By Sam Wood
NORMAL – Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza made visited the Humane Society of Central Illinois on Thursday to promote her office’s rebooted animal adoption program.
The first-term Democrat touted the initiative devised by the late Republican officeholder Judy Baar Topinka.
“Comptroller’s Critters” is a partnership between the Comptroller’s office and shelters throughout the state in an effort to reduce the number of animals awaiting adoption by showcasing the animals on their website.
“We ask some of those shelters…to team up with us and to send us pictures and a little write-up of their animals that are looking for loving homes,” Mendoza said. “We help showcase the dogs, kittens or cats that are up for adoption because we believe people should adopt and not shop,”
She added that Topinka – a known animal lover and close friend of Mendoza’s – was instrumental in saving countless animals through the program.
“Judy Baar Topinka herself had probably saved hundreds if not thousands of animals,” Mendoza told reporters. “She herself adopted cats and dogs. There wasn’t an animal she didn’t want to bring home.”
The program went dormant following Topinka’s death in 2014 but was revived by Mendoza’s office this year. The Humane Society of Central Illinois is a partner in the initiative.
While Mendoza hoped to spend most of her time speaking about the adoption program, she did field a number of budget-related questions from reporters as lawmakers race to pass a balanced budget before descending into a third-straight year without a true spending plan.
She spoke ominously of Illinois’ fiscal prospects should the legislature blow Friday’s midnight deadline.
“If we don’t do that, the state is going to collapse financially,” Mendoza warned. “It’s not a false alarm, it’s not a veiled threat, it’s just simple math.”
If the state does enter the new fiscal year without a spending plan, Illinois risks becoming the first state to have its’ credit downgraded to junk status by rating agencies.
Sam Wood can be reached at [email protected]
