Judy Baar Topinka
Encyclopedia
Judy Baar Topinka is the Illinois State Comptroller
and former Illinois State Treasurer
, having served as Treasurer from 1995 to 2007, and former chairwoman of the Illinois Republican Party
. She was the first woman to become state treasurer, first to be elected to three consecutive terms and the first Republican to hold the post in more than thirty-two years. During her last term, she was the only elected statewide official from the Republican Party
, in Illinois.
In November 2005, Topinka announced her decision to run 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. She went on to lose the election to Rod Blagojevich
.
In 2010, she successfully ran for the office of Illinois State Comptroller
.
suburb of Riverside
, Illinois
, to William and Lillian Baar, the children of Czech and Slovak
immigrants. She graduated in 1962 from Ferry Hall School
in Lake Forest
and entered Northwestern University
in Evanston
. Topinka received a Bachelor of Science
degree in journalism
from the university's Medill School
. She is an alumna of Alpha Gamma Delta
sorority. After leaving Northwestern, Topinka became a reporter for several suburban Chicago
newspapers and rose through the ranks to become an editor
. On the side, Topinka established her own public relations
business, through which she began a career in consulting for various political candidates.
In 1965, she married Joe Topinka. They had a son, Joe, before divorcing
in 1981.
Topinka is a member of the Illinois St. Andrew's Society and attends multiple events throughout the year.
. She won a seat in the House of Representatives
at which she served two two-year terms. In 1984, she set her sights on the upper house of the Illinois General Assembly and won a seat in the Senate
at which she served ten years.
who stated that the hotels were worth more than the $10 million Topinka had attempted to settle the debt for.
. 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 her pro-choice
and positive gay rights positions would be detrimental to her standing with the same conservatives. In December she announced that she would join forces with DuPage County
State's Attorney Joe 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."
Later in February, candidate Jim Oberweis, another rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, started a series of attack ads for television markets, against Topinka, that were even more widely criticized, mostly for using "fake" headlines on the images of actual Illinois newspapers. These ads, like Gidwitz's ads, also came under review by the Illinois Republican Party. Because of the controversy generated, several television stations withdrew Oberweis's ads.
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.
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 representative David E. Miller
(D), Julie Fox (L) and E. Erika Schafer (G).
Illinois State Comptroller
The Comptroller of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. He or she is responsible for maintaining the State's accounts, and for ordering payments into and out of them...
and former Illinois State Treasurer
Illinois State Treasurer
The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois.-Current occupant and duties:, the Treasurer of Illinois is Dan Rutherford, a member of the Republican Party...
, having served as Treasurer from 1995 to 2007, and former chairwoman of the Illinois Republican Party
Illinois Republican Party
The Illinois Republican Party is the state-level affiliate of the Republican Party in Illinois. Since August 20, 2009, it has been chaired by Pat Brady...
. She was the first woman to become state treasurer, first to be elected to three consecutive terms and the first Republican to hold the post in more than thirty-two years. During her last term, she was the only elected statewide official from the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, in Illinois.
In November 2005, Topinka announced her decision to run for Governor of Illinois
Governor of Illinois
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state....
. In March 2006, she was nominated as the Republican candidate. She was the second woman (after 1994 Democratic nominee Dawn Clark Netsch
Dawn Clark Netsch
Dawn Clark Netsch is an Illinois professor of law and politician. A member of the Democratic Party in the United States, she served in the Illinois State Senate, as Illinois Comptroller and in 1994 was the first woman to be nominated by a major political party to run for Governor of...
) and first Republican woman to be nominated for governor of Illinois. She went on to lose the election to Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
.
In 2010, she successfully ran for the office of Illinois State Comptroller
Illinois State Comptroller
The Comptroller of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. He or she is responsible for maintaining the State's accounts, and for ordering payments into and out of them...
.
Early years
Topinka was born in the ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
suburb of Riverside
Riverside, Illinois
Riverside is an affluent suburban village in Cook County, Illinois. A significant portion of the village is in the Riverside Landscape Architecture District, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. The population was 8,895 at the 2000 census...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, to William and Lillian Baar, the children of Czech and Slovak
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
immigrants. She graduated in 1962 from Ferry Hall School
Ferry Hall School
The Ferry Hall School was a girls' preparatory school founded in 1869 in Lake Forest, Illinois, USA. In 1974, Ferry Hall merged into Lake Forest Academy.- History :...
in Lake Forest
Lake Forest, Illinois
Lake Forest is an affluent city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The city is south of Waukegan along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in...
and entered Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
. Topinka received a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
from the university's Medill School
Medill School of Journalism
The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University which offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It has consistently been one of the top-ranked schools in Journalism in the United States...
