de nuestra casa.

Mis padres, como tantos otros padres, fueron traumatizados por la violencia por armas de fuego cada día en esta ciudad. Ellos sintieron que tenían que irse para poder protegernos.

Ninguna familia debería tener que salirse de la ciudad debido a la inseguridad de su barrio.

Lo que sucede en cualquier barrio, lo que sucede en cualquier lugar, nos afecta a todos en todas partes.

Cada padre en Chicago debería poder mandar a sus hijos a una escuela pública donde recibirán una buena educación y saber que regresarán a casa felices, sanos y a salvos.

Cuando era niña, no fue mi decisión salir de la ciudad, pero después de la universidad, sí fue mi decisión regresar a La Villita para intentar hacer una diferencia.

Cuando veo un problema tengo que hacer algo. No me puedo quedar de brazos cruzados.

El trabajo de ser alcalde requiere de mucha energía y habilidad.

Cada residente de Chicago merece tener una alcaldesa que en todo momento de cada día se pregunte una cosa fundamental. ¿Hice lo suficiente? ¿Y qué más puedo hacer?

No importa cuáles sean nuestros retos – podemos enfrentarlos juntos.

No hay nada que no podamos hacer o lograr.

Soy Susana Mendoza y sí, soy candidata para la Alcaldía. Estoy lista. Así que manos a la obra.

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View and download the PDF version of this release here.

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— Scene Chicago | Martin. J —

The cramped space on the ballot for the Chicago mayoral election this spring just got a little tighter. The race with many faces and no clear front runner may have just found the most legitimate candidate yet, Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza. Just 8 days after being re-elected to Comptroller, Mendoza officially announced herself as a runner for the soon-to-be vacated seat. Of course, anyone who’s been paying attention could have seen this announcement coming. NBCChicago reported on a leaked mayoral campaign ad while she was still running for Comptroller. Obviously, the multi-tasking did not hurt her bid for Comptroller in Cook County, where she won with 76.6% of the vote.

Mendoza has a strong track record of success with voters in Chicago. She began her political career by representing the 1st Illinois Congressional District in the Illinois House of Representatives. She served in the house until February of 2011 and her greatest success came in the education sector. Mendoza claims responsibility for creating the Illinois School Breakfast Program, a voluntary program that provides a non-profit offering breakfast for all children in attendance of all public and private schools enrolled in the program. Perhaps her greatest success was writing and passing legislation that saved the jobs of 3,000 teachers who may have lost employment due to antiquated immigration rules. Mendoza was also elected as the first female City Clerk of Chicago. She primarily revamped the much outdated sticker program and battled with Mayor Emanuel over efforts to increase city sticker prices.

Mendoza prides herself as a fiscal watchdog who harps on transparent and accountable government spending. Her successes as the Comptroller focused on remedying the woeful fiscal state of Illinois, which in 2017 was at risk of obtaining a junk credit rating. Mendoza passed the Debt Transparency & Truth in Hiring acts. Mendoza’s actions forced the state government into producing not just annual but monthly reports on spending practices. Mendoza also provided key contributions to cutting the states unpaid bills in half, and she played a major role in passing a budget after two years without one. Mendoza’s track record of finance management within her own office might entice voters fed up with Illinois corruption.

On Mendoza’s first day in office as Comptroller, she came out spitting fire. Mendoza immediately de-emphasized paying state employee bonuses, placing them in the back of the line while prioritizing unpaid bills that Illinois needed to address. Mendoza found those bonuses we’re going primarily to “top management staff.” By ending what she deemed an “unconscionable” practice, Mendoza freed almost 4 million dollars which were prioritized towards social services, education and public safety. Mendoza didn’t just cut bonuses, she also “made the lowest request for a General Revenue Fund appropriation level for the Illinois State Comptroller office in 20 years.” Mendoza looks like she might be a unicorn in today’s politics, someone who actually walks the walk after talking the talk. As a politician clearly comfortable speaking her own mind, and who prioritizes fiscal responsibility above fiscal handouts, Mendoza could present a challenge to some of the more politically entrenched mayoral candidates.

View the article: Martin, J. (2018, November 12). Susana Mendoza Announces Mayoral Bid. Scene Chicago Magazine. Retrieved from www.scene-chicago.com.

