Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka has served in the legislature and as state treasurer. She ran for governor in 2006 when Illinois, regrettably, re-elected Rod Blagojevich. She has served as a healthy check on Democrats' broad control of government.
As comptroller, she has the duty of managing the checkbook of a state that is perpetually behind in paying its bills. People who provide services to the state tell us Topinka has done a good job assisting social service and health care providers that don't have deep pockets. They move to the front of the line for payments so deadbeat Illinois doesn't sink them.
Topinka also deserves praise for transparency. She has instituted an online ledger of state finances that includes everything from employee salaries to state contracts.
...Simon presents some solid ideas on streamlining the comptroller's office. But then, Topinka makes a compelling case that she has streamlined. Theory, meet practice. Topinka is endorsed.
ILLINOIS COMPTROLLER Judy Baar Topinka has transformed her agency into one of the few success stories in state government, earning our endorsement for re-election as the state's chief fiscal officer.
...Going forward, Topinka is seeking to configure more than 260 state computer systems used by the state so that communication and coordination between offices does not require data re-entry.
She has championed plans to combine the offices of comptroller and treasurer in a move that could save $12 million by eliminating duplication in those offices. The Illinois Legislature has not taken action on that proposal.
Topinka has a long history as an effective officeholder. She served three terms as Illinois treasurer after spending four years in the Illinois Senate and 10 years in the Illinois House.
During her time as treasurer, Topinka transformed the investment arm of the office toward greater speed in connecting with financial markets. She promoted the Bright Start program at a time when returns on the college education funding program were consistently good.
...Topinka has a long record of achievement as a statewide elected official, and the office of comptroller is better for her time there. She has earned another four years.
Incumbent Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka has been a mainstay in state politics for more than 30 years, serving in the Illinois House, Senate and three terms as state treasurer. Now seeking a second four-year term as comptroller, Topinka's trademark enthusiasm and energy has not waned. In her first term, the 70-year-old Riverside Republican created an online ledger to allow for more transparency of state finances while also trimming the budget and head count in the office, which oversees check writing for the state. She understands state finances and the workings of the state legislature, which gives her some leverage as she tries to push legislation and a constitutional amendment to combine the comptroller's and treasurer's offices. "I can be a horrendous nag," she said. We like her passion about her role and on the issue of combining the offices. She has earned a second term.
Illinois for several years has been delaying the payment of billions of dollars in bills for months at a time. This has caused schools, hospitals and social service agencies to borrow money, cut jobs and services and take on personal debt.
Topinka boasts that she has implemented a policy of prioritizing payments for not-for-profit and service agencies that serve the state's most vulnerable residents. She says there are "no favorites" but that she works with state agencies, lawmakers and vendors themselves to understand which situations are most dire.Make no mistake, Illinois. We got in this mess because of the total control the Democratic Party has had on our state. They have veto-proof majorities in both chambers in Springfield and we've had three terms of Blagojevich/Quinn to drive us further into debt.
Judy Baar Topinka came under attack this week from opponent Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon over the comptroller’s attendance record at pension investment meetings.
Since being elected Comptroller in 2011, Topinka, a member of the Illinois State Board of Investment, which manages pension assets for state employees, General Assembly members and judges, has missed 17 out of 37 meetings, including “almost every” Emerging Manager Committee meeting where investments in businesses owned by women, minorities or people with disabilities are voted on and sent to ISBI for ratification, Simon’s campaign charged on Tuesday.
Simon’s campaign, which has struggled to get attraction against the popular Topinka, also criticized the comptroller for missing an Emerging Manager Committee meeting where State Street Global Advisors was tapped to manage a $450 million portfolio despite it being under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for overcharging clients and misleading investors about subprime mortgage investments.Unfortunately, for the Simon campaign, we're thinking our take on the situation is what most voters will be thinking:
A new Reboot Illinois Illinois comptroller poll finds incumbent and veteran Illinois politician Judy Baar Topinka with a significant lead over Democratic challenger Sheila Simon.
Despite the inclusion of Libertarian candidate Julie Fox, whose party won a spot on the Nov. 4 ballot last month, Topinka had her best showing yet among the three Reboot Illinois/We Ask America polls conducted thus far on the comptroller’s race. The latest poll, conducted Sept. 2 among 1,064 likely voters, gave Topinka a nearly 20-point lead over Simon, who opted to run against Topinka over seeking re-election as Pat Quinn’s lieutenant governor.
Topinka had an 11-point lead in a June 17 Reboot Illinois poll and was 19 points ahead in a July 31 Reboot Illinois poll.
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka has a 19-point lead over her Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, according to a new Reboot Illinois/We Ask America poll.
The poll, conducted July 31 among 1,005 likely voters in the November election and with a margin of error of 3.1 percent, showed that 22 percent of Democratic respondents support the Republican Topinka, who also registered 31 percent among Chicago participants — a strong showing for a Republican candidate.
“Current State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka has opened up a 19 point lead, perhaps aided by recent endorsements including one from the powerful Illinois Education Association,” said Gregg Durham, chief operating office of We Ask America. “Nearly 22 percent of self-proclaimed Democrats say they’d vote for her, and she’s enjoying a sizable lead with Independents. Being over 50 percent overall is another indicator of her overall strength. While lots can change between now and November, Ms. Simon has an uphill battle to catch up.”
Illinois Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon (D) is backing a package of resolutions with the lieutenant governors of Indiana and Wisconsin aimed at combating the spread of nuisance species in Midwest waterways and encouraging the completion of college.
The bipartisan resolutions backed by Simon, Sue Ellspermann (R-Ind.) and Rebecca Kleefisch (R-Wis.) was to be taken up at the National Lieutenant Governors Association’s Federal-State Relations Meeting in Washington, D.C.
“We may be lieutenant governors from different states, but education and protecting our waterways are important to us all,” said Simon. “Good things happen when we work together. Through our continued partnerships, I believe we can make significant progress toward improving college completion and fighting the Asian carp problem.”We have some news for you, Ms. Simon:
One survey, taken by Lake Research Partners in late January, show that Sheila Simon, who's giving up her spot as lieutenant governor to run for comptroller, trails veteran GOP incumbent Judy Baar Topinka by a fairly narrow 39 percent to 32 percent among likely general election voters. 29 percent were undecided or not answering.The poll was shared by the Simon campaign. But...in looking at it, we're surprised that Simon is behind by 7 points. As pointed out by Greg Hinz at Crain's Chicago Business:
In response, a political aide to Ms. Topinka suggested that Ms. Simon should be doing better, given that she shares the same last name as the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, D.-Ill. And it released a page from a survey taken at roughly the same time for U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., by GS Strategy Group that showed Ms. Topinka up 43 percent to 30 percent.
