Judy Baar Topinka

Judy Baar Topinka
7th Comptroller of Illinois
In office January 10, 2011 – December 10, 2014
Governor	Pat Quinn
Preceded by	Daniel Hynes
Succeeded by	Jerry Stermer
71st Treasurer of Illinois
In office January 9, 1995 – January 8, 2007
Governor	Jim Edgar George Ryan Rod Blagojevich
Preceded by	Pat Quinn
Succeeded by	Alexi Giannoulias
Chair of the Illinois Republican Party
In office 2002–2005
Preceded by	Gary MacDougal
Succeeded by	Andrew McKenna
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 22nd district
In office January 1985 – January 1995
Preceded by	Leonard F. Becker
Succeeded by	Thomas J. Walsh
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 43rd district
In office January 1983 – January 1985
Preceded by	George Ryan Ray A. Christensen Edward McBroom
Succeeded by	Jack L. Kubik
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 7th district
In office January 1981 – January 1983 Serving with John S. Kociolko, Robert Pechous
Preceded by	Henry Klosak Paul J. Matula
Succeeded by	John Cullerton
Personal details
Born	Judy Baar (1944-01-16)January 16, 1944 Riverside, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 10, 2014(2014-12-10) (aged 70) Berwyn, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Joe Topinka ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1981)​
Children	1
Education	Northwestern University (BA)
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Judy Baar Topinka (January 16, 1944 – December 10, 2014) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party from the U.S. State of Illinois.

Originally a journalist, Topinka served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1981 to 1985 and in the Illinois Senate from 1985 to 1995. She was elected to three terms as Illinois State Treasurer, serving from 1995 to 2007. She was the first woman to become state treasurer, the first to be elected to three consecutive terms, and the first Republican to hold the post in more than 32 years. During her last term as treasurer, she was the only Republican to hold statewide elected office in Illinois. In 2002, she was elected chair of the Illinois Republican Party, holding that office until 2005.

She declined to run for re-election as treasurer in 2006, instead running 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.^[1] She lost the election to Democratic incumbent Rod Blagojevich.

In 2010, she successfully ran for the office of Illinois Comptroller. She was re-elected to a second four-year term in November 2014, but died of a stroke only a month later.^[2][3][4]