Barbara Flynn Currie, First Woman to Lead Illinois House Majority, Dies at 85

Barbara Flynn Currie, a 40-year veteran of the Illinois General Assembly and the first woman to serve as Majority Leader of the House, has died. She was 85.

Currie represented Hyde Park on Chicago's South Side for four decades in Springfield, retiring from the House in 2018 after serving 21 terms. Her tenure included 20 years as Majority Leader, a position she held from 1997 until her retirement and which she made historic by becoming the first woman to hold it.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Illinois had lost an iconic public servant and he had lost a mentor and a friend.

Colleagues from both parties described her as a trailblazer who entered politics at a time when women were severely underrepresented in government. When she was first elected in 1978, fewer than 11 percent of Illinois lawmakers were women. By the time she retired, that figure had climbed to more than a third, and in 2025 the Illinois Legislature was 42 percent female.

House Speaker Emanuel Welch said Currie was more than a leader — she was a trailblazer who opened doors for generations of women in the Illinois House, many of whom continue her legacy today.

Currie crossed the aisle during her career in ways that were rare in the divided government of that era. In 2016, she was instrumental in helping override a veto by then-Governor Bruce Rauner. She represented her Hyde Park district in Springfield for 40 years — 20 as majority leader and the first woman to hold that role in the Illinois General Assembly — and was a tireless promoter of active, engaged, effective government.

Rahm Emanuel said her intelligence, decency, and absolute command of the issues were without equal in Illinois politics.

A Legacy of Service

Currie was an enthusiastic advocate of clean air and clean water, juvenile justice reform, gun control, and abolishing the death penalty. She spearheaded a compromise on welfare reform and helped extend state contracts to minority- and female-owned businesses. She was a vigorous proponent of liberal causes such as prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace and offering all-day kindergarten.

She worked as vice president for the Chicago League of Women Voters from 1965 to 1969. She later taught government at DePaul University and was an assistant study director at the National Opinion Research Center. She also served as chairman of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, a post she held until her death.

State Rep. Curtis Tarver, who replaced Currie after she announced she would not seek a 21st term, called her a trailblazer. He said she raised her children first, finished her degree later, in what she described as doing it on the motherhood plan.

The Impeachment of Blagojevich

Perhaps her most defining moment came in 2009 when she chaired the bipartisan committee that recommended the impeachment of then-Governor Rod Blagojevich. The committee was created after Blagojevich was arrested by FBI agents in December 2008.

Heather Wier Vaught, an attorney in the speaker's office at the time who worked on the impeachment effort, said Currie made clear that the committee's work would be a very solemn experience. Every i was dotted and every t was crossed.

Wier Vaught said Currie and the committee had to invent the process from scratch, because the state constitution did not specifically lay it out and Blagojevich was the first constitutional officer impeached in Illinois. She insisted they do everything right, including giving Blagojevich a chance to defend himself. Ultimately, he declined to testify.

Liz Brown, a former Democratic House staffer-turned-lobbyist, called Currie the original Illinois progressive. She said if you earned her respect, she had your back for life.

Personal Life and Education

Barbara Flynn was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, the daughter of Francis and Elsie Flynn. When she was 7, her family moved to the South Side, where she attended St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School and the University of Chicago Lab High School. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father taught social work at the University of Chicago.

She studied at the University of Chicago before dropping out to marry David Park Currie in 1960. She eventually returned and received her bachelor's degree in 1968 and master's degree in 1973, both in political science.

Currie was elected to the Illinois General Assembly's 24th District in 1978; her district changed to the 26th District in 1983 and the 25th in 1993.

She worked as vice president for the Chicago League of Women Voters from 1965 to 1969. She later taught government at DePaul University and was an assistant study director at the National Opinion Research Center. She also served as chairman of the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

Survivors

Currie's husband, David, a revered legal scholar and teacher, died in 2007. Survivors include two children, Stephen and Margaret, and four grandchildren.

House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, who is now the second woman to serve in that role, broke down in tears Friday. She asked the House for a moment of silence to honor her friend, her mentor and her role model for over 30 years.

Gabel expounded on Currie's example of serving with dignity and humility, and her example of how to dedicate your life to something larger than yourself.