Michael W. Frerichs: 2022 candidate for Illinois treasurer

Bio

Party: Democrat

Office sought: Illinois treasurer

City: Champaign

Age: 49

Occupation: Illinois State Treasurer

Previous offices held: Champaign County Board Member (2000 - 2002)

Champaign County Auditor (2002-2007)

State Senator 52nd District (2007 - 2015)

State Treasurer of Illinois (2015 - Present)

Q&A

Q: How efficiently do you think the treasurer's office operates currently. What, if anything, would you do to streamline the office?

A: Under my leadership the State Treasurer's Office has undergone a number of reforms to make the office operate more efficiently and effectively.

In 2018 we successfully worked with the General Assembly to pass bipartisan legislation that ended the use of tax dollars (General Revenue funds) to pay for the operations of the office. The office now utilizes investment earnings and other non-tax funds to pay for day-to-day operations. And as noted below, I have consistently supported letting voters decide whether we should merge the offices of State Treasurer and Comptroller to further save taxpayer dollars.

The College Savings program I inherited in 2015 had among the lowest ratings in the nation. Under my leadership as State Treasurer, we changed providers, cut management fees by nearly 50%, and provided more investment options to families saving for a college education. As a result, not only have families saved over $100 million in fees since 2015, but independent analyst Morningstar improved their rating for the Bright Start college savings program from among the worst to literally tied for first in the nation.

Q: What experiences and qualifications have prepared you for success in this office?

A: I was born and raised in the small, downstate farming community of Gifford, in east-central Illinois (population 911 in 2020). My father was a union truck driver and my mother worked as a secretary at the University of Illinois. After graduating from college, I spent two years in Taiwan, where I taught English to young students and learned to speak Chinese. I came home to Gifford where I served as a volunteer firefighter and helped found a technology business. I was elected to the Champaign County Board and later elected County Auditor. In 2006, I was elected Illinois State Senator representing east-central Illinois.

I was first elected Illinois State Treasurer in 2014 and re-elected in 2018.

The Treasurer's Office actively manages approximately $50 billion. Under my leadership the office earned more than $1 billion for taxpayers and has consistently been awarded the top AAA rating for the Illinois Funds investment pool.

Q: How aggressive should the treasurer be in managing the state's money? What, if anything, needs to be changed in this process?

A: The Treasurer's Office actively manages approximately $50 billion. Under my leadership the office earned more than $1 billion for taxpayers and has consistently been awarded the top AAA rating for the Illinois Funds investment pool. Although the State Treasurer is the state's Chief Investment and Banking Officer, lawmakers regulate what investments are possible and which are prohibited. For example, purchasing individual stocks in the state portfolio is not allowed. Working with lawmakers from both parties we have expanded the tools to execute smart and sound investment strategies that benefit taxpayers through greater investment returns. These bipartisan reforms to allow for modern investment strategies were key to the more than $1 billion in investment earnings.

Q: Should the comptroller's and treasurer's offices be combined? Why or why not and if so, how?

A: Yes, I support a constitutional amendment to merge the offices of Comptroller and State Treasurer. As a State Senator, Barack Obama proposed replacing both offices with a single Comptroller of the Treasury.

And as a State Senator I supported and in 2011 voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to merge the offices of Comptroller and State Treasurer. As a candidate for State Treasurer in 2014 and 2018 I publicly supported merging the offices. In 2022 I supported HJRCA 12, sponsored by Republican State Representative Dan Ugaste, that would let voters decide whether to merge the offices.