HR0251 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0251 LRB099 11393 GRL 32239 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka was born on January 16, 1944; a native of Illinois, she was born in Riverside, attending local public schools and the Ferry Hall School for Girls; and

WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka attended the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, graduating with a degree in journalism; after graduating in 1966, she worked as a reporter for the "Forest Park Review" and the "Life Newspapers" chain, rising within Life Newspapers to the rank of editor; and

WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka worked in public relations for the American Medical Association and as an independent consultant; as a community leader and public relations consultant, she became active in 28 separate ethnic, civic, and political organizations, including the Cermak Road Business Association and the Riverside, Lyons, Brookfield, and West Suburban Chambers of Commerce; and

WHEREAS, As a community leader, Judy Baar Topinka ran for election to the Illinois House of Representatives in November of 1980; winning election in the former 7th District, she took the oath of office in the 82nd General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, After serving 2 terms in the Illinois House, Topinka ran for, and was elected to, the Illinois Senate in November of 1984; she served the 22nd District with distinction for 10 years; and

WHEREAS, After 14 years as a member of the Illinois General Assembly, Judy Baar Topinka ran for statewide office; as a pioneer in the cause of women in elected statewide office, she was chosen in November of 1994 to serve as Illinois State Treasurer, winning the votes of 1,504,335 of her fellow Illinoisans; and

WHEREAS, As Treasurer, Judy Baar Topinka was responsible for the prudent investment and safeguarding of Illinois' financial assets, including dedicated funds specifically earmarked by the Illinois General Assembly for defined public purposes; as Treasurer, her performance was increasingly valued by the people of Illinois; her election and re-election percentages rose from 50.4% in 1994 and 50.0% in 1998, to 54.8% in 2002; and

WHEREAS, During Judy Baar Topinka's final term as Treasurer from 2003 to 2007, the then-sitting Governor of Illinois pursued a financial policy of shifting monies between State funds, "sweeping" money out of the dedicated funds overseen by the Treasurer and damaging the ability of Illinois to keep its promises and meet its financial commitments; and

WHEREAS, Fighting to defend the financial honor of Illinois, Judy Baar Topinka accepted the nomination of the Republican Party in 2006 for Governor of Illinois, waging a severely underfunded campaign for the State's highest office as the first Republican woman to be nominated for this position; and

WHEREAS, After briefly living in the private sector, Judy Baar Topinka returned to the statewide scene in 2010, seeking and winning election in November of 2010 as the 7th State of Illinois Comptroller with 1,927,139 votes from her fellow residents of the Prairie State; and

WHEREAS, As Comptroller, Judy Baar Topinka now had responsibility over managing Illinois' active cash flow; during her tenure, she continually warned of the dangers associated with Illinois' unbalanced budgets; and

WHEREAS, As Comptroller, Judy Baar Topinka pioneered the online publication of Illinois' cash flow situation in the monthly report "Monthly Money Matters", showing her fellow citizens how Illinois' unofficial debt and unpaid bill situation was steadily worsening, even as complacent public officials claimed that the State was continuing to balance its budgets; and

WHEREAS, As Comptroller, Judy Baar Topinka strongly supported economy in government; she even supported efforts to abolish her own position in office through House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 1, a bipartisan constitutional amendment introduced in the 97th General Assembly to eliminate the Office of the Comptroller and transfer its powers and duties to the Office of the Illinois State Treasurer; and

WHEREAS, After HJRCA 1 and similar measures failed to get the required 3/5 majorities in both houses of the Illinois General Assembly and were not submitted to the voters in 2012 or 2014, Judy Baar Topinka ran for re-election to the office of Comptroller; and

WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka was re-elected to a second full term as Comptroller on November 4, 2014, marking the 5th time that she had successfully won the votes of her fellow Illinoisans for statewide office; but while serving out the final days of her first term as Comptroller, and preparing to take the oath of office for her second term, she died in office at the age of 70 on December 10, 2014 in Berwyn; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we pay tribute to the memory of our colleague, Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we affirm that Judy Baar Topinka was a pioneer in the election of women to statewide office in Illinois and a figure beloved by the members of both political parties; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka's son, Joseph Baar Topinka, and her longtime Chief of Staff, Nancy Kimme.