| Daniel Hynes | |
| |
| 13th President of the World Bank Group | |
| Assumed office April 9, 2019 | |
| Chief Executive | Kristalina Georgieva (2019) Anshula Kant (2015-2019) |
| Preceded by | Jim Yong Kim |
| 42nd Governor of Illinois | |
| In office: January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2019 | |
| Lt. Governor | Shelia Simon (2011-2015) Joanne Glasser (2015-2019) |
| Preceded by | Pat Quinn |
| Succeeded by | Jeanne Ives |
| 6th Comptroller of Illinois | |
| In office January 11, 1999 – January 10, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Loleta Didrickson |
| Succeeded by | Judy Baar Topinka |
| Biography | |
| Born: | July 20, 1968 (age 53) Chicago, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Christina Kerger |
| Alma mater | University of Notre Dame (BS) Loyola University (JD) |
| Occupation | Politician Attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Daniel W. Hynes (born July 20, 1968) is an American politician who served as the 42nd Governor of Illinois from 2011 until 2019; he previously served as Illinois Comptroller from 1999-2011. Since April 2019, he has served as the President of the World Bank Group.
Hynes graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1990 with a degree in economics and computer applications, and later earned a J.D. with Honors in 1993 from the Loyola University School of Law. Before taking office as Illinois Comptroller, he was a healthcare attorney for a Chicago law firm. Hynes ran for re-election to a third term in 2018 but lost to Republican state representative Jeanne Ives.
Illinois Comptroller[]
Hynes was first elected Illinois Comptroller in November 1998 at the age of 30, making him the youngest elected statewide constitutional officer in Illinois.
Rainy Day Fund[]
In 2000, Hynes engineered the creation of a Rainy Day Fund, designed to ensure that the state can meet its financial obligations during economic hard times and revenue slowdowns. He also drafted legislation passed in 2003 that generates a permanent revenue source for that fund, establishes a strong budgetary reserve in prosperous times, and creates greater accountability by recognizing and paying down unpaid liabilities.
Accenture Payments[]
In March 2004, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on an 11 million dollar state contract Bermuda-based company Accenture won from Governor Rod Blagojevich's administration, despite the Governor's public position against corporations that based their operations in foreign tax havens. Two months later, Comptroller Hynes blocked two million dollars in state payments Monday to Accenture Corp and asked a state panel to determine whether Illinois should contract with companies that locate offshore to soften their tax burdens.
Elections[]
2004 Senate Campaign[]
In March 2004, Hynes was a candidate in the Democratic primary election for his party's nomination for the United States Senate, finishing second to State Senator Barack Obama, who went on to win the general election in November. Hynes would later endorse Obama for the 2008 Democratic Presidential primaries, and speak on his behalf at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Gubernatorial Campaigns[]
See Also: Illinois Gubernatorial Election, 2010 (The More Things Changed)
See Also: Illinois Gubernatorial Election, 2014 (The More Things Changed)
See Also: Illinois Gubernatorial Election, 2018 (The More Things Changed)
Hynes challenged incumbent Governor Pat Quinn in the 2010 Democratic primary, narrowly beating the Governor by a margin of just over 8,000 votes, winning 462,049 votes to Quinn's 453,677 votes. Hynes went on to defeat the Republican nominee, State Senator Bill Brady, in the general election.
Hynes was re-elected in 2014, beating a challenge from Republican businessman Bruce Rauner.
Hynes narrowly lost re-election to Republican State Representative Jeanne Ives in 2018; Ives was inaugurated as Illinois’ first female Governor on January 14th, 2019.
Governor of Illinois[]
Fiscal Policy[]
Tax Policy[]
During his 2010 campaign, Hynes proposed a progressive income tax rate would be authorized by an amendment to the state's constitution. The Hynes plan would leave the base income tax rate at 3% for people with up to 200,000 dollars in taxable income. Starting at that level, the income tax rate would progressively increase from 3.5% to a maximum of 7.5%, that would apply solely to those with more than one million dollars in annual, taxable income.
In March 2012, the constitutional amendment was passed by the necessary three-fifths majority of the Illinois General Assembly, which was approved by 65% of the voters in the general election in November. In addition, ballot initiatives were passed combining the offices of Comptroller and Treasurer, as well as creating the elected office of Ombudsman.
