When Barbara Flynn Currie was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1978, less than 11 percent of the state’s lawmakers were women.

Yet, she broke barriers and became the first female to hold the position of house majority leader, serving in that role for two decades.

Currie is now being mourned after her death on April 16 at the age of 85.

“Barbara Flynn 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,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch in a post on social media on April 17. “I had the honor of serving alongside her for six years, and I learned so much from her steady leadership, wisdom and grace. She set the standard for what it means to serve with purpose.”

Currie spent four decades in the Illinois House of Representatives, serving the communities of Hyde Park, Woodlawn, South Shore and Kenwood.

Elected to the state’s 24th District in 1978, she later represented the 26th and 25th districts as boundaries shifted over time.

Throughout her tenure, she championed bills to legalize same-sex marriage and outlaw the state’s death penalty. Currie sponsored the state’s first Freedom of Information Act and the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit. She also helped pass the Educational Reform Act, which provided state-funded preschool and full-day kindergarten.

In 2009, she chaired the committee that recommended former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich be impeached.

Born May 3, 1940, in La Crosse, Wisc., she and her family moved to the South Side of Chicago when she was 7 years old. She studied political science at the University of Chicago, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1968 and a master’s degree in 1973.

Following her retirement from the House in 2019, Currie was appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker to serve as the chair of the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

“She devoted her life to public service, from advocating for families to ensuring clean air and water for Illinoisans,” Pritzker said in a post on social media on April 17, “a leader who tackled each issue with grace.”

Currie was preceded in death by her husband, David Currie, who died in 2007. She is survived by her two children, Stephen and Margaret, and four grandchildren.