Judy Baar Topinka still making the news

Topinka is a long time state politician who died after winning re-election to the office of IL state comptroller suddenly and unexpectedly in December 2014. Before that she had been a one-time GOP nominee for Governor losing to Democrat Rod Blagojevich - who later got impeached and removed from his post. She was also a former state treasurer & had served in the IL General Assembly.

I heard about this on the radio yesterday and my mind got to thinking that the feds had gotten something on her. Then it turned out well she was an informant on corruption probes. Now that sounds more like her. We may have made the wrong choice years ago between her and Blago, however, there should never have been any doubt she was honest.

Judy Baar Topinka, long a popular Illinois state officeholder, secretly provided federal authorities information about possible corruption in the 1970s and 1980s, records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show.

The longtime Republican state legislator, comptroller and treasurer died in 2014, which is why the FBI released its Topinka files, which are now part of the Sun-Times’ “The FBI Files” database.

Once someone has died, the FBI typically will release records it has on them on request, though usually with redactions.

Some of the material the agency released on Topinka is blacked out. But it’s still clear that the colorful, tell-it-like-it-is politician acted as an informant beginning in the 1970s, when she was a reporter for a newspaper in the west suburbs.

Topinka spoke with the FBI enough that a former aide has told the Sun-Times the conversations amounted to an “open dialogue.”

Topinka’s son Joseph Baar Topinka said he wasn’t aware his mother had helped the FBI but that he wasn’t surprised because she was often frustrated at how politics sometimes worked in the west suburbs.

Corruption is an issue throughout this state. Chicago may have more of this activity especially lately since there is a current corruption probe in the area where several Alderman have either resigned or didn't run for re-election. A few state legislators resigned and as far as the suburbs some officials such as mayors or county commissioners have been caught up in this probe. It's an ongoing thing needless to say...