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Barbara Flynn Currie - Legislators Project

Barbara Flynn Currie, a liberal Democrat from the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, represented that district in the Illinois House from January 1979 to her retirement at the end of the 2018 legislative year. Beginning in 1997 she served as the IL House Majority Leader, during an era when Mike Madigan served as Speaker of the House. These interviews cover Currie's early life and her long and distinguished career in the Illinois House from 1979 through 2019. She served during the administrations of Governors Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar, George Ryan, Rod Blagojevich, Pat Quinn and Bruce Rauner. She headed up the Blagojevich impeachment in 2009 and supervised legislative redistricting following both the 2000 and 2010 census.

Interview Links

Feature Excerpt

Visits From ERA Opponents

Abstract

Interview Session 01 (Audio)

Early life thru the 1978 election to IL House of Representatives

Interview Session 02 (Audio)

Early years in the Illinois State House of Representatives

Interview Session 03 (Audio)

ERA fight in Illinois from 1978 to June, 1982

Interview Session 04 (Audio)

IL House during the early 1980s and Thompson administration

Interview Session 05 (Audio)

IL House during the late 1980s and view of the Thompson administration

Interview Session 06 (Audio)

RUTAN, 1990 redistricting and the Gov. Jim Edgar administration

Interview Session 07 (Audio)

Policy positions in 1990s, redistricting & Gov George Ryan administration

Interview Session 08 (Audio)

The Gov. Rod Blagojevich administration and IL Senator Barack Obama

Interview Session 09 (Audio)

Blagojevich impeachment, redistricting and Gov. Pat Quinn administration

Interview Session 10 (Audio)

Gov. Bruce Rauner, retirement and reflections on Gov. J.B. Pritzker

Transcript


Photos

Caption:
Currie’s parents, Frank T. Flynn, Jr. and Elsie Rose Gobel, were married in a Notre Dame University chapel, South Bend, Indiana, December 29, 1934.

Where:
South Bend, Indiana

When:
December 29, 1934

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Barbara Flynn, age four, with her doll in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Where:
La Crosse, Wisconsin

When:
1944

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Barbara with her brothers Frank, Michael, Terry, and sister Patricia in 1952.

Where:
Unknown

When:
1952

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Barbara and her boyfriend and future husband David under the Christmas tree in Chicago, circa 1956 or 1957.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
Circa 1956 or 1957

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Barbara and David visited Macon, Georgia in the summer of 1957 where they spent time with David’s father, his grandmother Rose Lynch Currie, his siblings, and their cousins.

Where:
Macon, Georgia

When:
1957

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Barbara Flynn and David Currie were married at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Chicago, December 29, 1959. With them are Barbara’s brother Frank, mother Elsie Flynn, and David’s parents Elmyr and Brainerd Currie.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
December 29, 1959

Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.

Caption:
Barbara Flynn Currie takes the oath of office as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives in1987. She was already an experienced legislator by that time.

Where:
Springfield, Illinois

When:
1987

Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.

Caption:
Senator John Cullerton and Representative Currie appeared on a cable news show together in the mid-1990s.

Where:
Unknown

When:
mid-1990s

Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.

Caption:
Barbara, husband David and friends enjoyed the day at a White Sox game at Comiskey Park in 1997. Representative Currie presented a House Resolution to the team in honor of second baseman Nellie Fox’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
1997

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo

Caption:
Barbara and David Currie on a holiday in 1998.

Where:
Unknown

When:
1998

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Barbara and David Currie on a holiday in 1998.

Where:
Unknown

When:
1998

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Barbara Flynn Currie and Barack Obama marched together on Independence Day, 2001in the 53rd Street Parade in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
2001

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Representative Currie with State Senator Barack Obama march down 53rd Street in Hyde Park’s annual Independence Day parade in 2001.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
2001

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Currie listens intently to neighborhood schoolchildren in her Chicago district in 2002.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
2002

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
A tanned and relaxed Barbara Flynn Currie took this photo in 2002.

Where:
Unknown

When:
2002

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Representative Currie at a book fair with Kenwood Academy High School students in 2005.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
2005

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Currie met with Governor Blagojevich in 2006 or 2007, location unknown.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
2006

Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.


Caption:

A frequently used Representative Currie campaign picture.

Where:

Unknown

When:
Unknown

Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.


Caption:
Barbara and her son, Stephen Currie, with Barack and Michelle Obama at a White House Christmas party in 2009.

Where:
Washington, D.C.

When:
2009

Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.


Caption:
Currie with ‘The Wolf,’ the mascot for the radio station 101.9 at the Illinois State Fair in 2014.

Where:

Springfield, Illinois

When: 

2014

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Representative Currie received a 100% rating from the Illinois Environmental Council in 2014. She was a prominent advocate for environmental issues during her entire career.

Where:
Unknown

When:
2014

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Barbara Flynn Currie received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois Environmental Council, October 2, 2014, presented by Allen Grosboll and Jen Walling.

Where:
Unknown

When:
October 2, 2014

Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.


Caption:
Currie attended the July, 2016, Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where Hillary Clinton was nominated as the Democratic candidate for president.

Where:
Philadelphia. Pennsylvania

When:
July, 2016

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Currie with Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan at a retirement party in her honor hosted at Montgomery Place in Chicago, fall 2018.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
2018

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Currie with Attorney General Lisa Madigan (right) and another friend at the Montgomery Place party, fall 2018.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
2018

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo


Caption:
Fifth Ward Alderwoman Leslie Hairston and Barbara Flynn Currie both enjoyed mugging for the camera, Chicago in the fall of 2018.

Where:
Chicago, Illinois

When:
2018

Ownership:
Narrator’s photo




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