Comptroller Susana Mendoza Runs For Mayor, Away From Mentor Burke

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Comptroller Susana Mendoza began her second term in office Monday by breaking a pledge she had revealed just over two years earlier. Mendoza withdrew an invitation to Justice Anne Burke to swear her in, despite having said Burke would be the only person who could ever swear Mendoza in for any office, WBEZ reported.

Instead, Cook County Circuit Judge Rossana Patricia Fernandez administered the oath of office at the Bank of Springfield Center amid inauguration ceremonies sponsored by Gov. J.B. Pritzker's transition committee.

The move suggests Mendoza is seeking to distance herself from her "number one and most important role model" following the indictment of the justice's husband, Chicago Ald. Ed Burke, on a charge of attempted extortion after prosecutors said he shook down a fast food franchise to get business for his property tax appeal law firm.

Then-Chicago City Clerk Mendoza was sworn in as comptroller in December 2016 following a special election to fill the remainder of Judy Baar Topinka's term. At the time, she praised Burke as a mentor and role model.

"I've told her that no matter what I run for, she's the one and only who could ever swear me in, so thank you for having done that for me as Chicago city clerk, which has been up to now, my greatest honor," Mendoza said. "It would just not be special without you."

WBEZ reported Mendoza invited Burke to swear her but rescinded the request recently for unspecified reasons. In a statement, Mendoza's office declined to explain why Burke was not swearing her in as she had three times before.

“I have deep admiration for Anne Burke, but I think it’s best to respect her privacy at this time,” said the comptroller and mayoral candidate, according to WBEZ. Mendoza's director of communications, Abdon Pallasch, did not respond to questions about the timing or reason for the withdrawal.

Burke was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court in 2006. She was elected a second time in November 2018. Before that, she was appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court in 1995 and retained for a 10-year term the following year.

Eight days after winning re-election to the office of comptroller, Mendoza officially declared her candidacy for mayor of Chicago – although a video announcing her mayoral campaign leaked prior to the Nov. 6 vote.

A few weeks later, FBI agents raided Ed Burke's City Hall and ward offices. Burke has represented the 14th Ward since 1969 and says he plans to seek a 14th term in office this year.

The Democrat alderman was, along with Republican Ed Vrdolyak (himself facing a tax evasion trial after a previous wire fraud conviction) led opposition to the late former Mayor Harold Washington during the racially-tinged "Council Wars" ("Burke is a racist," Chicago's first and only black mayor was quoted as saying.)

Earlier this month, Ald. Burke was pressured to resign as chairman of the City Council's Finance Committee after the federal indictment against him was unsealed. Prosecutors accused the 75-year-old alderman of intervening to block permits for a remodel of the Pulaski Road Burger King where Laquan McDonald was murdered by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke and staff accused police of deleting surveillance footage.

Read more: Chicago's Clout Candidates For Mayor Tainted By Burke Indictment