Topinka to run for state comptroller

Former Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka will hold a press conference Sunday to officially announce her bid to become the state comptroller.

The news release sent out early Friday calls for supporters and media outlets to go to Ina's Restaurant in Chicago on Sunday at 11 a.m. for the official announcement. The restaurant is located at 1235 W. Randolf Street in Chicago.

Topinka was treasurer from 1995 to 2007, and the former chairwoman of the Illinois Republican Party.

She was the first woman to become state treasurer, first to be elected to three consecutive terms and the first Republican to hold the post in more than thirty-two years, according to her biography.

However, she lost a bid to become state governor in November 2006. She was nominated as the Republican candidate but lost the bid to ousted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Current state Comptroller Daniel Hynes is running for the democratic nomination for Governor against current Governor Pat Quinn.