The post Susana Mendoza Announces Mayoral Bid appeared first on Susana Mendoza for Mayor.

— Scene Chicago Magazine | Kancleris, B. —

Susana Mendoza is the current Comptroller of Illinois. She formerly served as the Chicago City Clerk and as an Illinois State Representative, advocating for the 1st and only District of Illinois. Fun fact: she is the first Hispanic independently elected to statewide office in Illinois. The Illinois Comptroller is responsible for maintaining the State’s fiscal accounts, and for ordering payments into and out of them. In less than a year, Mendoza has A) transformed the office and B) shifted what was necessary straight back to the nursing homes, hospice centers, and schools. She fought for and stood while the governor’s veto the Debt Transparency Act, requiring state agencies to report monthly instead of annually the number of unpaid state bills they are holding.

As the first woman elected as the Chicago City Clerk, she has already done so much in her first term. Moving 1.3 million customers away from the use of a failing Chicago City Vehicle Sticker sales program was just one of the things she was able to cross off her list. Working against the horrendous puppy mill industry through legislature was a close second. Mendoza, passionate about animal rights groups, worked with the Puppy Mill Project and successfully passed the Companion Animal and Consumer Protection Ordinance for all the puppers out there.

Before City Clerk, Mendoza did her time and served six terms as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives. Finally, Susan was elected in the year 2000, gaining the title of the youngest member of the 92nd Illinois General Assembly. Her achievements were focused on social services, education, law enforcement, and animal welfare.

Mendoza’s hardworking and determined personality is visible through her personal life, as well. She used her passion for and talent in soccer to become the first female to ever make it onto her old high school’s Wall of Fame. She is married to her husband, David Szostak, and they live on the City’s northwest side in the Portage Park neighborhood with their 5 year old.

Susana A. Mendoza–the candidate for you!

View the article: Kancleris, B. (2018, October 8). Susana Mendoza: Standing up for a Better Illinois. Scene Chicago Magazine. Retrieved from www.scene-chicago.com.

The post Susana Mendoza: Standing up for a Better Illinois appeared first on Susana Mendoza for Chicago Mayor.

— Chicago Sun-Times Newspaper | Washington, L. —

Chicago’s 2019 mayoral race is young. But sexism in politics, as my mother would say, is as old as water.

Sexism was bound to emerge in a contest with a diverse and impressive cadre of five female candidates. There are more accomplished and credible women running for mayor than ever.

They bring hefty experience in executive, policy-making and legislative roles.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, the most recent entry, previously served two terms as Chicago city clerk and six terms in the Illinois Legislature.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, the first African-American and woman to chair the Cook County Democratic Party, was Hyde Park’s alderman for nearly two decades.

Dorothy Brown, a lawyer, certified public accountant and MBA, is in her fifth term as Cook County’s clerk of the circuit court.

Lori Lightfoot, a former president of the Chicago Police Board and federal prosecutor, left her job as a partner at the law firm Mayer Brown to run for mayor.

Amara Enyia, also a lawyer, holds a PhD in education policy, has worked as a public policy consultant and is executive director of the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

All five are women in charge. All are a threat to the status quo. Women are running for office in record numbers. That unnerves some old boys to no end.

So on the run-up to Mendoza’s mayoral announcement, I wasn’t surprised when the headline popped up on my Facebook page:

“If Boss Madigan and Rahm Emanuel conceived a daughter, she’d be Susana Mendoza.”

The piece was written by the lead columnist at Chicago’s other daily.

“Don’t you dare tell me it’s scientifically impossible,” he wrote with trademark snideness. “That’s small-minded of you, and I might file hate-crime charges.”

Ha. Ha.

Mendoza is a creation and the “political daughter” of her political daddies, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, he wrote.

To portray an accomplished, savvy woman with 20 years in politics as the Frankenstein monster love child of two men is as sexist as it gets.

Once Mendoza formally announced, retiring 22nd Ward Ald. Ricardo Munoz told the Chicago Sun-Times “she’s a wholly-owned subsidiary of the HDO organization. …”

HDO, the Hispanic Democratic Organization, was the now-defunct Latino political machine founded at the behest of Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Munoz and other Latino progressives abhor HDO.

