Illinois Comptroller
The Comptroller of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. They are responsible for maintaining the State's accounts, and for ordering payments into and out of them. The office was created by the Illinois Constitution of 1970, replacing the office of Auditor of Public Accounts.
The Comptroller of Illinois was Judy Baar Topinka, a member of the Republican Party first elected in 2010 and subsequently re-elected in 2014 to a second four-year term. However, Topinka died unexpectedly in December 2014.[1] On December 19, Governor Pat Quinn appointed Jerry Stermer to succeed Topinka, to serve until January 12, 2015, when he was replaced by Leslie Munger, who was appointed by Quinn's successor as Governor, Bruce Rauner.[2][3][4]
Duties
The Comptroller is charged, by the terms of Section 17 of Article V of the Constitution of Illinois, with the duties of: (a) maintaining the central fiscal accounts of the state, and (b) ordering payments into and out of the funds held by the Treasurer of Illinois. In accordance with this duty, the Comptroller signs paychecks or grants approval to electronic payments made by the state to its employees and creditors.[5] The Comptroller is also charged, by Illinois statute, with certain additional duties. In particular, the Comptroller regulates cemeteries under the Cemetery Care Act, and is charged with the fiduciary protection of cemetery care funds used for the care and maintenance of Illinois gravesites.[6]
The Illinois Constitution provides that the comptroller 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.[5]
The Comptroller's office operates a web page describing the office's powers and duties.[7]
Controversy
Some legislators have perceived a redundancy overlap between the offices of Comptroller and Treasurer, and have therefore proposed constitutional amendments to merge the two offices and earn administrative savings. For example, HJRCA 12, considered by the Illinois General Assembly in the 2008-2009 session, would merge the office of Comptroller into the office of Treasurer.[8]
In 2011, Comptroller Topinka and the Treasurer, Dan Rutherford, introduced legislation to allow voters to decide whether the offices should be merged.[9] The legislation was opposed by Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, and did not become law.[10]
List of office holders
The following is an historic list of office holders for the Comptroller of Illinois and its preceding office, the Auditor of Public Accounts.[11]
Auditors of Public Accounts, Northwest Territory
- Rice Bullock (1799-1800)
Auditors of Public Accounts, Indiana Territory
- vacant (1801-1809)
Auditors of Public Accounts, Illinois Territory
- vacant (1809-1812)
- H. H. Maxwell (1812-1816)
- Daniel Pope Cook (1816)
- Robert Blackwell (1817)
- Elijah C. Berry (1817-1818)
Auditors of Public Accounts, State of Illinois
| # | Name | Political Party | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elijah C. Berry | 1818-1831 | |
| 2 | James T. B. Stapp | 1831-1835 | |
| 3 | Levi Davis | 1835-1841 | |
| 3 | James Shields | Democratic | 1841-1843 |
| 4 | William L. D. Ewing | Democratic | 1843-1846 |
| 5 | Thomas H. Campbell | 1846-1857 | |
| 6 | Jesse K. Dubois | Republican | 1857-1864 |
| 7 | Orlin H. Miner | 1864-1869 | |
| 8 | Charles E. Lippincott | 1869-1877 | |
| 9 | Thomas B. Needles | 1877-1881 | |
| 10 | Charles P. Swigart | 1881-1889 | |
| 11 | Charles W. Pavey | 1889-1893 | |
| 12 | David Gore | 1893-1897 | |
| 13 | James S. McCullough | 1897-1913 | |
| 14 | James J. Brady | Democratic | 1913-1917 |
| 15 | Andrew Russell | Republican | 1917-1925 |
| 16 | Oscar Nelson | Republican | 1925-1933 |
| 17 | Edward J. Barrett | Democratic | 1933-1941 |
| 18 | Arthur C. Lueder | 1941-1949 | |
| 19 | Benjamin O. Cooper | 1949-1953 | |
| 20 | Orville E. Hodge | Republican | 1953-1956 |
| 21 | Lloyd Morey | 1956-1957 | |
| 22 | Elbert S. Smith | 1957-1961 | |
| 23 | Michael J. Howlett | Democratic | 1961-1973 |
Comptrollers, State of Illinois
| # | Name | Political Party | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George W. Lindberg | Republican | 1973-1977 |
| 2 | Michael J. Bakalis | Democratic | 1977-1979 |
| 3 | Roland W. Burris | Democratic | 1979-1991 |
| 4 | Dawn Clark Netsch | Democratic | 1991-1995 |
| 5 | Loleta A. Didrickson | Republican | 1995-1999 |
| 6 | Dan Hynes | Democratic | 1999-2011 |
| 7 | Judy Baar Topinka | Republican | 2011-2014 |
| 8 | Jerry Stermer | Democratic | 2014-2015 |
| 9 | Leslie Munger | Republican | 2015- |
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ (January 5, 2015) - "Rauner to Appoint Leslie Munger as Next Illinois Comptroller". WGNtv.com. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Section 3, Article V, "Constitution of Illinois", accessed April 12, 2008.
- ↑ 760 ILCS 100/1 et seq., "Illinois Compiled Statutes", accessed April 12, 2008.
- ↑ "Illinois State Comptroller Daniel W. Hynes", accessed April 12, 2008.Illinois State Comptroller web page
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ History of the Office of Comptroller of Illinois
 Illinois statewide elected officials |
|
|---|---|
