Mike Frerichs

Michael W. Frerichs (; born July 28, 1973) is an American politician who has been serving as the 74th state treasurer of Illinois since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the Illinois Senate for the 52nd District from 2007 to 2015. The district, located in Champaign and Vermilion counties, includes all or parts of Champaign, Danville, Georgetown, Gifford, Rantoul, Thomasboro, and Urbana.

Early life and career Frerichs was born and raised in Gifford. After graduating from Rantoul Township High School, Frerichs attended Yale University and received his B.A. in 1995. He then went to Taiwan to study Mandarin Chinese at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan while also teaching English courses there. He returned to Champaign County and launched his own technology business and served on his local volunteer fire department.

Champaign County official In 1998, Frerichs ran against then-State Representative Tim Johnson but lost. In 2000, Frerichs was elected to the Champaign County Board and re-elected in 2002.

Later that year, Frerichs was appointed to succeed Gerrie Parr as the Champaign County Auditor by his fellow board members. As Auditor, he was responsible for preparing budget reports, maintaining financial records, ensuring the county met state and federal financial reporting requirements, preventing fraud, and improving the financial health of the county. At the time, he was the only County Auditor in the state to become a Certified Public Finance Officer.

Illinois State Senator In 2005, Frerichs announced he would run for the 52nd Senate District seat – which includes most of Champaign County and Vermilion County – to fill the vacancy caused by Rick Winkel's retirement. In what became the most expensive State Senate race of 2006, Frerichs was elected over former Senator Judith Myers by a margin of approximately 500 votes. He was the first Democratic State Senator to represent East Central Illinois since 1936.

Frerichs served as Chairman of the Illinois Senate's Committee on Higher Education, where he championed efforts to make college more affordable, and the Agriculture & Conservation and Enterprise Zone Extensions Committees. He also served on the Financial Institutions, Licensed Activities and Pensions, Public Pensions & State Investments, and the Agriculture & Conservation committees.

During his time in the Senate, Frerichs led efforts to eliminate the legislative scholarship program and advocated for the disclosure of chemicals used in fracking. After Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office for corruption, Frerichs moved to have the former governor barred from ever holding office again in Illinois. This motion was carried unanimously.

Treasurer of Illinois

2014 election

Frerichs announced his intention to run for the vacated office of Illinois Treasurer in early January 2014, after incumbent Republican Treasurer Dan Rutherford had announced his intention to run for Governor of Illinois. Frerichs ran uncontested in the Democratic Party primary and faced Republican Illinois State Representative and former Illinois State House Minority Leader Tom Cross in the General Election on November 4.

For more than two weeks after election day, the election was too close to call. Frerichs was declared the winner, defeating Cross 48.1% to 47.8%. The election was one of the closest in Illinois state history, being decided by only 9,225 votes out of more than 3.5 million ballots cast.

2018 election

Frerichs sought reelection as State Treasurer in the 2018 election. He ran unopposed in the Democratic Party primary and faced Orland Park Village Trustee Jim Dodge, the Republican candidate, and financial analyst Mike Leheney, the Libertarian candidate, in the November 6, 2018, general election. Frerichs won with over 57.6% of the vote.

2022 election

Frerichs was unopposed for State Treasurer in the 2022 primary election. In the November 8, 2022, general election, he faced Republican State Rep. Tom Demmer and Libertarian candidate Preston Nelson. Frerichs won with 54.3% of the vote.

Tenure Frerichs was first inaugurated on January 12, 2015. He is currently serving as the 74th Treasurer of Illinois. He also serves as a Trustee and vice-chair of the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI). Frerichs was unanimously elected president of the bipartisan National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers in 2022. He was elected to serve as senior vice-president of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) in 2022. and was also elected by his peers across the country to serve on the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers' (NASACT) Executive Committee. The College Savings Plans Network honored Frerichs with its Distinguished Service Award in 2022. Since October 2023, Frerichs has been the subject of criticism from concerned Illinois residents and students. Activists accuse Frerichs of funding genocide. Frerichs has previously attended the Israel Bonds Conference.

Personal life Frerichs married Laura Appenzeller in 2003. They had one daughter in 2008 and divorced in 2013. Frerichs married marketing executive Erica Baker in 2022.

Electoral history