Every woman in this race will be dogged by such tropes.

Women can’t get anywhere, or do anything, without the men, or so it goes. The men give the orders. The men tell them when to start and where to go.

Yes, Mendoza and all the other women in this race have been supported and aided by men. Men in politics, especially white men, still control the vast majority of power and institutions here and most everywhere else.

To get things done, women leaders must, and should, work with men. And then out-work them.

They are not spawned, created or owned.

Kathy Byrne, Mendoza’s campaign chair, said it best. She is the daughter of Chicago’s first and only woman mayor, “Fighting” Jane Byrne.

Mendoza “has got some strength [to stand up] against all the bullyboys,” she told the Sun-Times’ Michael Sneed, “and I look forward to fighting on her behalf for the people of Chicago.”

I look forward to seeing all the women take on the bullyboys.

View the article: Washington, L. (2018, November 18). We knew sexism would show up, when five women are running for Chicago mayor. Chicago Sun-Times Magazine. Retrieved from www.suntimes.com.

The post We knew sexism would show up, when five women are running for Chicago mayor appeared first on Susana Mendoza for Chicago Mayor.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 20, 2018

CONTACT:
Rebecca Evans | press@susanamendoza.com
(312) 888-1983

Susana Mendoza’s Mayoral Campaign Debuts First Digital Spot

Introduces herself to voters as a fighter for the next generation, not just the next four years

CHICAGO, IL – Susana Mendoza’s campaign released a video today titled “Day One,” highlighting the strength and energy she brings to the mayoral race. The digital spot features Mendoza introducing herself to voters in both English and Spanish at a local CTA station during her first full day of the campaign.

The video includes news coverage from her mayoral announcement about the “mix of youth and experience needed to tackle” the job of mayor, pointing out that Mendoza is, “focusing on the next generation, not just the next four years.”

With a record as a fiscal watchdog and leader of the resistance against Bruce Rauner, Mendoza joins the mayoral race as one of the top contenders for the job, according to polling released earlier this week.

Mendoza will focus her campaign on the issues of violence, under-resourced schools and high property taxes — three issues that Chicagoans face every day and the same issues that Mendoza has dealt with throughout her life.

“It’s time to have a mayor who is from the neighborhood, who understands neighborhoods and puts neighborhoods first,” Mendoza said. “I’m running for mayor so we can shape Chicago’s future together.”

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View and download the PDF version of this release here.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 26, 2018

CONTACT:
Rebecca Evans | press@susanamendoza.com
(312) 888-1983

Susana Mendoza Files More Than Twice the Petition Signatures Needed to Secure Spot on February Ballot

CHICAGO, IL – Mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza filed her petitions today to secure a spot on the Feb. 26, 2019 ballot. Mendoza, together with three of her campaign co-chairs, submitted over 25,000 signatures on Monday afternoon — more than twice the amount required.

“There’s been tremendous support for Susana since we launched the Draft Susana movement. That support increased exponentially since she announced her candidacy less than two weeks ago,” said co-chair Marty Castro. “It’s clear that the people of Chicago want a candidate who’s committed to the next generation and the neighborhoods.”

Castro joined fellow co-chairs Mae Whiteside, a member of the Leadership Circle of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association and former member of Stacey Abrams’ National Finance Council, and Kathy Byrne, an attorney and daughter of Mayor Jane Byrne, the city’s first and only woman mayor, at the Chicago Board of Elections to support Mendoza on filing day.

“Today was an important step in Chicago’s history. I am truly excited that Susana Mendoza will be our next mayor. No other candidate comes close to her experience, talents, and passion to lead our great city today and for the next generation,” said Byrne.

“I am so incredibly grateful for our volunteers and supporters who worked day and night in such a short window of time to gather signatures,” Mendoza said. “I’m excited to spend the next three months of this campaign talking about our vision for Chicago’s future and for the people who call our neighborhoods home. It’s time to shape Chicago’s future together.”

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View and download the PDF version of this release here.

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— Chicago Sun-Times Newspaper | Sneed, M. —

Check the coat, please.

It’s a stunner.

