DeKalb Times

State Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) is running for treasurer and he wants the comptroller's job, too.

House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 36, filed by Demmer late last month, will "make state government more efficient and cost effective," Demmer said in a Jan. 26 news release. HJRCA 36 would eliminate the office of the comptroller, currently held by Democrat Susana A. Mendoza, and move all comptroller responsibilities to the treasurer's office.

Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza | illinoiscomptroller.gov/

"Illinois taxpayers would be better served by having one office perform the duties of Comptroller and Treasurer," Demmer said. "Reducing state government's footprint and consolidating functions would achieve savings for taxpayers and streamline the fiscal operations of Illinois in a meaningful way."

Demmer recently announced that he's running for treasurer, campaigning against incumbent Michael Frerichs.

Mendoza announced in October that she'd chosen a campaign manager for her re-election bid this year.

Mendoza won a special election for comptroller in December 2016 following the death of her predecessor, Judy Baar Topinka. Mendoza was re-elected in 2018. She is the first Hispanic to be independently elected to statewide office in Illinois.

Demmer, a member of the General Assembly for almost a decade, claimed an endorsement of sorts for his idea from Topinka and also referred to now former longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan.

"The late Judy Baar Topinka, who served separate terms in both offices, advocated for combining Comptroller and Treasurer into one position," Demmer said in his news release. "We can honor her memory and reform an inefficient Madigan-era relic by acting now to let the people of Illinois have the final say on approving this reform later this year."

In addition to Topinka, others have kicked around the idea of combining the treasurer and comptroller offices. A 2020 Fiscal Budget Roadmap prepared by the Institute for Illinois Fiscal Stability found that the Civic Federation supported consolidation of the two offices. The roadmap also recommended consolidating local pension funds, dissolving any township by referendum, consolidating property tax administration in Cook County and dissolving the Illinois International Port District.

It also isn't the first time Demmer has brought up the idea. The Rochelle News-Leader reported Friday, Jan. 28, that Demmer filed similar legislation in three prior general assemblies, including an effort in which he sponsored legislation backed by Illinois state House Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs).

HJRCA 36 currently is in the House Rules Committee.