Illinois Comptroller

Comptroller of Illinois
Seal of the State of Illinois
Incumbent
Susana Mendoza
since December 5, 2016
Style
SeatIllinois State Capitol
Springfield, Illinois
AppointerGeneral election
Term lengthFour years, no term limits
Inaugural holderGeorge W. Lindberg
FormationDecember 15, 1970
(53 years ago) (December 15, 1970)
Salary$135,669 (2016)[1]
WebsiteOfficial page

The Comptroller of Illinois is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Illinois. Ten individuals have held the office of Comptroller since the enactment of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, replacing the prior office of Auditor of Public Accounts that was first created in 1799. The incumbent is Susana Mendoza, a Democrat.

Eligibility and term of office

The Comptroller is elected for a renewable four-year term during the quadrennial mid-term election. The Illinois Constitution provides that the Comptroller 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 3 years preceding the election.[2]

Powers and duties

Article V, Section 17 of the Constitution of Illinois says the Comptroller: "shall maintain the State's central fiscal accounts, and order payments into and out of the funds held by the Treasurer."[2] In accordance with this mandate, the Comptroller is designated by law as the state's chief fiscal control officer and is responsible for the legal, efficient, and effective operations of state government.[3] As such, the Comptroller keeps and adjusts the statewide accounting system, signs paychecks or grants approval to electronic payments made by the state to its employees and creditors, monitors cash flow, prepares the state's annual comprehensive financial report, and provides monthly debt transparency reports to the General Assembly.[4] The Comptroller is also charged by statute with certain additional duties. In particular, the Comptroller supervises local government finances in Illinois, including reviewing local government financial data, investigating instances of waste and fraud in local governments, and publishing an annual report summarizing the revenues, expenditures, fund balance, and debt of units of local government throughout the state.[5] Moreover, 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]

Aside from their regular responsibilities, the Comptroller is fourth (behind the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, respectively) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Illinois.[7][8]

Recent history

The late Judy Baar Topinka was a moderate Republican first elected in 2010 and subsequently re-elected in 2014 to a second four-year term as Comptroller. However, Topinka died unexpectedly in December 2014.[9] 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.[10][11][12] Munger was then defeated by Susana Mendoza in the 2016 special election to fill the remainder of the term through 2018.

Merger proposals

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.[13]

In 2011, Comptroller Topinka and the Treasurer, Dan Rutherford, introduced legislation to allow voters to decide whether the offices should be merged.[14] The legislation was opposed by Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, and did not become law.[15]

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.[16][17]

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)
# Name Term Political Party
1 H. H. Maxwell 1812-1816
2 Daniel Pope Cook 1816 Democratic-Republican
3 Robert Blackwell 1817
4 Elijah C. Berry 1817–1818

Auditors of Public Accounts, State of Illinois

# Name Political Party Term
1 Elijah C. Berry Democratic 1818–1831
2 James T. B. Stapp Democratic 1831–1835
3 Levi Davis Whig 1835–1841
4 James Shields Democratic 1841–1843
5 William L. D. Ewing Democratic 1843–1846
6 Thomas Hayes Campbell Democratic 1846–1857
7 Jesse K. Dubois Republican 1857–1864
8 Orlin H. Miner Republican 1864–1869
9 Charles E. Lippincott Republican 1869–1877
10 Thomas B. Needles Republican 1877–1881
11 Charles P. Swigart Republican 1881–1889
12 Charles W. Pavey Republican 1889–1893
13 David Gore Democratic 1893–1897
14 James S. McCullough Republican 1897–1913
15 James J. Brady Democratic 1913–1917
16 Andrew Russell Republican 1917–1925
17 Oscar Nelson Republican 1925–1933
18 Edward J. Barrett Democratic 1933–1941
19 Arthur C. Lueder Republican 1941–1949
20 Benjamin O. Cooper Democratic 1949–1953
21 Orville E. Hodge Republican 1953–1956
22 Lloyd Morey Republican 1956–1957
23 Elbert S. Smith Republican 1957–1961
24 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 2015–2016
10 Susana Mendoza Democratic 2016–present

References

  1. ^ "SELECTED STATE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICIALS: ANNUAL SALARIES" (PDF). The Council of State Governments. April 11, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Article V, Section 17 "Constitution of Illinois", accessed March 2, 2022.
  3. ^ [1], What Is A Comptroller?, accessed February 4, 2022.
  4. ^ [2], What Is A Comptroller, accessed February 4, 2022.
  5. ^ "Local Government Division - Illinois Comptroller's Office". illinoiscomptroller.gov. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  6. ^ 760 ILCS 100/1 et seq., "Illinois Compiled Statutes", accessed April 12, 2008.
  7. ^ "Constitution of the State of Illinois". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  8. ^ "Illinois Compiled Statutes 15 ILCS 5 — Governor Succession Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  9. ^ "Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka Dead at 70". NBC 5 Chicago, WMAQ. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  10. ^ "Quinn names longtime aide Stermer to succeed Topinka as comptroller". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  11. ^ (January 5, 2015) - "Rauner to Appoint Leslie Munger as Next Illinois Comptroller". WGNtv.com. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  12. ^ "Newcomers, veterans sworn in as statewide officers". The State Journal-Register. Springfield, Illinois. Associated Press. January 12, 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  13. ^ "House Joint Resolution - Constitutional Amendment 12". Retrieved March 8, 2009.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Wetterich, Chris (8 June 2011). "Madigan blocking merger of treasurer, comptroller's offices". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  16. ^ History of the Office of Comptroller of Illinois Archived 2010-11-08 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Illinois Blue Book (1st ed.). Springfield: Secretary of State. 1908. p. 157. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
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