Comptroller's true colors are showing

It didn't take long for taxpayers to see Comptroller Susana Mendoza's true colors. While Illinois nonprofits are waiting for payments to stay alive and the state has $11 billion in unpaid bills, Mendoza's office just spent $32,000 on a 2016 Ford Explorer SUV to add to the "fleet" of cars used for various purposes, including driving Mendoza from Chicago to Springfield.

During the campaign, Mendoza lectured incumbent Leslie Geissler Munger on how she would prioritize state payments.

Isn't it interesting once she got into office, Mendoza didn't just move herself up in the state's payment queue to purchase the car. She circumvented the queue altogether by using her office's administrative fund. Now taxpayers really know what she means by prioritize.

As state legislators wait months for paychecks and in some instances, drive Uber cars to support themselves (see Rep. Jaime Andrade Jr.), Mendoza might want to better consider the optics of this purchase. Or alternatively, maybe Mendoza should be driving her own car to work, like the rest of us do.

Nancy Mathieson

Lake Forest