A former top lieutenant to House Speaker Michael Madigan has been appointed to a paid position on the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

Barbara Flynn Currie, who served 22 years in the Illinois House as a Democrat from Chicago, was appointed to the $117,000 a year position Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The appointment requires Senate approval.

The Pollution Control Board determines and implements environmental controls and adjudicates non-criminal violations of the Environmental Protection Act.

Currie, 78, was first elected to the House in 1978 and was appointed House majority leader in 1997, the first woman to hold the position. As majority leader, Currie was Madigan’s top lieutenant and floor leader.

She opted not to run for reelection in 2018.