Rep.
Barbara Flynn Currie
(D-Chicago)
25th District
District
Office
1303
E. 53rd
Chicago, IL 60615
(773) 667-0550
(773) 667-3010 (fax)
300 Statehouse
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-8121
E-mail: repcurrie@sbcglobal.net|
"Maintaining open and accessible government preserves our democracy. Advancing the cause of social and economic justice for all citizens is our mandate." -Barbara Flynn Currie |
In the News Publications Bill
Sponsorships Committees District
Profile & Map*Bill
sponsorship and committee information courtesy of the Legislative Information
System
Biography Representative Currie's legislative accomplishments include sponsorship
of the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit Act, which allows working families
to keep more of their income, and the Illinois Freedom of Information
Act, the law that ensures public 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. She initiated the state program that funds
pre-school services for disadvantaged children, and she sponsored the 2006 legislation to expand early learning opportunities for all the state's three- and four-year-olds. She has 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. She has sponsored legislation
to protect Illinois groundwater, to protect nursing home residents from
abuse and to improve child-support enforcement.
Many organizations have honored Currie for her work in Springfield.
She was named an Outstanding Legislator by the Illinois Hospital Association
and a Friend of Labor by the Illinois AFL-CIO. The Independent Voters
of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO) has bestowed on
her its "Best Legislator" award time after time. She was a recipient of
the Chicago Urban League's Beautiful People award. She has won honors from the National Association of Social Workers and the American Public Health Association. The Women's Bar Association of Illinois presented her with its "Women With Vision" award.
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. Her late husband, David P. Currie, was a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. Rep. Currie has two children and four grandchildren.
Legislation Sponsored:
State
Representative Barbara Flynn Currie represents the 25th District, which
includes portions of the Chicago communities of Woodlawn, South Shore, Hyde
Park, Kenwood and South Chicago. She has served the people of her area since 1979,
rising to the position of Assistant Majority Leader in 1993 and Assistant
Democratic Leader in 1995. 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 the Governor and with colleagues
from both parties and all regions of the state to fashion solutions to the
problems that face Illinois. During her tenure she has been a strong advocate
for working families and children.
Elected or Appointed Public Office:
