Barbara Flynn Currie.
State Representative, 25th District
Biography
Barbara Flynn Currie represents the 25th District, which includes portions of the Chicago communities of Woodlawn, South Shore, Hyde Park, Kenwood, and South Chicago. The conviction of her beliefs is one of the assets that make Barbara Flynn Currie so valuable in Springfield. She has served the people of the 25th District since 1979. In 1997, she became the first woman Majority Leader in the history of the Illinois General Assembly.
As the second ranking House official, Currie works closely with colleagues from both parties and all regions of the state to fashion solutions to the problems that face Illinois. Her legislative accomplishments include sponsorship of the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit Act, which allows families to keep more of their income, and the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, the law that ensures access to public records. Over the years, she has also passed several improvements to the original law, such as ending blanket exceptions from public disclosure of correctional and law enforcement records.
Representative Currie is a strong advocate for working families and children. She initiated the state program that funds pre-school services for disadvantaged children. She has sponsored legislation to protect nursing home residents from abuse and improve child-support enforcement. She has sponsored legislation to protect Illinois groundwater. She also worked successfully to prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace and to improve access to state contracts for businesses owned by women and members of minority groups.
Last session, the state legislature was tasked with creating a responsible and feasible budget in the midst of a global economic downturn. In an effort to prevent cuts to vital state programs, Barbara sponsored the Governor's bill that would have slightly increased income taxes. But with only 42 votes, the measure fell short of passage. In addition to the budget crisis, the state took significant action to enact ethics reform. Following the indictment of the former governor on federal corruption charges, Barbara, along with the legislature, passed purchasing and pension board reform, closed the revolving door, bolstered citizens' access to state information, and put an end to the infamous pay-to-play strategy of the previous governor. Barbara also sponsored an amendment targeted at ensuring equal pay that gives more time for employees to file claims of discrimination based on gender. In an effort to create an informed plan for improving education, Barbara sponsored the creation of the Innovation, Intervention and Restructuring Task Force to gather data and report recommendations to the General Assembly. Finally, Barbara sponsored a bill which requires that children of incarcerated parents be made aware of social service programs that might be useful resources.
Many organizations have honored Currie for her work in Springfield. Among them are: the Illinois Hospital Association; the Illinois AFL-CIO; the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO); the Chicago Urban League; the Illinois nurse's association; and the National Association of Social Workers.
Currie attended the University of Chicago. She graduated from the College with honors before earning a Master's degree in Political Science. She is a member of the Chicago League of Women Voters, Women United for South Shore, and the Board of the ACLU of Illinois. She is active in many civic, community, and environmental organizations. She and her late husband, David P. Currie, a law professor at the University of Chicago, have two children and four grandchildren.
For further information, please call (773)241-6800.
