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.

Treasurer of Illinois
Incumbent
Mike Frerichs
since January 12, 2015
Term lengthFour years, no term limits
Inaugural holderJohn Thomas
FormationOctober 2, 1818 (1818-10-02)
Salary$135,669 (2016)[1]
Websiteillinoistreasurer.gov

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.

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.[2] Rather, the Treasurer functions as the state's banker and investor.[3]

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.[2]

The Treasurer is fifth (behind the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Comptroller, respectively) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Illinois.[4][5]

The Treasurer's office operates a web page describing the office's powers and duties.[6]

List of office holders
# Name Political Party Term
1 John Thomas Democratic-Republican 1818–1819
2 R. K. McLaughlin Democratic-Republican 1819–1823
3 Abner Field Democratic-Republican 1823–1827
4 James Hall Democratic 1827–1831
5 John Dement Democratic 1831–1836
6 Charles Gregory Democratic 1836–1837
7 John D. Whiteside Democratic 1837–1841
8 Milton Carpenter Democratic 1841–1848
9 John Moore Democratic 1848–1857
10 James Miller Republican 1857–1859
11 William Butler Republican 1859–1863
12 Alexander Starne Democratic 1863–1865
13 James H. Beveridge Republican 1865–1867
14 George W. Smith Republican 1867–1869
15 Erastus N. Bates Republican 1869–1873
16 Edward Rutz Republican 1873–1875
17 Thomas S. Ridgway Republican 1875–1877
18 Edward Rutz Republican 1877–1879
19 John C. Smith Republican 1879–1881
20 Edward Rutz Republican 1881–1883
21 John C. Smith Republican 1883–1885
22 Jacob Gross Republican 1885–1887
23 John Riley Tanner Republican 1887–1889
24 Charles Becker Republican 1889–1891
25 Edward S. Wilson Democratic 1891–1893
26 Rufus N. Ramsay Democratic 1893–1894
27 Elijah P. Ramsay Democratic 1894–1895
28 Henry Wulff Republican 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 Republican 1911–1913
37 William Ryan, Jr. Democratic 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 Democratic 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

[7] [8] [9]

Proposals to merge with Comptroller

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. "SELECTED STATE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICIALS: ANNUAL SALARIES" (PDF). The Council of State Governments. April 11, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  2. Section 18, Article V, "Constitution of Illinois", accessed April 12, 2008.
  3. "State Treasurer Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  4. "Constitution of the State of Illinois". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  5. "Illinois Compiled Statutes 15 ILCS 5 — Governor Succession Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  6. "Dan Rutherford - Illinois State Treasurer", accessed January 25, 2011.Illinois State Treasurer web page
  7. Illinois Blue Book. Springfield: Secretary of State. 1908. p. 158. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  8. Woods, Harry (1914). Illinois Blue Book. Danville: Secretary of State. p. 141. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  9. O'Connor, John (11 December 2014). "Governors have filled 16 vacancies since 1848". The State Journal-Register. Associated Press. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  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.
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