Susana Mendoza is No taxpayer Watchdog

View as PDF
Chicago — Susana Mendoza, current Chicago City Clerk and Democratic candidate for Illinois Comptroller, is claiming to be a taxpayer watchdog on the campaign trail, but as a six-term state representative, her record proves otherwise.
“Former state representative Susana Mendoza has said that she is a taxpayer watchdog, and she continues to tell taxpayers that her record proves it, but if Mendoza was politically savvy, she would run away from her voting record of tax increases while in the Illinois legislature,” said Jim Tobin, president of Taxpayers United of America (TUA).
Mendoza was elected in 2000 as the youngest member of the 92nd Illinois General Assembly and she represented the 1st District for six terms until 2011.
“Despite her claim of being a ‘taxpayer watchdog, who believes in rooting out waste,’ Mendoza’s legislative record is an abysmal failure representing the hard-working taxpayers of Illinois. Her votes in Springfield equal more than a decade of voting against the interests of taxpayers and property owners in Illinois. Mendoza cast her votes for escalating debt and tax hikes, not to protect taxpayers,” said Tobin.
Since 1983, TUA has compiled a biennial tax survey to rate the voting records of the Illinois General Assembly based on their fidelity to taxpayers and support for tax relief. Mendoza failed each of the six tax surveys conducted during her time in office. She began and ended her time in Springfield with a solid rating of zero, having voted against the interests of taxpayers on every vote featured in both tax surveys for the 92nd and 97th Illinois General Assembly sessions. She never earned a rating above 25% while in office.
Compare Mendoza’s record to that of her self-admitted mentor, longtime Illinois Speaker of the House, Mike Madigan, who has failed every one of TUA’s tax surveys. Madigan’s highest rating stands at a pathetic 40%, which still beats her record, although he has received a score of 0% five times since 1983, including on TUA’s latest survey of the 98th Illinois General Assembly.
“Mendoza can’t claim to be a taxpayer watchdog while also hailing Chicago alderman Ed Burke and Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan as her political mentors,” said Tobin.
“The fact is, Susana Mendoza did not stand up for taxpayers while in Springfield for more than a decade, and there’s no reason to believe that would change today if elected as Illinois Comptroller. She voted for SB 2505 in January 2011, the historic lame-duck session’s 67% income tax increase. During her last term in office, she even missed an important vote on SB 3314 for property tax relief. That legislation came as a direct result of TUA’s lawsuits holding government schools accountable for deceiving voters by understating proposed tax increases by 300%. Her voting record is solidly against the taxpayers of Illinois.”
“If Susana Mendoza can’t take the time to vote on behalf of taxpayers in Springfield, and her record disproves the myth that she’s a taxpayer watchdog,” concluded Tobin, “then voters can’t trust her to take on a job as fiscally important as Illinois Comptroller.”