* Yesterday’s Chicago Tribune editorial board debate between the four candidates for Illinois comptroller was quite spirited.

But check out this claim by Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza about appointed incumbent Leslie Munger…

“Her campaign chairman is the actual mayor who passed Right to Work legislation, the only piece of Right to Work legislation in the entire state of Illinois to pass, and it happens to be in her own home town. One of the central issues of Gov. Rauner’s Turnaround Agenda. She’s not fought against the Turnaround Agenda. She’s championed the Turnaround Agenda.”

Munger claimed the allegation was “false” and said her campaign manager did no such thing.

Um, this wasn’t about the manager, it was about the chairman. And Mendoza was right about that and repeated it several times.

* In an attempt to show her independence, Mendoza claimed that she “helped chair” the House’s Blagojevich impeachment committee. While she helped sponsor the resolution, she merely served as an “alternate member” of the actual committee.

* And then there was this…

Munger said she also heard from the governor over her decision to delay paychecks for lawmakers, saying Rauner argued nobody should get paid during the budget impasse.

Wait. I thought Gov. Rauner was solidly in favor of paying state workers during the impasse. Somebody isn’t telling the truth.

* Another attempt by Munger to demonstrate her independence…

At the top of the list was Munger’s refusal to follow the governor’s orders to withhold so-called “fair share” fees from unions, as he instructed in an executive order shortly after taking office in 2015. Those are the fees government workers must pay to unions to cover the cost of collective bargaining even if an employee chooses not to join a union. After consulting with Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the speaker’s daughter, Munger said withholding the fees would violate federal law.

* The Mendoza response…

“I believe she has not stood up to Gov. Rauner,” said Mendoza, a former state lawmaker who’s in her second term as city clerk. “The one time she mentioned was about two weeks into her job, and I feel like it was a big surprise even to the governor.”

If it was such a big surprise to the governor, then wouldn’t that support Munger’s claim?

* And they’re both sticking with their parties on the impasse…

“We cannot get to a balanced budget without a growing economy,” Munger said of Rauner’s so-called turnaround agenda. “I think you have to do it.”

Asked if Democrats should bend in their opposition, Mendoza said they would not give in to Rauner’s proposals that would “sacrifice the hardworking men and women in this state.”

* Related…

* RAW VIDEO: Comptroller debate

* Comptroller hopefuls argue independence from Madigan, Rauner