. She is an alumna of Alpha Gamma Delta
Alpha Gamma Delta
Alpha Gamma Delta is an international women's fraternity, who are mainly sluts, founded in 1904 at Syracuse University. The Fraternity promotes academic excellence, philanthropic giving, ongoing leadership and personal development, and a spirit of loving sisterhood. Also known as "Alpha Gam" and...
sorority. After leaving Northwestern, Topinka became a reporter for several suburban Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
newspapers and rose through the ranks to become an editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
. On the side, Topinka established her own public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
business, through which she began a career in consulting for various political candidates.
In 1965, she married Joe Topinka. They had a son, Joe, before divorcing
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
in 1981.
Topinka is a member of the Illinois St. Andrew's Society and attends multiple events throughout the year.
Legislative career
In 1980, Topinka first pursued her own career in politics by running for the Illinois General AssemblyIllinois General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois and comprises the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Illinois has 59 legislative districts, with two...
. She won a seat in the House of Representatives
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
at which she served two two-year terms. In 1984, she set her sights on the upper house of the Illinois General Assembly and won a seat in the Senate
Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the state of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from...
at which she served ten years.
Illinois State Treasurer
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.Controversy and accusation of favoritism
As State Treasurer, Topinka cut a deal to allow hotels that were owned by indicted Springfield power-broker Bill Cellini to pay $ 10 million to settle their debts which totaled $ 40.3 million. This deal was quashed by Attorney General Jim RyanJim Ryan (politician)
James E. Ryan is an American politician who served two four-year terms as Illinois Attorney General. A career Republican, he received his party's nomination and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Illinois against Rod Blagojevich in 2002. He has been a professor at Benedictine University since 2003...
who stated that the hotels were worth more than the $10 million Topinka had attempted to settle the debt for.
Illinois gubernatorial campaign
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 Governor Rod BlagojevichRod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
. 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 her pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
and positive gay rights positions would be detrimental to her standing with the same conservatives. In December she announced that she would join forces with DuPage County
DuPage County, Illinois
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...
State's Attorney Joe Birkett
Joe Birkett
Joseph E. Birkett is the DuPage County State’s Attorney and former Republican nominee for Illinois Lieutenant Governor with running-mate Judy Baar Topinka. Birkett has been State’s Attorney since October 1, 1996 when he was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Anthony Peccarelli...
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."
Later in February, candidate Jim Oberweis, another rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, started a series of attack ads for television markets, against Topinka, that were even more widely criticized, mostly for using "fake" headlines on the images of actual Illinois newspapers. These ads, like Gidwitz's ads, also came under review by the Illinois Republican Party. Because of the controversy generated, several television stations withdrew Oberweis's ads.
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.
2010 State Comptroller candidacy
Topinka was a candidate for the office of Illinois State Comptroller in the 2010 election, facing Orland ParkOrland Park, Illinois
Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States; it also extends slightly into Will County. The population was 56,767 at the 2010 census. The office of the Assistant Village Manager, Ellen Baer, states that the Will County section of Orland Park is industrial while the Cook County...
Village Trustee Jim Dodge
Jim Dodge (Illinois)
Jim Dodge is an Orland Park Village Trustee, and was a Republican candidate for Illinois State Comptroller in 2010.Dodge has served as Orland Village Trustee since 1996, and had previously served as Orland Park Village Clerk...
in the Republican primary. She won the nomination with 59% of the vote. She went on to win the general election against Illinois state representative David E. Miller
David E. Miller
David E. Miller is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 29th District since 2001, after winning election by only 29 votes. The 29th district since 2002 includes parts of Burnham, Calumet City, Chicago, Dolton, Ford Heights, Glenwood, Harvey, Homewood,...
(D), Julie Fox (L) and E. Erika Schafer (G).
Electoral history
- 2010 election for Illinois State Comptroller
- Judy Baar Topinka (R), 52.9%
- David Miller (D), 40.6%
- Julie Fox (L), 3.3%
- R. Erika Schafer (G),3.2%
- 2006 election for Governor of Illinois
- Rod BlagojevichRod BlagojevichRod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
(D) (inc.), 49% - Judy Baar Topinka (R), 40%
- Rich WhitneyRich WhitneyRich Whitney is an Illinois politician and civil rights attorney who was the Illinois Green Party's nominee for Governor of Illinois in the elections of 2006 and 2010. During the 2006 campaign Whitney received endorsements from several newspapers, including the Rockford Register Star, Southwest...
(Green), 10%
- Rod Blagojevich
- 2002 election for state Treasurer
- Judy Baar Topinka (Republican) (inc.), 55%
- Tom DartTom DartThomas J. "Tom" Dart is the current Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois. His department is the second largest in the United States after the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.-Career:...
(Democrat), 43%
- 1998 election for state Treasurer
- Judy Baar Topinka (Republican) (inc.), 50%
- Dan McLaughlin (Democrat), 48%
- 1994 election for state Treasurer
- Judy Baar Topinka (Republican), 51%
- Nancy Shaheen (Democrat), 49%