Hon. Michael Frerichs

Hon. Michael Frerichs

The son of two union members, Michael Frerichs was born and raised in the small Champaign County farming community of Gifford, Illinois. After graduating from Rantoul Township High School, Frerichs attended Yale University, graduating in 1995. From Yale, Frerichs enrolled at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan where he taught English while learning Mandarin Chinese. Afterward, Frerichs returned to Champaign County to serve his community, teaching at his old high school, serving as a volunteer firefighter, and joining the board of a local nonprofit nursing home. Frerichs won a seat on the Champaign County Board in 2000 when he was 27 years old. In 2002, Frerichs was appointed by his board colleagues to the office of Champaign County auditor. As auditor, Frerichs was responsible for preparing budget reports, ensuring the county met state and federal reporting requirements, preventing fraud and improving the financial health of the county. In 2006, Michael Frerichs became the youngest member of the Illinois State Senate and the first Democrat from East Central Illinois to serve in the State Senate since the 1930s. There, Frerichs championed government reform, job creation and education investments. As chairman of the Agriculture and Conservation Committee, Frerichs championed economic assistance to farmers and advocated for alternative fuels. A leading voice for job creation, Frerichs authored legislation to preserve enterprise zones linked to millions of jobs and billions of investments. As Chair of the Higher Education Committee, Frerichs championed full and fair funding for higher education while advancing efforts to make college more affordable. Michael Frerichs was elected treasurer of Illinois in 2014 on a promise to strengthen ethics and transparency, and expand financial access, opportunity, and education across Illinois. As a Certified Public Finance Officerand the state’s chief investment officer, Treasurer Frerichs will leverage our investments to not only earn strong returns for taxpayers, but also create good-paying jobs that help families reclaim the American Dream. Michael Frerichs and his young daughter, Ella, continue to call Champaign, Illinois home.