Barbara Flynn Currie recently retired from the Illinois House of Representatives. Barbara served as House Majority Leader, the first woman to hold the post. She sponsored the state’s first Freedom of Information Act and the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit. She was a champion for clean air and water; she spearheaded reforms in state funding for public education and in the juvenile justice system. She’s been honored by many organizations including the Illinois ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Illinois AFL-CIO, Illinois Environmental Council, Friends of the Parks, the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. Barbara earned her A.B. and M.A. degrees from the University of Chicago.