Remembering the honorable Barbara Flynn Currie

We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of former state lawmaker, majority leader, and Chair of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, the Honorable Barbara Flynn Currie.

Barbara Flynn Currie created the very infrastructure that conservation and environmental policy have relied on in Illinois through her 40 years in the Illinois General Assembly and then as Chair of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, a body created by her late husband, David Currie.

Throughout her career, she was a consistent champion for clean air and clean water, earning the respect of advocates across the state and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois Environmental Council in 2014 for her environmental leadership.

She also understood the power of coalition. She recognized that environmental victories in Illinois—from early landmark protections to modern climate and conservation efforts—were only possible because advocates built the public will to overcome entrenched interests. She uplifted that work, respected it, and helped translate it into durable law. Even when Currie wasn’t the chief sponsor of a bill, she was the architect behind its passage with leaders and the executive branch.

Those of us in the environmental community could count on her: to listen, to ask hard questions, and ultimately to help move good ideas forward. She was thoughtful, strategic, and deeply committed to the long game of building a healthier, more sustainable Illinois.

Barbara Flynn Currie leaves behind cleaner air, stronger institutions, and a model of leadership grounded in integrity and purpose. Her legacy lives on in every environmental victory built on the foundation she helped lay.