Spending Cuts[]
Governor Hynes was able to attract enough necessary Republican support for passage of his tax plan by implementing spending cuts elsewhere, including:
- Eliminating advertising for the Illinois Lottery
- Firing half of the Blagojevich political appointees making 70,000 dollars a year or more
- Reducing exorbitant state contracts by 20 percent
- Bringing state government operations back to 2005 levels
- Closing the Section 25 loophole used to push debt from one fiscal year into the next
Clean Start[]
Governor Hynes' Clean Start for Illinois plan places emphasis on the need for innovation and Illinois' potential to become the energy hub of the Midwest, a model for alternative, more-efficient transportation and a center for medical research and health care.
Transportation[]
Illinois has been a longstanding hub for transportation in the United States. As part of Clean Start, Hynes focused on investment in infrastructure. Among them:
- Prioritizing road projects downstate, to provide interstate access to all regions of Illinois
- Investing in the state's regional airports, such as those in Peoria, the Quad Cities, Marion, Springfield, Rockford, Quincy and the Metro East area
- Partnering with the City of Chicago to expand O'Hare Airport, bringing in an estimated 195,000 jobs and 18 billion dollars in economic activity
- Proposing the construction of an airport able to accommodate large jet service in Peotone, Illinois
Early into his first term, President Barack Obama pushed for a network of high-speed railways to be included in his administration's economic stimulus package. However, with the support of Secretary of Transportation and fellow Illinoisan Ray LaHood, Hynes successfully secured significant federal funding to construct a high-speed rail within the state. The initiative is spearheaded by Richard Harnish, state Director of transportation.
Illinois additionally entered into an interstate compact with Missouri - the Illinois-Missouri Railway Commission - to jointly expand high-speed railway access and coordinate construction.
Healthcare[]
As Comptroller, Hynes’ efforts to secure state funding for stem cell research led to the creation of the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute in 2005. The following year, the IRMI awarded ten million dollars in grants to medical research facilities for the development of stem cell-based treatments and cures, making Illinois the first state in the Midwest to commit public funds to such initiatives. As Governor, Hynes further championed medical innovation, adding over 40,000 jobs in the medical research field.
LincolnCare[]
After the successful passage of healthcare reform on the federal level, in the Affordable Care Act, uninsured Illinoisans have options for health coverage either through the state’s Medicaid program or through the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace, known as LincolnCare.
Governor Hynes pushed for LincolnCare to allow Illinois residents to buy into the state’s Medicaid system, offering healthcare exchanges in every county in the state, competing with the exchanges under the Affordable Care Act.
Hospital Budgets[]
In 2015, following the example set by Maryland the previous year, Illinois health officials have reached a deal to limit medical spending; rather than paying hospitals for each extra procedure they perform, Illinois hospitals are financially rewarded for keeping people out of the hospital. The global budgets set a cap on spending, with hospitals being assigned a predetermined amount of revenue and required to meet state-set quality metrics to get paid.
The American Journal of Public Health published its conclusion that the healthcare initiatives saved Medicare 221 million dollars in 2016, more than one-third of the savings that Hynes had pledged by 2020. Per capita hospital costs shrank by more than 1.4% in the state.
Education[]
Lieutenant Governor Joanne Glasser, former President of Bradley University, has led education policy in the Hynes administration, forming the Educate Everyone initiative, touting its
"[A]cademic strengths in engineering, the medical field, the arts, business and education feed the needs of the community. Many of our programs emphasize applied learning, taking existing research and knowledge and finding opportunities to use that information in better, more effective and efficient ways."
Energy[]
The state of Illinois contains the second-largest coal reserves in the United States, containing the same energy capacity as the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. Hynes pursued development and revitalization of the industry, seeking to replicate the economic success of petroleum development in North Dakota. In particular, Hynes has advocated for "clean coal" - which seeks to mitigate the emissions of the fossil fuel.
In April 2017, a leak of 39,596 gallons (942 barrels) of petroleum from the Bakken Pipeline contaminated groundwater in five watersheds centered on Spink County, South Dakota. Hynes ordered a minimum three-month delay to all permits and construction related to the pipeline in Illinois until full reviews from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Department of Labor. The review was extended another five months before construction continued.
