Illinois Comptroller presents her record as a legislator, executive, and fiscal crisis manager to guide the City of Chicago through crises in affordability, public safety, and trust
Chicago, IL, June 3, 2026 – Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza, who led a historic turnaround of the state’s finances and has conducted a year-long listening tour across Chicago’s neighborhoods, today announced her candidacy for mayor of Chicago with hundreds of supporters in Little Village, the neighborhood where she was born.
“On my listening tour, I heard concerns, hopes, and ideas from the people of this great City. They encouraged me to run for Mayor. After much listening, prayer, and reflection, I came to one conclusion: I must answer that call,” said Mendoza, who released an official campaign launch video and campaign poster celebrating Chicago’s builders – the grocery stores that anchor neighborhoods and are a key part of her growth plan.
“Chicago needs competent leadership that can meet this moment. I am ready to provide it. I have the trifecta of experience required to solve our biggest problems: Legislative, City Council, and State CFO through crisis,” said Mendoza. “It’s time to make life in Chicago more affordable. It’s time for Chicagoans to feel safer. It’s time for real results.”
Mendoza was elected six times to the state legislature, twice as Chicago City Clerk and three times as Illinois Comptroller. In her most recent statewide election, she was the state’s top vote-getter despite spending less than any other winning candidate.
“Chicago has tossed mayors out of office for blizzards, corruption, and incompetence,” Right now, Chicago is experiencing a Blizzard of Incompetence,” said Mendoza. “We deserve better. Not just a little better – much better.”
Mendoza has proved her fiscal management expertise throughout her career. She cut her budget as City Clerk 10 percent and cut the lines for city stickers that used to tie up motorists for hours every June. She delivered better constituent service at a lower cost to taxpayers, returning millions of dollars to the city of Chicago’s treasury.
Upon taking office as state comptroller, Mendoza cut the office’s budget 10 percent and kept it there for 6 years, saving taxpayers more than $18.6 million, including returning $4.3 million in unused appropriations to the state treasury.
As Comptroller, Mendoza launched a transparency revolution, including the Debt Transparency Act, which opened up the state’s books and let legislators and taxpayers see for the first time how many unpaid bills state agencies were sitting on.
Her COVID transparency portal was cited by newspapers around the country as a model they urged their own states to follow. “Ideally, states would follow the practice of Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza,” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorialized.
She paid down $17 billion in unpaid bills, delivered the fastest vendor payment cycle in history, helped grow the state’s Rainy Day Fund from $48,000 to $2.5 billion, and delivered 10 credit ratings upgrades on her watch.
In the coming months, Mendoza said she will be rolling out her specific plans to improve Chicago’s fiscal outlook, strengthen public safety, and get the City growing again.
“Tomorrow is the last day of the school year for Chicago Public Schools. It used to be a fun day to get Summer started. Now, it’s become a day when we worry more about public safety,” Mendoza said. “As mayor, I will make public safety my priority. I won’t play favorites on which neighborhoods deserve to feel safer. They all do.”
Key to solving the city’s financial challenges will be unlocking its growth potential.
“We are going to get back to building big things in Chicago,” Mendoza said. “We’re going to build housing, support entrepreneurs, invest in underserved neighborhoods, and bring back The Loop,” said Mendoza.
“We’re going to build industries. We’re going to build Chicago’s future together. Because Progress is Greater Than Promises.”
Mendoza described her City Hall run as a “people-powered campaign” and invited Chicagoans to visit her website, SusanaForChicago.com, to learn about her candidacy and get involved.
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