Barbara Flynn Currie was first elected to the House in 1978, at a time when women made up only a small minority of the legislature. After 18 years in Springfield, Currie was promoted to House Majority Leader, the first woman to hold the second-in-command role.

For nearly 40 years, former Illinois House Speaker and state Democratic Party chairman Michael Madigan was at the epicenter of politics in Chicago and Illinois. Now, he’s at the epicenter of a corruption investigation. The news has Springfield reeling.

There are four ways to appeal property tax assessments in Cook County. But is that a good thing? Former state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie and Assessor Fritz Kaegi weigh in.

Barbara Flynn Currie was elected to the House in 1978. Twenty years later, House Speaker Michael Madigan tapped her to be the House majority leader—the first woman to hold the position. Currie discusses her decision to call it quits.