Illinois Comptroller Explained

Post:Comptroller
Body:Illinois
Insignia:Seal of Illinois.svg
Insigniasize:150px
Insigniacaption:Seal of the State of Illinois
Incumbent:Susana Mendoza
Incumbentsince:December 5, 2016
Seat:Illinois State Capitol
Springfield, Illinois
Member Of:Board of Trustees of the State Employees' Retirement System[1]
Appointer:General election
Termlength:Four years, no term limits
Inaugural:George W. Lindberg
Salary:$135,669 (2016)[2]
Website:Official 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.[3]

Powers and duties

Article V, Section 17 of the Constitution of Illinois states the Comptroller "...shall maintain the State's central fiscal accounts, and order payments into and out of the funds held by the Treasurer."[4] In accordance with this mandate, the Comptroller is designated by law as the chief fiscal control officer for the state of Illinois and thus responsible for the legal, efficient, and effective financial operations of state government.[5] [6] As such, the Comptroller:

  1. Prescribes uniform accounting standards, records financial transactions, codifies appropriations made by law, and makes adjustments in the statewide accounting system.[7]
  2. Establishes internal control guidelines applicable to every state agency.[8]
  3. Orders deposits into the state treasury and approves receipts issued by the Treasurer.[9]
  4. Audits vouchers certified by state agencies for obligations incurred, including obligations made by the state to its employees and creditors, and issues warrants on the state treasury in payment of vouchers approved, either by signing paychecks or granting approval to electronic payments.[10]
  5. Administers payroll to state employees.[11]
  6. Maintains records of inventory and bonded indebtedness for every state agency.[12]
  7. Monitors cash flow in each state fund and approves interfund transfers.[13] [14]
  8. Provides monthly debt transparency reports to the General Assembly.[15] [16]
  9. Prepares the state's annual comprehensive financial report.[17] [18]
  10. Approves or refuses the sale of state bonds in excess of statutory debt limits.[19] If approved, said bonds are issued by the Governor with the assistance of the Office of Management and Budget, a Cabinet-level state agency, and serviced as to principal and interest by the Treasurer.[20] No other elected state comptroller in the United States enjoys this power over bond issuance.

The Comptroller is charged by statute with certain additional duties. In particular, the Comptroller supervises local government finances throughout Illinois. This function includes reviewing localities' financial statements, collecting financial data and organizing it into user-friendly databases, investigating instances of waste or fraud in local governments, and publishing an annual report summarizing the revenues, expenditures, fund balance, and debt of some 9,000 units of local government.[21] [22] [23] [24] 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.[25]

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.[26] [27] The Comptroller is also by law a member of the board of trustees of the State Employees' Retirement System (SERS), the independent state agency that administers public pensions for legislators and their staff, the judiciary, executive branch officials, and the professional civil service.[28]

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.[29] 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.[30] [31] [32] 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.[33]

In 2011, Comptroller Topinka and the Treasurer, Dan Rutherford, introduced legislation to allow voters to decide whether the offices should be merged.[34] The legislation was opposed by Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, and did not become law.[35]

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.[36] [37]

Auditors of Public Accounts, Northwest Territory

Auditors of Public Accounts, Indiana Territory

Auditors of Public Accounts, Illinois Territory

NameTermPolitical Party
1H. H. Maxwell1812-1816
2Daniel Pope Cook1816Democratic-Republican
3Robert Blackwell1817
4Elijah C. Berry1817–1818

Auditors of Public Accounts, State of Illinois

NamePolitical PartyTerm
1Elijah C. BerryDemocratic1818–1831
2James T. B. StappDemocratic1831–1835
3Levi DavisWhig1835–1841
4James ShieldsDemocratic1841–1843
5William L. D. EwingDemocratic1843–1846
6Thomas Hayes CampbellDemocratic1846–1857
7Jesse K. DuboisRepublican1857–1864
8Orlin H. MinerRepublican1864–1869
9Charles E. LippincottRepublican1869–1877
10Thomas B. NeedlesRepublican1877–1881
11Charles P. SwigartRepublican1881–1889
12Charles W. PaveyRepublican1889–1893
13David GoreDemocratic1893–1897
14James S. McCulloughRepublican1897–1913
15James J. BradyDemocratic1913–1917
16Andrew RussellRepublican1917–1925
17Oscar NelsonRepublican1925–1933
18Edward J. BarrettDemocratic1933–1941
19Arthur C. LuederRepublican1941–1949
20Benjamin O. CooperDemocratic1949–1953
21Orville E. HodgeRepublican1953–1956
22Lloyd MoreyRepublican1956–1957
23Elbert S. SmithRepublican1957–1961
24Michael J. HowlettDemocratic1961–1973

