Susana Mendoza
Candidate for Mayor, Chicago, on the ballot February 23, 2027
AI summary
The platform
Finances: Grow the tax base instead of raising rates, cut waste through a program called TRIM, prepay pensions, and stop using neighborhood TIF money to plug budget holes.
Police: Fill police vacancies, bring back ShotSpotter, put officers on trains, and change state law so people accused of murder or sexual assault cannot be released on electronic monitoring.
Building: A public dashboard comparing Chicago's permit times with other cities, help for small businesses, and more housing near transit.
Record: Mendoza points to her years as Illinois Comptroller, including ten credit rating upgrades.
Next to the other candidates
Only Mendoza: Changing the state's SAFE-T Act. On ShotSpotter, Mendoza would bring it back; Carlisle opposes that product and wants city-run gunshot detection.
Transit: Mendoza and Cardenas would put police on the CTA, and Kelly wants it safe at every hour. Carlisle and Su would run trains and buses more often.
Shared: Mendoza and Quigley would both stop spending TIF money on the budget. Quigley would send it to affordable housing.
Not covered: Schools, which Holberg, Kelly, Wilson, Brewer, Carlisle, and Su address.
the more perfect platform
Imported from susanamendoza.com
Address Chicago’s Financial Crisis
- Stabilize the City’s Finances: I’ve built my career as a leader in turning around government finances. Chicago urgently needs a turnaround. We will get our fiscal house in order. City Hall has become too comfortable spending money we don’t have — then…
- Grow Chicago’s Tax Base: Property taxes are crushing Chicagoans and making our city unaffordable. Growing our city’s tax base would increase total revenue without requiring higher tax rates. That requires leaning into pro-growth policies that…
- TRIM: We’re going to reduce waste and deliver long-overdue Taxpayer Relief through Innovative Management of our city’s resources. It’s time to TRIM the fat in City Hall.
- Curb Chicago’s Addiction to Spending: We are going to curb the city’s addiction to spending and stop the hemorrhaging of our city’s finances. We will find efficiencies everywhere we can and provide better service to Chicago taxpayers, at lower cost. Why do I…
- Earn Credit Upgrades: When I ran for Illinois Comptroller during the worst fiscal crisis in our state’s history, I promised to deliver our first credit rating upgrade. We earned 10 credit upgrades on my watch. The credit rating agencies (and…
- Address Pension Challenges: The city’s combined pension funds are severely underfunded, requiring major strategic shifts to achieve lasting stability, including professionalizing their management structure and having difficult but necessary…
- Stop Raiding TIFs: Many working-class neighborhoods are losing out because the mayor and the Chicago City Council used Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to bail out the city budget. Over the last 10 years, almost $4 BILLION in economic…
Address Chicago’s Public Safety Crisis
- Treat Safety as a Core Responsibility: Public safety requires trust — and trust requires leadership. As your mayor, I will earn your trust by making your safety my priority. Real progress is when Chicagoans feel safer because they actually are safer. We are…
- Support our First Responders: My administration will stand behind the brave men and women of the Chicago Police Department. We will work hand in hand with the next Superintendent and empower them and our police officers to do their job. We will fill…
- No More Excuses for Violent Crime: Violence needs to be met with accountability. That means leading our city and its policies from a moral compass that puts victims first and holds offenders accountable. No more excuses for violent crime. I believe in…
- Work to Amend the SAFE-T Act: People accused of Murder, Attempted Murder, or Predatory Sexual Assault should not be eligible for Electronic Monitoring, and worse yet, get two days off the monitoring grid. It defies all common sense, it’s deadly…
- Restore Order on Public Transit: Chicagoans deserve a safe, clean, and reliable transit system. No one should be scared to ride public transit. No one wants to get punched in the face with the smell of weed, urine, or feces when hopping on a train, or…
Address Chicago’s Crisis of Confidence
- We Deserve Better: Chicago has tossed mayors out of office for blizzards, corruption, and incompetence. Right now, Chicago is experiencing a Blizzard of Incompetence. Chicagoans deserve better. I will bring a trifecta of experience to City…
- Build Great Teams: My superpowers are finding great people, building great teams, and getting things done. That’s what smart, competent leadership looks like.
- Bring Back the Cranes: We’re going to get Chicago’s official bird — the construction crane — back in the skies across our city. Those cranes in the sky represent growth. They represent jobs. Housing. Opportunity. Momentum. Mojo. In 2019, we…
- Build, Build, Build: Chicago is a city of builders. Builders of businesses, of families, of futures. We are going to get back to building big things in Chicago. We have too many grocery, pharmacy, and maternity deserts. Far too many homes…