Illinois Treasurer

The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois.

Current Occupant

The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to head the State Treasury in 2014 in a close race with Republican Party candidate Tom Cross.

During Treasurer Mike Frerichs’ tenure thus far, the State’s Bright Directions 529 college savings plan received Morningstar’s Silver Medal two years in a row – the highest rating given to advisor-sold plans,^[1] secured over $2.4 million in uncashed Sprint and RadioShack rebates for Illinois residents,^[2][3] fought for full funding of Illinois’ college Monetary Award Program (MAP) due to the State’s budget impasse,^[4] and spearheaded legislation requiring life insurance companies to pay death benefits.^[5] Programs currently under development include Secure Choice, a savings tool at work helping Illinois workers save their own money for retirement,^[6] and ABLE, a tax-advantaged savings vehicle for disability-related expenses.^[7]

Duties of the Treasurer

The Treasurer is required by the State Constitution (Section 18 of Article V) to hold responsibility for the safekeeping and investment of the monies and securities deposited in the public funds of Illinois. The Treasurer is not the state's chief financial officer, a post reserved for a separate elected official, the Illinois Comptroller.^[8]

The Illinois Constitution provides that the treasurer must, at the time of his or her election, be a United States citizen, at least 25 years old, and a resident of the state for at least 3 years preceding the election.^[8]

The Treasurer's office operates a web page describing the office's powers and duties.^[9]

List of office holders

#	Name	Political Party	Term
1	John Thomas		1818–1819
2	R. K. McLaughlin		1819–1823
3	Abner Field		1823–1827
4	James Hall		1827–1831
5	John Dement		1831–1836
6	Charles Gregory		1836–1837
7	John D. Whiteside		1837–1841
8	Milton Carpenter		1841–1848
9	John Moore	Democratic	1848–1857
10	James Miller		1857–1859
11	William Butler		1859–1863
12	Alexander Starne	Democratic	1863–1865
13	James H. Beveridge		1865–1867
14	George W. Smith		1867–1869
15	Erastus N. Bates		1869–1873
16	Edward Rutz		1873–1875
17	Thomas S. Ridgway	Republican	1875–1877
18	Edward Rutz		1877–1879
19	John C. Smith	Republican	1879–1881
20	Edward Rutz		1881–1883
21	John C. Smith	Republican	1883–1885
22	Jacob Gross		1885–1887
23	John Riley Tanner	Republican	1887–1889
24	Charles Becker	Republican	1889–1891
25	Edward S. Wilson		1891–1893
26	Rufus N. Ramsay		1893–1894
27	Elijah P. Ramsay		1894–1895
28	Henry Wulff		1895–1897
29	Henry L. Hertz		1897–1899
30	Floyd K. Whittlemore		1899–1901
31	Moses O. Williamson	Republican	1901–1903
32	Fred A. Busse	Republican	1903–1905
33	Len Small	Republican	1905–1907
34	John F. Smulski		1907–1909
35	Andrew Russel	Republican	1909–1911
36	Edward E. Mitchell		1911–1913
37	William Ryan, Jr.		1913–1915
38	Andrew Russel	Republican	1915–1917
39	Len Small	Republican	1917–1919
40	Fred E. Sterling	Republican	1919–1921
41	Edward E. Miller	Republican	1921–1923
42	Oscar Nelson	Republican	1923–1925
43	Omer N. Custer	Republican	1925–1927
44	Garrett D. Kinney	Republican	1927–1929
45	Omer N. Custer	Republican	1929–1931
46	Edward J. Barrett	Democratic	1931–1933
47	John C. Martin	Democratic	1933–1935
48	John Henry Stelle	Democratic	1935–1937
49	John C. Martin	Democratic	1937–1939
50	Louie E. Lewis	Democratic	1939–1941
51	Warren Wright		1941–1943
52	William G. Stratton	Republican	1943–1945
53	Conrad F. Becker	Republican	1945–1947
54	Richard Yates Rowe	Republican	1947–1949
55	Ora Smith	Democratic	1949–1951
56	William G. Stratton	Republican	1951–1953
57	Elmer J. Hoffman	Republican	1953–1955
58	Warren Wright		1955–1957
59	Elmer J. Hoffman	Republican	1957–1959
60	Joseph D. Lohman	Democratic	1959–1961
61	Francis S. Lorenz	Democratic	1961–1963
62	William J. Scott	Republican	1963–1967
63	Adlai Stevenson III	Democratic	1967–1970
64	Charles W. Woodford		1970–1971
65	Alan J. Dixon	Democratic	1971–1977
66	Donald R. Smith	Republican	1977–1979
67	Jerome Cosentino	Democratic	1979–1983
68	James Donnewald	Democratic	1983–1987
69	Jerome Cosentino	Democratic	1987–1991
70	Pat Quinn	Democratic	1991–1995
71	Judy Baar Topinka	Republican	1995–2007
72	Alexi Giannoulias	Democratic	2007–2011
73	Dan Rutherford	Republican	2011–2015
74	Mike Frerichs	Democratic	2015–present

Controversy

Some observers have perceived an overlap between the offices of Treasurer of Illinois and Comptroller of Illinois, and have therefore proposed constitutional amendments to merge the two offices and earn administrative savings. For example, HJRCA 14, considered by the Illinois General Assembly in 2007-2008, would have merged the two offices into the office of a single State Fiscal Officer.^[10]

In 2011, the incumbent Treasurer along with the Comptroller (also former Treasurer) Judy Baar Topinka introduced legislation to allow voters to decide whether the offices should be merged.^[11] The legislation was opposed by Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.^[12]

References

1. Acheson, Leo (2016-10-25). "Morningstar Names Best 529 College-Savings Plans for 2016". Retrieved 2016-11-13.
2. "Treasurer Frerichs Secures $2.3 Million from Sprint" (PDF). 8/22/2016. Retrieved 11/13/2016 – via www.illinoistreasurer.gov. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
3. "Illinois Treasurer Frerichs Convinces Radio Shack To Surrender Uncashed Rebates Worth $140,000" (PDF). 4/28/2016. Retrieved 11/13/2016 – via www.illinoistreasurer.gov. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
4. "Treasurer Frerichs' Statement on the Governor's Decision to Veto MAP Grant Funding" (PDF). 2/19/2016. Retrieved 11/13/2016 – via www.illinoistreasurer.gov. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
5. "New law makes insurance companies find, pay beneficiaries". Retrieved 2016-11-13.
6. "Michael W. Frerichs - Illinois State Treasurer: Secure Choice". illinoistreasurer.gov. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
7. "Michael W. Frerichs - Illinois State Treasurer: ABLE". illinoistreasurer.gov. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
8. Section 18, Article V, "Constitution of Illinois", accessed April 12, 2008.
9. "Dan Rutherford - Illinois State Treasurer", accessed January 25, 2011.Illinois State Treasurer web page
10. "House Joint Resolution - Constitutional Amendment 14", accessed April 12, 2008.
11. McQUEARY, KRISTEN (December 31, 2011). "Move to Allow Vote to Merge Treasurer and Comptroller Jobs Stalls in House". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
12. WETTERICH, CHRIS (8 June 2011). "Madigan blocking merger of treasurer, comptroller's offices". THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER. Retrieved 11 January 2012.