Judy Baar Topinka | |
|---|---|
 Topinka in 2004 | |
| 7thComptroller of Illinois | |
| In office January 10, 2011 – December 10, 2014 | |
| Governor | Pat Quinn |
| Preceded by | Daniel Hynes |
| Succeeded by | Jerry Stermer |
| 71stTreasurer of Illinois | |
| In office January 9, 1995 – January 8, 2007 | |
| Governor | Jim Edgar George Ryan Rod Blagojevich |
| Preceded by | Pat Quinn |
| Succeeded by | Alexi Giannoulias |
| Chair of theIllinois Republican Party | |
| In office 2002–2005 | |
| Preceded by | Gary MacDougal |
| Succeeded by | Andrew McKenna |
| Member of theIllinois Senate from the 22nd district | |
| In office January 1985 – January 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Leonard F. Becker |
| Succeeded by | Thomas J. Walsh |
| Member of theIllinois House of Representatives from the 43rd district | |
| In office January 1983 – January 1985 | |
| Preceded by | George Ryan Ray A. Christensen Edward McBroom |
| Succeeded by | Jack L. Kubik |
| Member of theIllinois House of Representatives from the7th district | |
| In office January 1981 – January 1983 Serving with John S. Kociolko,Robert Pechous | |
| Preceded by | Henry Klosak Paul J. Matula |
| Succeeded by | John Cullerton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Judy Baar (1944-01-16)January 16, 1944 Riverside, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | December 10, 2014(2014-12-10) (aged 70) Berwyn, Illinois, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Northwestern University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Judy Baar Topinka (née Baar; January 16, 1944 – December 10, 2014) was an American politician and member of theRepublican Party from the U.S. State ofIllinois.
Originally a journalist, Topinka served in theIllinois House of Representatives from 1981 to 1985 and in theIllinois Senate from 1985 to 1995. She was elected to three terms asIllinois 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 theIllinois Republican Party, holding that office until 2005.
She declined to run for re-election as treasurer in 2006, instead running forGovernor of Illinois. In March 2006, she was nominated as the Republican candidate. She was the second woman (after 1994 Democratic nomineeDawn Clark Netsch) and first Republican woman to be nominated for governor of Illinois.[1] She lost the election toDemocratic incumbentRod Blagojevich.
In 2010, she successfully ran for the office ofIllinois 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]
Topinka was born in the Chicago, Illinois, suburb ofRiverside to Lillian Mary (Shuss) and William D. Baar, the children ofCzech andSlovak immigrants.[5][6] After graduating fromFerry Hall School inLake Forest in 1962, she attendedNorthwestern University in nearbyEvanston. Topinka received a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from the university'sMedill School of Journalism. She was a member of theAlpha Gamma Delta sorority.
After graduating from Northwestern, Topinka became a reporter for several suburban Chicago newspapers, eventually becoming an editor. On the side, Topinka established her ownpublic relations business, through which she began a career in consulting for various political candidates.
In 1980, Topinka first pursued her own career in politics by running for theIllinois General Assembly. She won a seat in theIllinois House of Representatives and served two two-year terms, respectively for the 7th and 43rd districts. In 1984, she set her sights on the upper house of the Illinois General Assembly and won a seat in theIllinois Senate where she represented the 22nd district for ten years.
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In the middle of a term as state senator, Topinka joined the Illinois State Treasurer race in 1994 and won the election. She was reelected in 1998 and 2002.
As state treasurer, Topinka cut a deal to allow hotels that were owned by indicted Springfield power-broker Bill Cellini[7] to pay $10 million to settle their debts which totaled $40.3 million. This deal was quashed by Attorney GeneralJim Ryan who stated that the hotels were worth more than the $10 million for which Topinka had attempted to settle the debt.[8]
On November 7, 2005, Topinka announced that she would not seek re-election as state treasurer—instead, she entered the gubernatorial primary, hoping to challenge Democratic GovernorRod Blagojevich. The Republican primary was deeply divisive; her tenure as Party chairman destroyed her support from the conservative wing of her party, and it was feared that herpro-choice and positivegay rights positions would be detrimental to her standing with the same conservatives. In December she announced that she would join forces withDuPage County State's AttorneyJoe Birkett as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois.
In February 2006, the candidates for the Republican nomination for Illinois Governor began running their first TV ads for the March statewide primary election. Rival candidate Ron Gidwitz's advertisements, attacking Topinka, were rebuked in the same week by the Illinois Republican Party: "In an unprecedented action, the Illinois Republican Party has officially rebuked the Gidwitz campaign for this ad because the Party found that the ad violates the Party's "Code of Conduct," which was enacted to police proper conduct among Republican candidates."[citation needed]
Later in February, candidateJim Oberweis, another rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, started a series of attack ads against Topinka for television markets that were even more widely criticized, mostly for using "fake" headlines on the images of actual Illinois newspapers.[Notes 1][Notes 2] These ads, like Gidwitz's ads, also came under review by the Illinois Republican Party.[Notes 3] Because of the controversy generated, several television stations withdrew Oberweis's ads.[Notes 4]
On March 21, 2006, Topinka won the Republican nomination with 37 percent of the vote.
On November 7, 2006, she lost the race to Blagojevich.
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Topinka was a candidate for the office of Illinois State Comptroller in the 2010 election, facing conservative radio host William J. Kelly andOrland Park Village Trustee Jim Dodge in the Republican primary. She won the nomination with 59% of the vote. She went on to win the general election against Illinois state representativeDavid E. Miller (D), Julie Fox (L) and E. Erika Schafer (G). She won re-election in November 2014.
In 1965, she married Joe Topinka.[11] They had a son, Joseph,[3] before divorcing in 1981.
Topinka was a member of theIllinois St. Andrew Society and attended multiple events for it throughout the year.[12] She could play four instruments and could fluently speak four languages, English,Czech, Spanish andPolish.[13][14]
On December 9, 2014, Topinka was admitted to MacNeal Hospital inBerwyn, a western suburb of Chicago, after reporting discomfort. After undergoing tests, she appeared to be doing well. However, overnight she suddenly lost consciousness and was pronounced dead from a stroke at shortly after 2 a.m. on December 10.[15] PresidentBarack Obama referred to Topinka as "an institution in Illinois politics", citing her service in a statement from theWhite House.[16] Illinois GovernorPat Quinn said it was a "sad day in the state of Illinois", calling her "a trailblazer in every sense of the word".[17] Topinka was succeeded byJerry Stermer as comptroller.[18]
| Illinois House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Klosak Paul J. Matula | Member of theIllinois House of Representatives from the7th district 1981–1983 Served alongside:John S. Kociolko,Robert Pechous | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theIllinois House of Representatives from the 43rd district 1983–1985 | Succeeded by Jack L. Kubik |
| Illinois Senate | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theIllinois Senate from the 22nd district 1985–1995 | Succeeded by Thomas J. Walsh |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Treasurer of Illinois 1995–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Comptroller of Illinois 2011–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forIllinois Treasurer 1994,1998,2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theIllinois Republican Party 2002–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Illinois 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forIllinois Comptroller 2010,2014 | Succeeded by |
| Auditors of public accounts (1818–1973) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Comptrollers (1973–present) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
