The Treasurer of Illinois is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Illinois. Seventy-four individuals have occupied the office of Treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is Mike Frerichs, a Democrat. A former Champaign County auditor and state senator, Frerichs was first elected to lead the state treasury in 2014 following a close race with Republican candidate Tom Cross.

Treasurer of Illinois
Incumbent
Mike Frerichs
since January 12, 2015
Style
Member ofState Board of Investment
SeatIllinois State Capitol
Springfield, Illinois
AppointerGeneral election
Term lengthFour years, no term limits
Inaugural holderJohn Thomas
FormationOctober 2, 1818; 206 years ago (1818-10-02)
Salary$135,669 (2016)[1]
WebsiteOfficial page

Eligibility and term of office

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The Treasurer is elected for a renewable four-year term during the quadrennial mid-term election. The Illinois Constitution provides that the Treasurer must, at the time of their election, be a United States citizen, at least 25 years old, and a resident of the state for at least three years preceding the election.[2]

Powers and duties

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The Treasurer is charged by Article V, Section 18 of the Illinois Constitution with the safekeeping and investment of the monies and securities deposited into the state treasury.[3] As such, the Treasurer is not the chief financial officer of Illinois. That role is occupied by a separate elected official, the Comptroller. Rather, the Treasurer functions as the chief banking and investment officer for the state of Illinois. In this capacity, the Treasurer receives payments made to the state, deposits monies with approved depository institutions, accounts for and manages the state's daily fund balances, directs and administers the investment of the state's portfolio of operating and proprietary funds, arbitrages bonds issued by the Governor, services principal and interest payable on state debt, and disburses public monies in redemption of warrants drawn by the Comptroller.[4][5][6][7][8]

Other programs have been assigned to the Treasurer's office by law. For example, the Treasurer collects estate taxes due the state, approves the encumbrance of federal funds, offers various impact investment programs to farmers, small businesses and undercapitalized communities, and administers both escheats and unclaimed property accruing to the state.[9][10][11][12] The Treasurer also facilitates tax-advantaged ABLE, college savings, and retirement savings programs to Illinoisans and provides a voluntary local government investment pool to Illinois' 9,600 or so counties, cities, villages, towns, school districts, and other localities.[13][14][15][16] In addition to these routine functions, the Treasurer is concurrently an ex officio member of the State Board of Investment (ISBI), an independent state agency that oversees the investment of Illinois' public pension funds.[17] ISBI's assets under management totaled $31.5 billion at the close of the 2024 fiscal year.[18]

Aside from functional responsibilities, the Treasurer is constitutionally 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.[19][20]

List of office holders

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# Image 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

[21] [22] [23]

Proposals to merge with Comptroller

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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.[24]

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.[25] The legislation was opposed by Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "SELECTED STATE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICIALS: ANNUAL SALARIES" (PDF). The Council of State Governments. April 11, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-13. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  2. ^ "Article V, Sections 2 and 3, Illinois Constitution". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "Article V, Section 18, Illinois Constitution". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  4. ^ "State Treasurer Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "Deposit of State Moneys Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  6. ^ "Securities Safekeeping Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  7. ^ "Destruction of Indebtedness Certificates Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  8. ^ "General Obligation Bond Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  9. ^ "Estate Tax". Office of the Illinois Treasurer. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  10. ^ "Treasruer as Custodian of Funds Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  11. ^ "Invest in Illinois: Overview". Office of the Illinois Treasurer. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  12. ^ "Icash, the Unclaimed Property Program for the State of Illinois". Office of the Illinois Treasurer. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  13. ^ "ABLE". Office of the Illinois Treasurer. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  14. ^ "College Savings". Office of the Illinois Treasurer. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  15. ^ "Secure Choice". Office of the Illinois Treasurer. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  16. ^ "The Illinois Funds". Office of the Illinois Treasurer. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  17. ^ "Board". Illinois State Board of Investment. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  18. ^ "About Us". Illinois State Board of Investment. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  19. ^ "Constitution of the State of Illinois". Illinois General Assembly. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  20. ^ "Illinois Compiled Statutes 15 ILCS 5 — Governor Succession Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  21. ^ Illinois Blue Book. Springfield: Secretary of State. 1908. p. 158. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  22. ^ Woods, Harry (1914). Illinois Blue Book. Danville: Secretary of State. p. 141. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  23. ^ O'Connor, John (11 December 2014). "Governors have filled 16 vacancies since 1848". The State Journal-Register. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  24. ^ "House Joint Resolution - Constitutional Amendment 14", accessed April 12, 2008.[1]
  25. ^ McQUEARY, KRISTEN (December 31, 2011). "Move to Allow Vote to Merge Treasurer and Comptroller Jobs Stalls in House". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  26. ^ WETTERICH, CHRIS (8 June 2011). "Madigan blocking merger of treasurer, comptroller's offices". THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
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