Come 2027, Don Harmon may not be the only Oak Park native with a high-profile role in Illinois state government.
On Friday, the Cook County Democratic Party endorsed former Oak Park resident and 2010 Oak Park and River Forest High School graduate Margaret Noble Croke for the office of State Comptroller in next March’s primary. Croke appeared before county Democratic ward and township committeemen Friday morning at the IBEW Union Hall on the near southside, to make her case for their support.
Harmon and Chris Welch, house speaker, split on backing Croke. Harmon raised concerns that the planned slate did not include either an Hispanic or Asian candidate and was Chicago-tilted.
In her current job as Illinois House 12th District Rep., which she has held since 2020, Croke represents the Chicago neighborhoods of Lakeview, Lincoln Park, including the Boystown neighborhood, the Near Northside, Old Town and Uptown. She lives in Lincoln Park with her husband, Patrick, and their three children.
In a press release Wednesday, Croke thanked outgoing Comptroller Susana Mendoza for her service, mentioning several accomplishments which she said, “set an example for responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
“I’m grateful for her leadership and the strong path she has charted in the comptroller’s office,” Croke said of Mendoza. Croke’s concluding sentence in the release pivoted from congratulatory to promotional as she for the first time publicly alluded to the personal qualities, qualifications and values she would bring to the Comptroller’s office.
“With chaos unfolding at the national level, Illinoisans need steady state leadership and deserve a comptroller who is prepared to lead with transparency, efficiency, and integrity,” she said.
Croke reiterated that in a statement released Friday through her campaign, expressing her gratitude to party officials for the endorsement and vowing integrity and transparency.
“This is a critical moment in time and now more than ever Illinois needs a comptroller who will lead with honesty, protect our most vulnerable populations, and bring fiscal responsibility to state government, which is exactly what I’ve advocated for throughout my time in the General Assembly,” Croke said, “I’m ready to bring that same principled leadership to this office, serving as a watchdog for taxpayer dollars and ensuring transparency and accountability for every Illinois family.”
Croke will face at least two opponents in the March 17 Democratic primary; Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim, and far west suburban 25th District State Senator Karina Villa.
The Cook County Democratic Party endorsement is a huge advantage in a county that counts for more than 40 percent of the Democratic vote in statewide elections. In 2022, Governor JB Pritzker received just under 45 percent of his vote from Cook County, and Mendoza got 78,000 more votes than Pritzker.
The endorsement carries more than just bragging rights; it comes with campaign advertising support and campaign field workers, both highly valuable components of any statewide campaign.
The endorsement is even more important given that Democrats next spring will be asked to choose between politically seasoned female candidates of distinct ethnicity from three varied areas of northern Illinois; Croke, from Chicago, Kim, of Asian heritage, from Lake County, and Villa, an Hispanic State Senator from far west suburban West Chicago representing parts of DuPage and Kane counties.
That political reality led to controversy Friday; Capitol News Illinois’s Andrew Adams reported that the comptroller endorsement “sparked an intra-party fight, with House Speaker Chris Welch on one side and Senate President Don Harmon on the other.” Welch backed Croke, while Harmon backed Villa.
Harmon told CNI that his concern was over a lack of ethnic representation on the slate. “We have a slate that does not have any representation from the Latino Caucus, no representation from the Asian Caucus, no one from outside the city of Chicago. I think this is the problem,” Harmon said, adding, “I worry that the party was more divided than evidenced by the final outcome. But it’ll be up to the voters.”
The comptroller’s office was created by the 1970 Illinois Constitution. It replaced and expanded the old Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts and provides fiscal transparency through oversight of the fiscal accounting for the state. Besides maintaining the state’s central fiscal accounts, the office provides monthly debt transparency reports to the General Assembly and produces an annual financial report “summarizing the revenues, expenditures, fund balance and debt of units of local government throughout the state.”
Croke, who earned degrees in political science and communications from the University of Michigan after graduating OPRF, served as the statewide Women’s Outreach Director for JB Pritzker’s first campaign in 2018, and on his transition team. She then worked as deputy chief of staff for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, where she “managed various special economic development projects…”
Croke has had a swift rise within Democratic ranks since she defeated appointed incumbent Jonathan “Yoni” Pizer in 2020 in a five-way primary. After Pizer was appointed to fill the State House vacancy left when long time State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz was appointed to the State Senate, Croke took him on, despite Pizer being endorsed by Feigenholtz, then-mayor Lori Lightfoot, 44th Ward alderman Tom Tunney, Congressman Mike Quigley, Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin and the Chicago Sun-Times.
But Croke, who has a strong record of civic engagement and enviable political connections, had the endorsement and financial support of Pritzker, and was also endorsed by the Chicago Tribune, City Clerk Anna Valencia and 24th Ward Alderman Michael Scott Jr.
She also had the support of Democratic mega donors Michael and Cari Sacks, and smaller donations from Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski and former Congresswoman Cherie Bustos.
Croke did not hesitate to assert herself or criticize local party leaders. After Tunney and other ward committeemen voted to appoint Pizer to the Feigenholtz vacancy just over a month before the primary, Croke publicly blasted the process, telling Chicago Magazine’s Edward McClelland that “Chicago Democratic Party insiders rubber stamped the appointment of Jonathan Pizer in an attempt to boost his chances in the March primary election.”
Croke beat Pizer, 45.8% to 41.4%, in what has been her only close election so far. She ran unopposed in the 2020 general election.
In 2022, after running unopposed in the primary, she crushed Republican George Kemper, taking 80.2% of the vote, a more than 23,000 vote margin.
In the spring of 2022, Croke also won a three-candidate race for 6th District Democratic State Central committeewoman, garnering 37.85% of the vote against Nancy Sheperdson (32.57%) and then-MWRD board member Mariyana T. Spyropoulos (29.57%). Spyropoulos went on to be elected Cook County Clerk. Croke replaced six-term Committeewoman Cynthia Santos, an ally of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.