Politics
State Comptroller Susana Mendoza Says She Won’t Run for Reelection, Setting Up 2027 Chicago Mayoral Bid
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza on July 16, 2025, announces she will not seek reelection alongside her husband, David Szostak. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois)
Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced Wednesday she will not run for reelection as Illinois comptroller as she weighs 2027 bid for Chicago mayor.
Mendoza’s decision not to seek a fourth term as the state’s chief fiscal control officer is likely to set off an intense race for a coveted statewide office and signals the start of the 2027 mayoral election cycle, even though the election is 587 days away.
Mendoza made the announcement at a Little Village restaurant.
Mendoza, the first woman to serve as Chicago city clerk, served in that role under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel before winning a special election to replace former Illinois Comptroller Judy Barr Topinka.
Mendoza had already launched a bid for a third term as comptroller when Emanuel announced he would not run for reelection in 2019, setting off a massive scramble.
Mendoza finished fifth, winning just 9% of the vote, trailing former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, former U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley and businessman Willie Wilson in the first round of voting.
Mendoza’s campaign was hobbled by her connection to now-convicted former Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward). Burke supported Mendoza’s election as city clerk, and she often referred to his wife, former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, as her “mentor.”
Lightfoot won that election, which was defined by Burke’s indictment, only to lose her reelection bid in 2023 to Mayor Brandon Johnson.
During Johnson’s first two years in office, Mendoza has used her office — and her social media accounts — to blast Johnson’s policies and initiatives and portray his stewardship of the city’s finances as reckless and incompetent.
In addition, Mendoza has routinely criticized Johnson’s public safety agenda and accused him of not doing enough to support Chicago police officers.
A member of the party’s moderate wing, Mendoza has slammed a state law that ended the use of cash bail, saying it “permits violent offenders accused of heinous crimes to be released on electronic monitoring.”
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
