* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

State Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago, who is running for Illinois comptroller, reported receiving the maximum campaign contribution of $72,800 from Gov. JB Pritzker on Feb. 19. Since then, Pritzker has appeared in some Croke campaign ads.

The day before the Pritzker contribution was reported, I spoke with incumbent Comptroller Susana Mendoza about the governor’s support of Croke — who once worked in Pritzker’s administration and has been a legislative ally — and the near certainty at the time that Pritzker would be contributing to Croke’s campaign.

Mendoza has prided herself on being independent of Pritzker, and noted that she has never accepted contributions from the governor because of that, even when he offered to contribute.

While stressing that she has worked with the governor in the past, and saying “Honestly, all of the people running are good people,” Mendoza said, “I’ve always been super clear that I work for the taxpayers and any appearance of not full independence coming from the controller’s office is, I think, unhealthy for Illinoisans,” adding, “I would not have accepted money from the governor.”

Mendoza defeated appointed Republican Leslie Munger, who then-Gov. Bruce Rauner once called his “wingman,” so she’s sensitive to this stuff.

Mendoza also admitted that she considers Democratic comptroller candidate Holly Kim a friend and “mentee,” who would make “a great comptroller.” Kim is the Lake County treasurer. Mendoza has not made an official endorsement as of this writing.

So I asked Croke for a response. She told me during an interview that the comptroller is an “independent office,” adding, “I’ve always been very vocal on where I stand on things. I mean, I’m the youngest of three. I’ve had to assert myself a long time. I think that the governor endorsing me is a reflection of the fact that I’ve worked incredibly hard on this campaign, and he knows that I’m going to do a good job.”

Croke said that Pritzker’s chief of staff Anne Caprara (who has, um, a quite persuasive style) is a “great example,” of how Pritzker “doesn’t surround himself with ‘yes people.’ And I am not a ‘yes person.’ I think that he appreciates independence. I think he appreciates strong leadership. But what frustrates me sometimes is that people conflate independence with being adversarial, and that’s just not my style. I’ve always been someone who is collaborative.”

“I would argue that Susana likes to make her position, especially when it is adversarial to any constitutional officer, like she wants to make sure everyone knows about it,” Croke continued. “I’m someone who I feel like we can get things done, that we can collaborate and everyone can know exactly where I stand at the same time.”

And Croke noted that other Democratic constitutional officers have received campaign contributions from Pritzker and nobody is questioning their independence. After she said that, I pointed out that Attorney General Kwame Raoul has received huge contributions from Pritzker (totaling almost $4 million), and Croke asked rhetorically, “And then do we question what cases Kwame decides to bring or not bring because of that?”

Good point.

I asked the other Democratic comptroller candidates to comment on Gov. Pritzker’s contribution and Croke’s independence. Here are some excerpts:

• State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, appeared to criticize Pritzker’s endorsement earlier in February, obliquely pointing to Rauner’s backing of Munger. “Accepting money and support from the Governor is not something that shows the public an independent Comptroller,” she said in a statement.

• Kim replied with a statement: “The Comptroller is supposed to be an independent watchdog, not an extension of the governor’s political operation. When Rep. Croke, or any candidate, is being bankrolled by the same Governor she may need to challenge, it’s safe to assume she’ll be paying for it with her loyalty later.” Kim then pointed to the Senate Democrats’ funding of state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, and the support Villa and Kifowit both received from former House Speaker Michael Madigan. “None of my opponents have ever run independent campaigns — they’re political insiders who rely on insider relationships,” she said.

• Villa said Mendoza is “right to be concerned,” about the Pritzker support, but pointed to what she said were “tens of thousands” of dollars from “from right wing MAGA donors,” concluding, “If you want Democrats to trust you to be the last line of defense against Trump’s cuts, you probably shouldn’t be cozying up to his donors.”

Discuss.