Illinois Treasurer

Treasurer of Illinois

Incumbent
Mike Frerichs
since January 12, 2015
Term length Four years, no term limits
Inaugural holder John Thomas
Formation October 2, 1818 (1818-10-02)
Salary $135,669 (2016)[1]
Website illinoistreasurer.gov

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,[2] secured over $2.4 million in uncashed Sprint and RadioShack rebates for Illinois residents,[3][4] fought for full funding of Illinois’ college Monetary Award Program (MAP) due to the State’s budget impasse,[5] and spearheaded legislation requiring life insurance companies to pay death benefits.[6] Programs currently under development include Secure Choice, a savings tool at work helping Illinois workers save their own money for retirement,[7] and ABLE, a tax-advantaged savings vehicle for disability-related expenses.[8]

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.[9]

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.[9]

The Treasurer's office operates a web page describing the office's powers and duties.[10]

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 Democratic 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 Republican 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 Republican 1897–1899
30 Floyd K. Whittlemore Republican 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 Republican 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 Republican 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 Republican 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.[11]

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.[12] The legislation was opposed by Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "SELECTED STATE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICIALS: ANNUAL SALARIES" (PDF). The Council of State Governments. April 11, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  2. ↑ Acheson, Leo (2016-10-25). "Morningstar Names Best 529 College-Savings Plans for 2016". Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  3. ↑ "Treasurer Frerichs Secures $2.3 Million from Sprint" (PDF). 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2016-11-13 – via www.illinoistreasurer.gov.
  4. ↑ "Illinois Treasurer Frerichs Convinces Radio Shack To Surrender Uncashed Rebates Worth $140,000" (PDF). 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2016-11-13 – via www.illinoistreasurer.gov.
  5. ↑ "Treasurer Frerichs’ Statement on the Governor’s Decision to Veto MAP Grant Funding" (PDF). 2016-02-19. Retrieved 2016-11-13 – via www.illinoistreasurer.gov.
  6. ↑ "New law makes insurance companies find, pay beneficiaries". Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  7. ↑ "Michael W. Frerichs - Illinois State Treasurer: Secure Choice". illinoistreasurer.gov. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  8. ↑ "Michael W. Frerichs - Illinois State Treasurer: ABLE". illinoistreasurer.gov. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  9. 1 2 Section 18, Article V, "Constitution of Illinois", accessed April 12, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Dan Rutherford - Illinois State Treasurer", accessed January 25, 2011.Illinois State Treasurer web page
  11. ↑ "House Joint Resolution - Constitutional Amendment 14", accessed April 12, 2008.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ WETTERICH, CHRIS (8 June 2011). "Madigan blocking merger of treasurer, comptroller's offices". THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
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