It’s no secret (Sneed scoop Nov. 14) Kathy Byrne, the daughter of Chicago’s only female mayor — Jane Byrne — is the chairperson of mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza’s campaign.

But if you look real close — you might spot more of a Byrne connection on Mendoza’s lapel.

Sneed has learned Mendoza — Kathy says she’s as “gutsy” as her mother — is now wearing the pin Jane wore the day she was elected mayor of Chicago back in 1979. (Mayor Byrne served from 1979-1983.)

“I will look at this pin every morning as I start my day to get inspired by a woman who dared to challenge the status quo and opened the door for a little girl from Little Village to someday run for mayor of this great city.”

Reached by phone, Kathy — who is “thrilled to work for the second woman who may become mayor of Chicago” — told Sneed the pin was an unexpected gift to Mendoza, thought of at the last minute.

“It’s a pin my grandfather, Bill Burke, who died in 1986, gave my mother the day she won the primary in 1979,” said Kathy.

“He was so proud of my mom, so he had a jeweler make a pin of the Chicago skyline in a gold circle with jewel highlights placed in the windows of the building.

“Mom was proud of that pin and I believe she wore it on the day she was sworn in,” she added. “It was her good luck charm and after mom died, it became my good luck charm whenever I had big motions in court,” added Kathy, an attorney.

“It’s a historic piece of jewelry, so when Susana asked me to go with her when she filed her petitions recently, she noticed the pin and asked me about it.

“I told her it was my mom’s and just-like-that decided on the spot Susana could use it now — should wear it for now. It symbolizes the city. I told her, “‘It’ll bring you luck like it did Mom. Like it did me.”

The caveat: “She had to give it back to me as soon as she won the election!”

Kathy claims Mendoza was “astonished and thrilled and her eyes filled up with tears.”

Then she added: “Like I said before. I’ve been impressed with Susana for a long time. She has got some strength [to stand up] against all the bully boys.”

View the article: Sneed, M. (2018, December 1). Put a pin in it: Mendoza is sporting a bit of Byrne on her lapel . Chicago Sun-Times Magazine. Retrieved from www.suntimes.com.

The post Put a pin in it: Mendoza is sporting a bit of Byrne on her lapel appeared first on Susana Mendoza for Chicago Mayor.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 5, 2018

CONTACT:
Rebecca Evans | press@susanamendoza.com
(312) 888-1983

Labor Leader and Civil Rights Activist Dolores Huerta Appears in Digital Ad Endorsing Susana Mendoza for Mayor

CHICAGO, IL – Today, legendary activist and community organizer Dolores Huerta endorsed Susana Mendoza for Chicago mayor in a digital ad released by the campaign. Huerta has spent her life fighting for immigrants and working families, including co-founding the National Farm Workers Association with César Chávez in 1962. She currently serves as the president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, championing social justice issues for the working class, women, and children.

Watch the “Dolores” video in English.
Vea el video “Dolores” en espańol.

“The work of my life has been standing up for workers, immigrants, women, human rights, and civil rights,” said Dolores Huerta. “Susana Mendoza is the next generation to carry on this fight. She’s a battle-tested fighter who champions the little guy and is an experienced, committed, and hardworking visionary. Sí, se puede con Susana Mendoza.”

“Dolores Huerta has been a personal hero and role model throughout my life, and I am so honored to have her endorsement,” said Susana Mendoza. “Dolores is a tireless fighter who has spent her life standing up for women, worker, and immigrant rights. As mayor, I will be a steadfast advocate for the social justice causes we both believe in and never back down when our values are under threat. With the support of Dolores and grassroots activists like her across Chicago, I know we can tackle the big challenges we face, put our neighborhoods first, and lift up every community across our city.

Script:

I’m Dolores Huerta.

The work of my life has been to stand up for workers, immigrants, women, human rights, and civil rights.

Susana Mendoza is the next generation to carry on this fight. She’s dynamic and energetic.

She’s a battle-tested fighter who champions the little guy and is an experienced, committed, and hardworking visionary.

Susana Mendoza is a progressive champion who will fight for all of us. Chicago needs Susana.

¡Sí, se puede con Susana Mendoza!

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View and download the PDF version of this release here.

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