The death of former House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie has prompted remembrances in Hyde Park and across Illinois. The Herald invites readers to share their own for publication as letters to the editor. 

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Barbara Flynn Currie was a trailblazer, becoming the first female majority leader in the history of the Illinois House. But as the veteran representative when I was a state senator, she was also a great partner — smart, independent and pragmatic, showing all of us that it was possible to operate with integrity in politics and still be effective. Michelle and I are thinking of her family today, and everyone who benefitted from her extraordinary life of service.

— Former President Barack Obama 

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Barbara Flynn Currie was a trailblazer. She devoted her life to public service and tackled each issue with grace during her remarkable tenure in the Illinois General Assembly. As the first woman to serve as House Majority Leader, she broke barriers for scores of women in Illinois. From advocating for families to ensuring clean air and water for Illinoisans, her work embodied the notion that government can improve lives. In 2019, I was proud to appoint her to the Illinois Pollution Control Board where she continued to serve the people of Illinois. 

Barbara navigated even the most turbulent moments in our state’s history with poise and determination, and her impact will be remembered for generations to come. MK and I share our deepest condolences with all her family, colleagues, and loved ones. May her memory be a blessing.

— Gov. J.B. Pritzker 

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Illinois has lost an iconic public servant, and I have lost a mentor and a friend.

For 14 years I shared a legislative district with Barbara Flynn Currie, and I am a better public servant as a result. We were fellow Hyde Parkers and Lab School Alumni. In our district, Barbara and I knocked on doors together when it was time to circulate petitions, and she had a way of charming people at the doors – even those who were initially resistant to opening the door. She made sure our district offices worked together to maximize constituent services. We shared a First Friday breakfast at the Mellow Yellow (1508 E. 53rd St.) with other neighborhood political leaders, and her witty humor during and after those gatherings had me laughing long after I would drop her off at home after breakfast.

In Springfield, we worked together on numerous legislative initiatives. She taught me patience and pragmatism. She helped me appreciate the value of incremental change and not letting perfection be the enemy of the good. She knew how to scrutinize well-meant legislation for unintended consequences. In this time where voting rights are under attack, I can’t help but remember our work together on the Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011 that has led to a diverse Illinois Legislature. She was critical at whipping up votes for the abolition of the death penalty. While small in physical stature, she was tough as nails when she defended bills on the House floor.

Barbara’s record of and approach to service should be used as a teaching example for legislators today and into the future. I wish we could share a last breakfast, glass of wine and last laugh together. Rest in Power, my friend.

— Attorney General Kwame Raoul

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I can say without fear of contradiction: She was a very hardworking, very committed legislator, and she did her best to represent the people of her district.

— Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun 

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Barbara Currie was always incisive, brilliant, more patient than I deserved and imparted the kind of wisdom that lasts a lifetime. I feel somehow emptier, somehow less, with her passing.

Leader Currie and I served together for years, but grew closer during the Rauner budget impasse, when I had the pleasure of driving her back and forth to Springfield so many times over those long summers.

She re-ignited my love of history, as we poured through Winston Churchill’s memoirs together, and she gifted me Barbara Tuchman’s "The Guns of August" about the first World War: because always, and in all ways, she was a fierce and dedicated promoter of women’s excellence.

She was the smartest legislator I’ve ever met, and I don’t think it’s close. (State Rep.) Kelly Cassidy (D-14th) and I used to always get incredibly excited whenever BFC would rise to speak on the floor. She was always so incredibly prepared – she knew her bills down to the letter, and yours too — but more than that, she was so clever, with such a searing wit that you absolutely did not want the smoke with her in legislative debate.

I don’t know what else to say other than I’ll miss her.

There are roads paved and doors open that would not have been if not for her determination, her courage, her brilliance, and her grace. Rest in peace my friend.

— Christian Mitchell, former deputy governor and state representative (D-26th) and candidate for lieutenant governor 

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Barbara was one of the most influential leaders in Illinois’ modern history. For decades, she brought deep humanity to the work of governing, and she understood that public service was about doing the hard work of building consensus, solving problems and improving people’s lives. She carried that charge with extraordinary grace. 

She was a trailblazer for women in government, a master legislator and a steady voice during some of Illinois’ most important moments. Throughout her career, she helped shape state budgets, advanced ethics and good-government reforms, championed access to health care and education, and was a consistent advocate for strengthening public transit. But beyond her remarkable accomplishments, Barbara will be remembered for her integrity, her sharp wit and her unwavering commitment to the public good.

I was fortunate to know and work with her. She was a smart and talented woman and had a great sense of humor. I know that generations of leaders were shaped by her example. Her legacy lives on in the stronger, fairer Illinois she helped build.

— Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle

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Barbara Flynn Currie was one of the most honest, intelligent, caring and open people I’ve ever both worked with and known in politics. She was always willing to have a conversation with me, to listen and give guidance. She was always very honest about it; she was always sweet about it. She had this unique, special gift to be blunt and sweet at the same time.

— State Sen. Robert Peters (D-13th)

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Barbara Flynn Currie was a trailblazer. She was an amazing leader. She was a mentor to me, and I can end it by saying that I’ll always be grateful to her for her encouragement, her leadership and the path that she helped create for so many of us young women.

— State Rep. Kimberly du Buclet (D-5th)

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I think the one thing that sums up everything about Barbara is, when you look at those old campaign buttons or her political material, it just says "Currie." 

That’s who BFC was. She was someone who absolutely was the smartest person in the room but never felt the need to make you feel small. 

I think she was somebody who cared undeniably for the district. She was able to navigate Springfield and the district in a way we all could learn from. She never sacrificed her progressive policies, but she was also pragmatic about what she could achieve. She’s a history-maker.

— State Rep. Curtis J. Tarver II (D-25th)

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On behalf of the 4th Ward, it is a sad day for us as one of our big stalwarts in our community has passed. She was a supporter of mine as a member of the Illinois General Assembly and 4th Ward alderman and someone from whom I took great counsel on many different things. It will be an extreme loss to the 4th Ward and the overall Hyde Park community.

— Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th)

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She was a wonderful, dynamic and smart leader whose legacy and shoulders I get to stand on. I had the pleasure of having lunch with her about a year into my first year in office. We met at Salonica, and it was clear that she was still paying attention to the landscape. She gave me some very good advice that I hold onto today that has helped me to be successful as an alderman: "Keep listening to people. Keep listening to people, and have the hard conversations."

— Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th)

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Barbara Flynn Currie was old-school, and that’s what I liked about her. She understood what was going on in the new times and wasn’t afraid to move that way. But she was old-school all the way, and that’s why I have respect for her. Sometimes the old-school actually works. While we’ve got to step ahead and bring young people in to say what was new, she was that elected official who was honest whether you liked it or not. She just was, from what I knew, a sweet soul. I didn’t have that many interactions with her, but the few I had: she was always respectful.

— Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th)