State Finances Take Center Stage In Illinois Treasurer’s Race

ACROSS ILLINOIS — It is a state workplace many Illinois residents have no idea a lot about. In Illinois, the treasurer is the state’s chief funding and banking officer, and the treasurer is liable for investing cash on behalf of the state and native models of presidency.

The treasurer is liable for correctly investing funds as a approach to forestall tax hikes and funding cuts from important providers in municipalities throughout Illinois. The treasurer additionally serves because the trustee for 2 Illinois school financial savings plans and handles the state’s unclaimed property program.

This election, democratic incumbent Michael Frerichs can be searching for a 3rd time period because the state’s treasurer. He faces a problem from Thomas Demmer, a Republican who’s the state consultant for the ninetieth District. Libertarian Preston Nelson can be vying for the seat.

Frerichs, 49, of Champaign, is touting his expertise and success whereas in workplace among the many key causes he ought to be re-elected. Demmer, 37, a present State Home deputy minority chief, says his expertise because the Republican level particular person for the state’s fiscal points will assist him succeed and is urgent voters to choose him over Frerichs so he can turn out to be a much-needed Republican verify for at present’s Democratic-dominated state authorities.

Within the weeks main as much as this 12 months’s common election on Nov. 8, Demmer and Frerichs have butted heads over what position the state treasurer ought to play shifting ahead.

“Some folks ask, when am I going to move the funds? I’d like to move a funds, however that’s the Normal Meeting’s job. Others ask me, when am I going to receives a commission? However that’s the comptroller’s job. My job is to take cash from state funds, make investments that cash after which make more cash,” Frerichs advised the Chicago Solar-Occasions.

“This workplace doesn’t make headlines,” Frerichs went on to say. “’State treasurer does his job’ or ‘state treasurer does his job properly’ — that’s not information.”

Demmer says he hopes to carry a brand new perspective to the state treasurer’s workplace. Demmer dissed Frerich’s assist of tax hikes, calling him a “rubber stamp”for Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration, in accordance with the Day by day Herald.

“The treasurer ought to be talking up and advocating for taxpayers within the large public discussions of the day,” Demmer stated. “The state treasurer ought to be somebody who’s going to be an outspoken advocate for taxpayers and problem the established order.”

Throughout his marketing campaign, Demmer has repeatedly attacked remarks Frerichs made in 2020 relating to how voters approval of a graduated earnings tax, which appeared on the November poll that 12 months, might result in talks on how the richest retirees ought to have a few of their retirement earnings taxed, in accordance with the Chicago Tribune. Frerichs has since repeatedly insisted he doesn’t assume retirement earnings ought to be taxed.

Throughout his run for re-election, Frerichs has pointed to his accomplishments whereas in workplace and defined the position his workplace has on the typical Illinois resident.

“Each greenback earned by the State Treasurer is a greenback that doesn’t need to be raised in taxes or lower from funding for important providers in your group,” he wrote in a Patch candidate survey.

He says throughout his time period, he has earned greater than $1 billion for Illinois taxpayers. He additionally reformed the state’s I-Money program by altering legal guidelines and methods, enhancing advertising of this system and making it simpler for residents to say cash. Since 2015, his workplace returned $1.5 billion in unclaimed property from greater than 1 million completely different claims.

Just lately, Frercihs’ workplace made historical past, returning the most important unclaimed property greenback quantity within the nation’s historical past: $11 million. That quantity belonged to the property of a Chicago man, Joseph Richard Stancak, who died of pure causes in 2016.

“I’ve made returning unclaimed property to Illinoisans a precedence. Over typically fierce opposition from particular pursuits, I fought to modernize our unclaimed property legal guidelines and system,” Frerichs stated in Patch candidate survey. “This included taking over life insurance coverage corporations that didn’t pay advantages even once they knew, or ought to have recognized, that their buyer had handed away.”

Based on Frerichs, different highlights of his time period embrace overhauling the state’s Vivid Begin school financial savings program, which went from one of many lowest rated within the nation to a high Gold rated program for 5 consecutive years, and launching a state-facilitated retirement financial savings program for private-sector employees who shouldn’t have entry to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Demmer has acquired an endorsement from the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, stating they consider Demmer will combat for pro-business and pro-job insurance policies. The Chicago Solar-Occasions, Day by day Herald and Chicago Tribune have all endorsed Frerichs, touting his expertise and accomplishments in workplace as causes voters ought to choose him for a 3rd time period.

Frerichs gained by virtually 19 share factors within the 2018 election over Republican Jim Dodge. In 2014, he was narrowly elected to workplace with simply 9,225 extra votes than Tom Cross, a Republican.

Early voting is underway in Illinois, and Election Day is Tuesday.

Why Does Illinois Have A Comptroller And A Treasurer

Illinois is amongst a minority of states that has a comptroller’s workplace, and amongst even fewer states which have each a comptroller and treasurer. Each places of work deal with the state’s funds and each the comptroller and treasurer seats, that are each posts not many citizens know a lot about, are up for election.

However, when did Illinois determine to create these roles?

That every one got here to be in 1970 following a scandal by former Auditor of Public Accounts Orville Hodge, who embezzled greater than $6 million from the state between 1952 and 1956—a money whole that will quantity to about $56 million at present, in accordance with Illinois Public Radio. Hodge was in control of the state’s checkbook, and liable for stopping the thefts of these funds.

He was convicted in 1956 of embezzlement after he wrote state checks to himself, which he used to purchase greater than two dozen luxurious vehicles, two non-public jets and indulgent properties in Florida and Illinois, in accordance with media reviews. He used taxpayer funds to host over-the-top events for high leaders in Springfield, in accordance with Illinois Public Radio.

He ended up serving 6.5 years in jail, the Chicago Tribune reviews.

“It was one of many early large public scandals as a result of we had this run of public scandals, actually from 1970 on, with all these governors going to jail,” Chris Mooney, a political science professor on the College of Illinois Chicago, advised Illinois Public Radio in 2018. Throughout a 1970 Constitutional Conference, state leaders determined to nix the auditor place and create the treasurer and comptroller roles — with each posts wanted to OK state bills, which was meant to supply higher checks and balances and monetary safety.

Quick-forward greater than 50 years, and the races of comptroller and treasurer do not usually make headlines. In truth, some query why the 2 places of work exist — now that we’re a long time faraway from the Hodge scandal — and there is been calls in recent times to consolidate the places of work into one.

The Chicago Tribune has been among the many loudest advocates for the consolidation, saying the transfer would get monetary savings and make dealing with taxpayer {dollars} extra environment friendly.

As a way to consolidate the places of work, the state would wish to amend its structure.