Jerome "Jerry" Stermer is an American
Democratic politician who was appointed
Comptroller of Illinois
The Comptroller of Illinois is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Illinois. Ten individuals have held the office of Comptroller since the enactment of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, replacing ...
for a short period in late 2014 and early 2015, and was previously in many other Illinois state government positions and private political positions since the 1970s.
Education
Stermer attended
Divine Word Missionaries
The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Ri ...
, a
Catholic seminary in
Epworth, Iowa
Epworth is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Dubuque, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,023 at the 2020 census, up from 1,428 in 2000.
History
Epworth was platted in 1855. It was named from ...
: According to Voices for Illinois Children, of which he was the first president, he "completed his bachelor's degree in liberal arts"; his 2012 state resume says that he received his bachelor's degree in English in 1966.
He received his
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
in 1982.
Career
Stermer was a
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...
volunteer in
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
from 1968 to 1970.
He was in the
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is the code department of the Illinois state government responsible for child protective services. , Marc Smith is the acting Director of Children and Family Services.
The DCFS Offic ...
from 1973 to 1979, eventually becoming Assistant to the Director.
He was Executive Director of the Legislative Advisory Committee on Public Aid for the
Illinois General Assembly from 1979 to 1985.
He was Supervisor of Government Affairs for the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, the Chicago area's main
legal aid in the United States
Legal aid in the United States is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system in the United States. In the US, legal aid provisions are different for criminal law and civil l ...
organization.
He became an
adjunct professor for the
Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
The School of Education and Social Policy (SESP), established in 1926, is the smallest of the eight undergraduate and graduate institutions at Northwestern University, USA. Located about 12 miles north of downtown Chicago in Evanston, Illinois, ...
in 2002.
In 1987, he became the first president of Voices for Illinois Children, a
lobbying
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
organization.
His 2012 Illinois state biography says he was president of the organization until 2002;
according to the Voices for Illinois Children website he was president until 2009.
Appointments by Pat Quinn
Stermer and
Pat Quinn have known each other since the
Dan Walker administration in the 1970s.
Stermer became
chief of staff for
Pat Quinn,
Governor of Illinois
The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
, in 2009.
In January 2010, Stermer reported to the Executive Inspector General that Stermer had been sent three political e-mails from Pat Quinn's campaign staff and replied to them from state e-mail, out of 39,000 e-mails examined.
In one instance, Quinn's brother, Thomas Quinn, sent campaign e-mail several private accounts, but accidentally includedSterner's state e-mail in the list, then left Sterner voice mail saying to "ignore that e-mail". The inspector general's report on the e-mails was delivered to the governor's office on August 12. On the morning of August 13, James Wright was dismissed as Executive Inspector General; Quinn had already told staff on July 23 that James Wright would be replaced by former federal prosecutor Ricardo Meza. Pat Quinn said that he and his staff did not know the contents of Wright's report until the evening of August 13, and "It took them seven months to provide the report. I had no idea when it would arrive."
At the time, Quinn was considered very vulnerable in
the 2010 election against Republican
Bill Brady,
and Stermer resigned just before the inspector's general report was made public in late August,
in order to minimize harm to Quinn's chances of winning.
Stermer also paid a $500 fine.
After the November 2010 election, in which Quinn narrowly defeated Brady, Stermer was brought back as a "senior advisor" to Quinn,
with his first week unpaid as a disciplinary measure for the earlier violations as chief of staff.
He remained a senior advisor from 2010 until being appointed Acting Director of the
Governor's Office of Management and Budget on April 2, 2012.
The
Comptroller of Illinois
The Comptroller of Illinois is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Illinois. Ten individuals have held the office of Comptroller since the enactment of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, replacing ...
,
Judy Baar Topinka
Judy Baar Topinka (January 16, 1944 – December 10, 2014) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party from the U.S. State of Illinois.
Originally a journalist, Topinka served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1981 ...
, died on December 10, 2014, a month after her re-election but while still serving out her first term. Pat Quinn appointed Stermer, who was still the governor's budget director, to the position of Comptroller on December 19, 2014, saying that Stermer would step aside when statewide officers' new terms begin on January 12, 2015.
On January 12, 2015,
Leslie Munger
Leslie Geissler Munger(January 5, 2015) "Rauner to Appoint Leslie Munger as Next Illinois Comptroller" ''WGNtv.com''. Retrieved January 12, 2015. (born September 5, 1956) is an American politician and business executive who served as the Illinois ...
, appointee of incoming
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
governor
Bruce Rauner, took the oath of office for Comptroller in the same event as Rauner.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stermer, Jerry
Comptrollers of Illinois
Illinois Democrats
Living people
People from Elmhurst, Illinois
Northwestern University faculty
University of Illinois alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)