Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s announcement this month that the backlog of bills in the state has reached $1,000 per resident smacks of hypocrisy, an Illinois Republican Party spokesman said.
Mendoza released figures showing that Illinois’ unpaid debt has reached more than $12.8 billion, which she said reflects the failure of state leaders to agree on a budget plan that doesn’t spend more than the state is taking in.
Illinois GOP spokesman Steven Yaffe said the accumulated debt is something that Mendoza bears responsibility for since she served for years in the state legislature.
“Illinois’ debt is a tragedy that Susana Mendoza helped to create,” Yaffe said in a statement. “During the decade she served [House Speaker] Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) in Springfield, Mendoza voted for every single enacted Madigan budget, adding billions in debt.”
Mendoza also voted in favor of budget blueprints developed by Madigan and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich that failed to fully fund the Illinois pension system, Yaffe said.
The comptroller has called on Gov. Bruce Rauner to develop a balanced budget that the state Assembly can consider and end what she described as a “historic financial meltdown.”
“If Mendoza is looking for reasons why Illinois is in bad fiscal shape, she should look in the mirror,” Yaffe said.
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