As Governor, Hynes also advocated for alternative sources of energy, including solar, wind and revitalizing the agricultural economy of the state by subsidizing ethanol production. By 2015, Illinois had outpaced Iowa in ethanol production.
Throughout his tenure, Hynes has averaged a 51% lifetime score by the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group.
Crime and Justice[]
During his 2010 gubernatorial campaign, Hynes stated:
'We must help the police, as well as citizens, to fight back. We need to reduce the scourge of substance abuse that fuels so much crime. And we need to focus on youth violence and gang activity – and stop them in their tracks.'
During the same campaign, Hynes criticized Governor Pat Quinn for releasing 1,000 inmates to address the budget shortfall, calling it "another example of piecemeal budgeting" and citing public safety concerns.
Immigration Enforcement[]
On August 28th, 2016, Hynes signed a bill into law that prohibited state and local police from arresting anyone solely due to their immigration status or due to federal detainers, proclaiming Illinois to be a "sanctuary state."
Gun Control[]
Hynes has been a proponent of gun control, advocating stricter penalties for crimes committed with a firearm, supporting closing the loophole allowing gun shows to sell firearms to unauthorized buyers, and supporting legislation to ban the sale and possession of "semiautomatic assault-style weapons" in Illinois.
Following the Chicago Marathon shooting, Governor Hynes held a joint press conference with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, resolving to prevent future attacks and asking the country as a whole to "take responsibility and accountability."
Kennedy Task Force[]
In November 2017, Hynes appointed businessman Chris Kennedy, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, as Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.
The Kennedy Task Force recommends eight areas of focus:
- Invest in basic economic issues, including public education and jobs programs
- Reduce the flow of illegal handguns and unlawful gun use by strengthening the state's gun laws
- Provide support to at-risk youth through diversion programs
- Provide support to communities through community-based violence disruption programs
- Provide necessary trauma treatment and mental, social and emotional health services to individuals impacted by violence
- Provide proactive, community-based mental, social, and emotional health services
- Fully fund and support community policing with a concentrated effort to recruit police officers from within the communities that need their service
- Expand and enhance restorative justice programs in jails and for ex-offenders
Administration and Staff[]
Statewide Elected Officials, January 2018:
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Lieutenant Governor | Joanne Glasser |
| Secretary of State | Jesse White |
| Attorney General | Lisa Madigan |
| Chief Financial Officer | Susana Mendoza |
| Ombudsman | David Hoffman |
Cabinet Members of the Hynes Administration, January 2018:
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Adjutant General | Alicia Tate-Nadeau |
| Auditor General | Mike Frerichs |
| Director of Aging | Susan Hughes |
| Director of Agriculture | Jerry Costello, Jr. |
| Director of Central Management Services | Scheketa Hart-Burns |
| Director of Children and Family Services | Talithia Redmond |
| Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity | John W. Rogers, Jr. |
| Director of Corrections and Juvenile Justice | Deanna Benos |
| Director of Employment Security | Kim McAdams |
| Director of Human Rights | Modesto Tico Valle |
| Director of Insurance and Pensions | Patrick Pinschmidt |
| Director of Labor | Michael R. Lied |
| Director of Natural Resources | Frank Avila |
| Director of Public Health | Rashmi Chugh, MD |
| Director of State Police | Richard Watson |
| Director of Transportation | Richard Harnish |
| Director of Veterans' Affairs | Jennifer Pritzker |
| Superintendent of Education | Paul Vallas |
2016 Presidential Election[]
Prior to the 2016 Democratic primaries, Hynes was frequently mentioned as a potential presidential candidate. Ultimately, Hynes supported former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, and served as an honorary Chair of the campaign. O'Malley would go on to win the Illinois primary, and although he lost the nomination to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, O'Malley eventually took office as Secretary of Homeland Security within the new administration.
Hynes was speculated to be interested in the Treasury Secretary job, but he denied the reports, stating he was looking forward to continuing to serve as Governor. The position ultimately went to Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook.
President of the World Bank[]
In February 2019, President Clinton announced Hynes as the nominee for President of the World Bank, succeeding Jim Yong Kim, who had announced in January 2019 that he would be stepping down three years prior to the end of his five-year term in 2022. Hynes was unanimously approved by the executive board on April 5th, 2019, and began his term on April 9th.