Comptrollers, State of Illinois

NamePolitical PartyTerm
1George W. LindbergRepublican1973–1977
2Michael J. BakalisDemocratic1977–1979
3Roland W. BurrisDemocratic1979–1991
4Dawn Clark NetschDemocratic1991–1995
5Loleta A. DidricksonRepublican1995–1999
6Dan HynesDemocratic1999–2011
7Judy Baar TopinkaRepublican2011–2014
8Jerry StermerDemocratic2014–2015
9Leslie MungerRepublican2015–2016
10Susana MendozaDemocratic2016–present

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Board of Trustees. Illinois State Employees' Retirement System. July 24, 2024.
  2. Web site: SELECTED STATE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICIALS: ANNUAL SALARIES . The Council of State Governments . April 11, 2016 . March 24, 2017 . June 12, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170612050910/http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/system/files/4.11%202016.pdf . dead .
  3. Web site: Article V, Sections 2 and 3, Illinois Constitution. Illinois General Assembly. July 24, 2024.
  4. Web site: Article V, Section 17, Illinois Constitution. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  5. https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/about/what-is-a-comptroller/
  6. https://susanamendoza.com/what-is/
  7. Web site: Sections 6.01-8, State Comptroller Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  8. Web site: Article 3, Section 3002, Fiscal Control and Internal Auditing Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  9. Web site: Sections 8 and 9, State Treasurer Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  10. Web site: Sections 9-9.02, State Comptroller Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024. |
  11. Web site: Section 9.03, State Comptroller Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  12. Web site: Sections 17 and 18, State Comptroller Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  13. Web site: Section 19, State Comptroller Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  14. Web site: Section 5h.5, State Finance Act. July 25, 2024.
  15. Web site: Section 9.08, State Finance Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  16. Web site: Debt Transparency Report. Office of the Illinois State Comptroller. July 25, 2024.
  17. Web site: Section 19.5, State Comptroller Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  18. Web site: Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. Office of the Illinois State Comptroller. July 25, 2024.
  19. Web site: Section 2.5, General Obligation Bond Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  20. Web site: Sections 9 and 15, General Obligation Bond Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  21. Web site: Local Government Division. Office of the Illinois State Comptroller. July 25, 2024.
  22. Web site: Governmental Account Audit Act. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  23. Web site: County Auditing Law. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  24. Web site: Municipal Auditing Law. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  25. http://ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2136&ChapAct=760%26nbsp%3BILCS%26nbsp%3B100%2F&ChapterID=61&ChapterName=TRUSTS+AND+FIDUCIARIES&ActName=Cemetery+Care+Act%2E 760 ILCS 100/1 et seq.
  26. Web site: Constitution of the State of Illinois. Illinois General Assembly. August 22, 2019.
  27. Web site: Illinois Compiled Statutes 15 ILCS 5 — Governor Succession Act.. Illinois General Assembly. August 23, 2019.
  28. Web site: Article 14, Section 14-134, Illinois Pension Code. Illinois General Assembly. July 25, 2024.
  29. News: Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka Dead at 70 . 10 December 2014. NBC 5 Chicago, WMAQ. 10 December 2014.
  30. News: Quinn names longtime aide Stermer to succeed Topinka as comptroller . 19 December 2014. Chicago Tribune.
  31. (January 5, 2015) - "Rauner to Appoint Leslie Munger as Next Illinois Comptroller". WGNtv.com. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  32. News: Newcomers, veterans sworn in as statewide officers . . . Springfield, Illinois . January 12, 2015 . 2015-02-01 .
  33. Web site: House Joint Resolution - Constitutional Amendment 12 . March 8, 2009 .
  34. News: McQueary. Kristen. Move to Allow Vote to Merge Treasurer and Comptroller Jobs Stalls in House. 11 January 2012. The New York Times. December 31, 2011.
  35. News: Wetterich. Chris. Madigan blocking merger of treasurer, comptroller's offices. 11 January 2012. The State Journal-Register. 8 June 2011.
  36. http://www.ioc.state.il.us/office/history.cfm History of the Office of Comptroller of Illinois
  37. Book: Illinois Blue Book . 1908 . Secretary of State . Springfield . 157 . 1st . 13 August 2018.