By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Republican Bryan Drew is running for Illinois Comptroller against Democratic state Rep. Margaret Croke of Chicago in the Nov. 3 general election, for a seat being vacated by Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
Mendoza is leaving the comptroller’s office to run for mayor of Chicago. Drew, a trial attorney from Benton and founder of Drew Law Group, ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
Drew described the comptroller’s office as “the checkbook of the state” during a Wednesday interview on AM 560 “The Answer.” He said the office should do more than process payments. “The goal shouldn’t be like it currently is — get the checks written, get them out the door as fast as you can,” Drew said. “We need to be making sure those checks should even be written to start with.”
Drew said the comptroller’s office should act as what he called the state’s “first line of defense for fraud, waste, and abuse.” He pointed to the state’s public spending website as an example, saying a search for “NGO” on the site returns no results despite hundreds of millions of dollars in state payments to nongovernmental organizations.
Drew said his 26 years running businesses in southern Illinois, including making payroll, shaped his approach to state finances. “I’ve run multiple businesses for 26 years,” Drew said. “I know what these taxes do.”
Drew contrasted his background with Croke’s, saying she has held only government positions. He credited Mendoza with occasionally breaking from Gov. JB Pritzker during her tenure but called the comptroller’s current website “a missed opportunity” for transparency.
The Illinois Comptroller is responsible for overseeing the state’s financial accounts, paying state bills and managing state payroll. Election Day is Nov. 3.
