Illinois Comptroller

	Illinois Comptroller
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$141,600
2024 FY Budget:	$190,560,600
Term limits:	None
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Illinois Constitution, Article V, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza; Democratic Party; Assumed office: December 5, 2016
	Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
	Other Illinois Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Comptroller • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Director • Insurance Director • Natural Resources Director • Labor Director • Illinois Commerce Commission

The Comptroller of the State of Illinois is the chief financial officer of the government of Illinois. The comptroller is an elected position selected by voters during the federal midterm elections (i.e. 2018, 2022, 2026 and 2030).^[1]

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Susana Mendoza (D), who won election on November 8, 2016. She was elected to serve out the remaining two years of former Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka's term. Topinka was first elected in November 2010 and served until December 9, 2014, when she passed away due to complications from a stroke suffered the previous day. Mendoza was sworn into office on December 5, 2016.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Filling vacancy after election

The process of filling the vacant comptroller's office generated discussion about how to fulfill appointment requirements in the Illinois Constitution. The governor is tasked with filling vacancies in state executive offices, though the length of the appointment is up for debate. A scenario that gained support from legislative leaders and analysts involved appointment of an interim comptroller by outgoing Gov. Pat Quinn (D) through the remainder of Topinka's previous term ending in January 2015. State Senate President John Cullerton (D) called for a special election in 2016 to prevent Munger from serving a full term intended for an elected official.^[5]

Quinn called for a special session of the Illinois State Legislature to convene on January 8, 2015, to address the possibility of a special election for the remainder of Topinka's new term. Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) advocated for a 2016 special election in order to give the public a chance to replace Topinka. Rauner and Republican state legislators countered that a constitutional amendment was the only legal path to a special election.^[6] On the first day of the special session, legislators approved a bill requiring a special election in 2016 for the comptroller's office. This bill, signed by Quinn prior to leaving office, requires special elections for vacancies in the offices of attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller and treasurer.^[7]

Munger ran for re-election in the 2016 special election, but lost to Susana Mendoza (D)

Authority

The office of comptroller is authorized by Article V, Section 1 of the Illinois Constitution.

Article V, Section 1

Officers: The Executive Branch shall include a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller and Treasurer elected by the electors of the State. They shall keep the public records and maintain a residence at the seat of government during their terms of office.

Qualifications

Here is a list of the standard qualifications necessary under Illinois state law in order to be considered for the comptroller's office:

To be eligible to hold the office of Governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller or treasurer, a person must be:

a United States citizen, at least 25 years old
a resident of this State for the three years preceding his election (Illinois Constitution, Article V § 3)

Elections

Illinois state government organizational chart

According to Article V, Section 2 of the state constitution, comptrollers shall hold office for four years beginning on the second Monday of January after their election and until their successors are qualified. The office was elected in the general election in 1978 and every four years thereafter.

2022

See also: Illinois Comptroller election, 2022

General election

General election for Illinois Comptroller

Incumbent Susana Mendoza defeated Shannon Teresi, Deirdre McCloskey, and Jeffrey English in the general election for Illinois Comptroller on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Susana Mendoza (D)	57.1	2,331,714
	Shannon Teresi (R)	41.0	1,676,637
	Deirdre McCloskey (L)	1.9	76,808
	Jeffrey English (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	25

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,085,184
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois Comptroller

Incumbent Susana Mendoza advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois Comptroller on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Susana Mendoza	100.0	838,155

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 838,155
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Illinois Comptroller

Shannon Teresi advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois Comptroller on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shannon Teresi	100.0	666,835

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 666,835
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Michael Kinney (R)