State Rep. Margaret Croke is running for Illinois comptroller as a Democrat in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. She faces Republican Bryan Drew.

The comptroller serves as the state's chief fiscal officer, processing payments, maintaining fiscal accounts and enforcing wage laws on public projects. Those functions affect taxpayers across Illinois, including North Shore communities.

Croke, who has represented Illinois House District 12 since 2021, chairs the House Financial Institutions and Licensing Committee. She has described state budgets as moral documents rather than purely financial ones and has pledged to bring that philosophy to the comptroller's office, according to her campaign website.

Candidate information

• Party: Democratic
• Office sought: Illinois Comptroller
• Current office: State representative, District 12 (2021–present)
• Hometown: Oak Park, Illinois; lives in Lincoln Park, Chicago, with her husband, Patrick, and their three children
• Education: Bachelor's degree in political science, University of Michigan (2014); Oak Park River Forest High School (2010)

Experience and public service

Croke serves as 5th Central Committeewoman for the Democratic Party of Illinois.

Before entering the legislature, she held several government and campaign roles, according to her campaign biography. She served as head of special projects at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity from 2019 to 2020. She worked on Gov. JB Pritzker's transition team in 2018–2019 and served as statewide women's outreach director for his gubernatorial campaign from 2017 to 2018. She was Illinois regional director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. She served as treasurer and board member of Think Big America in 2023.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Croke's responses to BallotReady questionnaires and her campaign website. All statements reflect the candidate's own claims.

State finances and transparency

Croke has said she would implement software to track state dollars from budget line items through final payment, according to her campaign website. She has said she would use predictive modeling to reduce fraud and waste and enhance reporting for contract vendors. She supports a bill that would stop legislator pay on their last day in office rather than at the end of the month.

Property taxes and budgets

Croke has said she supports greater transparency in the property tax formula. She has called for shortening the duration of tax increment financing districts from 23 to 15 years. She has said she supports the fair tax, a graduated income tax structure, to shift school funding away from local property taxes, stating the state covers only 26% of the school funding formula.

Workers and wages

Croke has said she would continue former Comptroller Susana Mendoza's enforcement of the Prevailing Wage Act by withholding payments to employers who underpay workers. She has said she would dedicate additional resources to the comptroller's Prevailing Wage Office and work with the Department of Labor on investigations.

She also supports universal paid parental leave.

Government reform

Croke has said she supports term limits for legislative leaders, fair redistricting maps, a one-year cooling-off period before former legislators can become lobbyists, and greater financial disclosure requirements for elected officials. She has also called for consolidating downstate school districts and local municipalities.

Gun safety

Croke has said she supports universal background checks for all firearm purchases, in-person FOID card applications with fingerprinting, and extending domestic violence-related firearm prohibitions.

Endorsements

Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul have endorsed Croke, according to WTTW News. She has also received endorsements from Cook County Democrats, the AFL-CIO, IUOE Local 150, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Personal PAC and Illinois NOW PAC, according to BallotReady.

Candidate issue positions are based on responses submitted to BallotReady and statements on the candidate's campaign website. North Shore Weekly did not interview the candidate for this profile.