Susana Mendoza
Illinois Comptroller. Candidate for mayor of Chicago, on the ballot February 23, 2027.
State Comptroller since 2016, Chicago City Clerk before that, and a state representative before that; 54, grew up in Little Village and lives in Portage Park with her husband and son. Filed 26,000 signatures on the last day, in a tamale cart.
Full platform, open to comments
Campaign website (susanamendoza.com)
Campaign money
- Committee: Susana For Chicago
- Raised: $277K
- Spent: $416K
- Cash on hand: $1.7M
- Raised July 1 to Sept. 30, 2026; spent Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2026. Source
Money figures are each committee's quarterly reports to the Illinois State Board of Elections: spent is total expenditures from January 1 to September 30, 2026 (or since the committee formed), cash is funds available on September 30.
Support
9.5% of likely voters in the ChicagoSpeaks poll, Sept. 2026 (Mansueto Institute / NORC). 23 points of support per $1 million spent.
What they would do
- Runs against what she calls a blizzard of incompetence at City Hall.
Right now, Chicago's experiencing a blizzard of incompetence. We deserve better.
(CBS Chicago, June 3, 2026) - Cut housing approval and permitting times in half and get cranes back up across the city.
As mayor, I will make the construction crane the official bird of Chicago,
(City Club speech, Oct. 28, 2026 (Sun-Times)) - Fill police vacancies, put police back on trains, and bring back gunshot detection.
We're paying more for less, we don't feel safe, and too many people no longer believe City Hall can solve problems,
(NBC Chicago, Oct. 2026) - Extend the Riverwalk to Chinatown and Little Village.
I'm gonna like lean into one of my dreams, and that is to grow beyond the current Riverwalk,
(Streetsblog Chicago, Nov. 4, 2026)
AI summary
Main points
Finances: Grow the tax base instead of raising rates, go through the budget line by line, meet the credit rating agencies on day one, and stop using neighborhood TIF money to plug budget holes.
Police and transit: Fill police vacancies, put police back on trains, bring back gunshot detection, and add bus lanes and fare gates.
Building: Cut housing approval and permitting times in half, treat businesses as partners, and extend the Riverwalk to Chinatown and Little Village.
Next to the others
Only Mendoza: The Riverwalk extension, and changing the state's SAFE-T Act.
Taxes: Mendoza, Brewer, Holberg, Nee, and Wilson say relief comes from a bigger tax base; Johnson wants the ultra-rich to pay more.
Gunshot detection: Mendoza and Kelly would bring it back.
On money
Would grow the economy rather than tax it, review every line of the budget, meet the credit rating agencies on her first morning, and treat businesses as partners instead of piggy banks.
I can't wait to get my hands into that budget, look over every line item,
(CBS Chicago, June 3, 2026)Chicago businesses deserve to stop feeling like piggy banks and start feeling like partners.
(City Club speech, Oct. 28, 2026 (Sun-Times))In the morning, I'm gonna meet with every single credit rating agency
(City Club speech, Oct. 28, 2026 (Sun-Times))
Pizza
No position on record.
Also on the record
- An all-state soccer midfielder in high school who played at Truman State, with 68 appearances and 10 goals. (en.wikipedia.org)
- Delivered her nominating petitions in a tamale cart. (chicago.suntimes.com)
Compiled from public sources: