Judy Baar Topinka

Judy Baar Topinka
7th Comptroller of Illinois
In office
January 10, 2011 – December 10, 2014
GovernorPat Quinn
Preceded byDaniel Hynes
Succeeded byJerry Stermer
71st Treasurer of Illinois
In office
January 9, 1995 – January 8, 2007
GovernorJim Edgar
George Ryan
Rod Blagojevich
Preceded byPat Quinn
Succeeded byAlexi Giannoulias
Chair of the Illinois Republican Party
In office
2002–2005
Preceded byGary MacDougal
Succeeded byAndrew McKenna
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 22nd district
In office
January 1985 – January 1995
Preceded byLeonard F. Becker
Succeeded byThomas J. Walsh
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 43rd district
In office
January 1983 – January 1985
Preceded byGeorge Ryan
Ray A. Christensen
Edward McBroom
Succeeded byJack L. Kubik
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 7th district
In office
January 1981 – January 1983
Serving with John S. Kociolko, Robert Pechous
Preceded byHenry Klosak
Paul J. Matula
Succeeded byJohn Cullerton
Personal details
Born
Judy Baar

(1944-01-16)January 16, 1944
Riverside, Illinois, U.S.
DiedDecember 10, 2014(2014-12-10) (aged 70)
Berwyn, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Joe Topinka
(m. 1965; div. 1981)
Children1
EducationNorthwestern University (BA)
Signature

Judy Baar Topinka (January 16, 1944 – December 10, 2014) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party from the U.S. State of Illinois.

Originally a journalist, Topinka served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1981 to 1985 and in the Illinois Senate from 1985 to 1995. She was elected to three terms as Illinois State Treasurer, serving from 1995 to 2007. She was the first woman to become state treasurer, the first to be elected to three consecutive terms, and the first Republican to hold the post in more than 32 years. During her last term as treasurer, she was the only Republican to hold statewide elected office in Illinois. In 2002, she was elected chair of the Illinois Republican Party, holding that office until 2005.

She declined to run for re-election as treasurer in 2006, instead running for Governor of Illinois. In March 2006, she was nominated as the Republican candidate. She was the second woman (after 1994 Democratic nominee Dawn Clark Netsch) and first Republican woman to be nominated for governor of Illinois.[1] She lost the election to Democratic incumbent Rod Blagojevich.

In 2010, she successfully ran for the office of Illinois Comptroller. She was re-elected to a second four-year term in November 2014, but died of a stroke only a month later.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ "Biography". Official website. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  2. ^ "Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka Dead at 70". NBC 5 Chicago, WMAQ. December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  3. ^ Pearson, Rick (December 10, 2014). "Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka dies at age 70". Chicago Tribune.
  4. ^ "Judy Baar Topinka Dies". Chicago Business. December 9, 2014.