SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Margaret Croke — a state lawmaker running to replace Susana Mendoza at Illinois Comptroller  — says Mendoza has done a lot to get the state’s finances back on track.

Croke tells the WTAX Morning Newswatch there’s still a lot to be done, though.

“I (would) get to enter into an office that’s stabilized,” said Croke.  “I think I’d get to, maybe, undertake some long-term projects, now that the office is functioning so well and efficiently and effectively, that we can do some really cool things — like a transparency initiative, where we allow for people to be able to see taxpayer dollars are actually moving through the system.”

That’s in addition to what Croke calls “low-hanging fruit” like possibly eliminating the use of paper checks to pay bills.

Then there are the issues of improving the state’s rainy day fund, and improving the funding of pensions.

When Mendoza took office, the rainy day fund had only several thousand dollars in it.  Now it’s at $2,118,391,738 — still not enough to get very far, said Croke.

“We should be contributing to the rainy day fund, and it’s something that I’ll be pretty vocal about,” said Croke.  “At the same time, I do understand that with what’s happening on the federal level…the constraint of revenues that Illinois will be receiving because of, in my opinion, the cruelty of the Trump administration.”

Croke says there is only about two weeks worth of funds on hand to operate state government now, in the event of financial calamity.  She says most experts recommend four months’ worth of money.

And the pensions?

“A significant portion of (unfunded liability) is not member benefits, it’s actually interest,” said Croke.  “Some of the things that I know I can be vocal on, even though I’m no longer going to be someone who is in the budget-making process, is really pushing for any surplus revenues that we get in the year, to be put in our pension liabilities — to be overpaying our pension liability every year.”

Croke believes her experience working for several state agencies, and as a state lawmaker, will give her a leg up on policy-making, which ultimately will be up to the Illinois General Assembly.

Croke’s Republican opponent in the election — Bryan Drew — did not respond to our invitation to be interviewed.  The Independent candidate on the ballot is Anna Schiefelbein.

Mendoza is not seeking another term as Comptroller — instead opting to be a candidate for Chicago Mayor in the April, 2027 election.