Illinois State Comptroller

The Comptroller of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. He or she is the chief fiscal officer of the state. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois.

Current occupant and duties

As of 2008, the Comptroller of Illinois is Daniel W. Hynes, a member of the Democratic Party. Hynes, a member of a longtime political family from Chicago, Illinois, was first elected to the comptroller's position in 2002 over Thomas J. Ramsdell and re-elected in 2006 over Carole Pankau.

The Comptroller is charged, by the terms of Section 17 of Article V of the Constitution of Illinois, with the duties of: (a) maintaining the central fiscal accounts of the state, and (b) ordering payments into and out of the funds held by the Treasurer of Illinois. In accordance with this duty, the Comptroller signs paychecks or grants approval to electronic payments made by the state to its employees and creditors. Section 3, Article V, "Constitution of Illinois", accessed April 12, 2008. [http://ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con5.htm] ]

The Comptroller is also charged, by Illinois statutory law, with certain additional duties. In particular, he or she regulates cemeteries under the Cemetery Care Act, and is charged with the fiduciary protection of cemetery care funds used for the care and maintenace of Illinois gravesites. 760 ILCS 100/1 et seq., "Illinois Compiled Statutes", accessed April 12, 2008. [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] ]

The Illinois Constitution provides that the comptroller must, at the time of his or her 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.

The Comptroller's office operates a web page describing the office's powers and duties. "Illinois State Comptroller Daniel W. Hynes", accessed April 12, 2008. [http://www.ioc.state.il.us/ Illinois State Comptroller web page] ]

Controversy

Some observers have perceived a redundancy overlap between the offices of Comptroller of Illinois and Treasurer of Illinois, and have therefore proposed constitutional amendments to merge the two offices and earn administrative savings. For example, HJRCA 14, considered by the Illinois General Assembly in 2007-2008, would merge the two offices into the office of a single State Fiscal Officer. "House Joint Resolution - Constitutional Amendment 14", accessed April 12, 2008. [http://ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=14&GAID=9&GA=95&DocTypeID=HJRCA&LegID=28840&SessionID=51] ]

References