Illinois comptroller Susana Mendoza enters Chicago mayoral race
Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza has launched a campaign to become mayor of Chicago, positioning herself as a fiscally disciplined alternative to incumbent Brandon Johnson, whose popularity has slumped amid the city's financial troubles. The move matters because Johnson has yet to confirm whether he will seek re-election, and polling suggests Chicagoans are eager for change, with Mendoza emerging as one of the strongest declared contenders ahead of the February 2027 election.
Mendoza, 54, a Democrat, points to her decade running the state comptroller's office as evidence of her credentials, citing a sustained 10 per cent budget cut, $18.6 million in taxpayer savings, and $4.3 million returned to the state treasury, alongside paying down $17 billion in unpaid bills. A University of Chicago poll found only 13.6 per cent of residents want Johnson to run again, while 47 per cent expressed enthusiasm for Mendoza, second only to Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias. Mendoza has criticised Johnson's handling of the city's finances, branding his tenure a "Blizzard of Incompetence" after he unveiled plans to refinance roughly $500 million in city debt, and has vowed to prioritise the budget crisis and public safety. She previously ran for mayor in 2019, finishing fifth, and has faced renewed scrutiny over past ties to disgraced alderman Ed Burke, who was convicted of corruption in 2023.
- Susana Mendoza is running for Chicago mayor, citing frugal fiscal record
- Polls show weak support for incumbent Brandon Johnson's potential re-election
- Mendoza previously ran in 2019 but faces scrutiny over past political ties
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters see Mendoza as precisely the kind of experienced fiscal steward Chicago needs at a moment of genuine budgetary crisis. They point to her decade as comptroller managing the state's finances, her record of cutting costs, returning money to the treasury and clearing a vast backlog of unpaid bills, as concrete proof she can bring similar discipline to a city government many residents feel has drifted. Given polling showing deep dissatisfaction with the incumbent's stewardship, they argue voters deserve a credible, tested alternative rather than more uncertainty, and that Mendoza's willingness to run again despite a past defeat shows genuine commitment to public service.
The case against
Critics argue that Mendoza's past association with Ed Burke, a once-powerful alderman later convicted of corruption, raises legitimate questions about her judgement and ties to Chicago's old machine politics, however long ago those connections were formed. They also caution that strong poll numbers this early and sharp attacks on a sitting mayor are easy applause lines, and that her prior fifth-place finish in 2019 suggests city voters have previously found her candidacy wanting. For these sceptics, budget management at the state level does not automatically translate into the different political and administrative challenges of running Chicago, and they would prefer scrutiny of her full platform, especially on public safety, before crowning her the fiscally responsible choice.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Is this the woman who’ll save Chicago? Sensible Democrat ran huge department so frugally she RETURNED cash to city every year… now she wants to lead troubled Windy City”.