— 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!
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