Karina Villa

Candidate Q&A

Why are you running?

With the passage of President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”, we are facing detrimental budget cuts across the state, but particularly in our minority and working class communities across the state of Illinois. Local health and human social service agencies, nonprofit organizations, and state agency programs are essential resources to our neighbors and families in times of need; and now these essential resources are seeing reduced funding or future cuts in the months to come. As Comptroller, I will prioritize how funds are spent to ensure the repercussions of these cuts are limited. I experienced the impacts of bad budgets with the Rauner years when I was a school social worker, and I have worked to pass balanced budgets as a state legislator, therefore increasing our state’s credit rating. We need a Comptroller who will be a bold voice to protect Illinoisans tax dollars from Donald Trump, ensure transparent reporting and bring real life solutions to the table to reduce the financial burden on working families.

What skills or experience do you have that make you particularly suited to this position?

I never set out to run for office. I spent more than fifteen years as a school social worker, working directly with families and seeing firsthand how state budget decisions affect people’s lives. During the Rauner years, I watched devastating budget cuts harm the students and families I served, and that experience pushed me to step up and run for State Representative. In 2018, I flipped my first district, and in 2020, I flipped the Jim Oberweis seat.

Since then, I have been deeply immersed in the state budget, reviewing it line by line to ensure we are fully funding essential services. I understand how state dollars move, where bottlenecks occur, and how delays and underfunding disproportionately harm working families. Right now, too many of our budget decisions are being balanced on the backs of people who can least afford it. 

As Chair of the Senate Progressive Caucus, I have led a strong coalition of legislators, advocates, and labor organizations to advance progressive revenue solutions that do not burden working people. I know how to build consensus, push for accountability, and fight for policies that reflect our values.

As Comptroller, I will bring that experience to the role by prioritizing payments that protect our most vulnerable, review vendor contracts to ensure taxpayer dollars are not going to entities that profit from or collaborate with ICE, and serving as a first line of defense against harmful policies from the Trump administration. I will be the bold leader we need in the office that is accountable to everyday working families across Illinois.

What does this office do well, and what needs fixing? 

The Comptroller’s office has made important progress in recent years, particularly in beginning the modernization process. Upgrades to the website, clearer timelines for payments, and increased public visibility into what money is coming in and out of the office have been meaningful steps forward. But there is still much work to be done.

As Comptroller, I will implement modern e invoicing and automated workflow tracking across agencies, expand the vendor portal so vendors can see exactly where their payment is delayed and why, and create internal bottleneck teams focused on identifying delays, fixing broken processes, and reporting results. I will also publish monthly performance metrics so the public can track progress and hold the office accountable.

Just as important, the Comptroller must communicate in plain, easy to understand language. Illinoisans deserve clear reports showing which programs were paid, what those programs do, and how much funding was missing to fully meet the need. I will ensure vendors have real access to the office, with a particular focus on supporting minority and women owned small businesses.

What is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?

People across Illinois are working two jobs and still struggling to make ends meet. We are living through a real affordability crisis: rising housing costs, stagnant wages, and shrinking benefits are pushing more families to rely on government assistance just to survive. At the same time, with Donald Trump’s administration threatening funding for essential programs like SNAP, child care, and health care, the safety net that working families depend on is increasingly at risk.

As Comptroller, I will use the power of the office to protect that safety net through transparency, accountability, and values-based decision-making. I won’t just announce when a check is cut, I will make clear how much was paid, how much was needed to fully fund that service, and who is still being left behind. Illinoisans deserve to know where our money is going and whether it is actually meeting the needs of our communities.

I will publish a live, easy-to-read public dashboard showing the bill backlog by category, human services, public health, schools, and municipal reimbursements, and I will publish payment rules in advance. 

My values-based criteria are straightforward: protect life and dignity first by prioritizing Medicaid providers, human services, shelters, community violence intervention, and critical public health; protect workers by ensuring payroll, health insurance, and earned benefits are paid on time; and protect the backbone of our communities by stabilizing funding for schools and local governments. In a moment when working families are being squeezed from every direction, the Comptroller must be a defender of stability, transparency, and basic dignity and that is exactly how I will lead as your next Comptroller.

Is there a major policy initiative or financial issue you will look to tackle in the next year?

We are facing funding crisis at every level of government and urgently need to find ways to fill in critical gaps, not on the backs of working people. I believe the people who have profited the most from our state should finally pay their fair share. Working families already pay enough. It’s time billionaires and corporations do the same. In Springfield and as chair of the Senate Progressive Caucus, I have fought for progressive revenue policies that close corporate loopholes and make our tax system fair. I’ve stood up against budgets that drain our public services while communities struggle to fund schools, hospitals, and safety net programs.

As Comptroller, I will use the bully pulpit to expose the imbalance in our tax system and work with the General Assembly to create a just taxation system for all. That means closing corporate loopholes, ending special tax breaks for the wealthy, and supporting progressive income tax measures that protect working families.

Budgets are moral documents. Cutting programs that feed, house, and care for people while protecting corporate profits is a moral failure. I’ll always fight for a system where the wealthy pay what they owe and our state invests in the people who keep Illinois running.

If you are elected, what would the end of a successful four-year term look like for you?    

The controller doesn’t set the budget, but they do have the ability to meaningfully influence procurement strategy and vendor selection. Innovative use of our state government’s procurement power is critical to drive new revenue directly through the office. Specifically, bringing back as much of $7 billion in procurement contracts that go out of state as possible. That means supporting and building up Illinois vendors, so that those dollars go into Illinoisans pockets and that money circulates and expands the tax base, and expands employment. Because we are talking big numbers here. We can feasibly create tens of thousands of jobs bringing just a fraction of out-of-state vendor contracts home. And I am the only candidate in this race ready to use the office to directly drive revenue and growth.

Under my leadership, the Comptroller’s office will hold unethical vendors accountable. Vendors tied to ICE will be blacklisted and I will seek to freeze them out of future procurement contracts. In Illinois, we need to start putting our money where our values are. 

I am a bold leader who will fight for our most vulnerable, and as Comptroller, a successful four-year term means Illinoisans can point to real, measurable results: dollars redirected back into our state economy, good-paying jobs created through smarter procurement, vendors held to the highest ethical standards, and a Comptroller’s office that is transparent, accessible, and reflective of the Illinois we know is possible. Success looks like an office that doesn’t just process payments, but actively engages communities across the state building relationships, educating young people about fiscal responsibility, and helping Illinoisans understand that the Comptroller’s office should not simply manage what is, but help our state imagine what could be.

What specific steps would you take to ensure your office is accessible and responsive?

As a former school social worker and current legislator, accessibility of my office has been of utmost priority. The community entrusted me to serve them and in return, we have a full time constituents team ready and available to serve the 25th District. An open door policy is essential to building trust and strong relationships with the community. 

As Comptroller, I will make the office accessible in real, practical ways. Illinoisans, especially nonprofit leaders and small business owners, should not have to drive back and forth between Chicago and Springfield just to sign paperwork or resolve basic issues. I will modernize and streamline processes so that services can be accessed remotely efficiently and without unnecessary barriers.

I will also prioritize building strong ongoing relationships with local governments, nonprofits and small businesses across the state. As I travel throughout Illinois, I have consistently heard feedback about how the Comptroller’s office can better meet local needs and I take that input seriously. The same way I have brought coalitions together to bring 4 progressive revenue options into the revenue package, is the same organizing I will do in the Comptroller’s office to deliver real collaboration efforts with Illinois partners that keep our economy running.