From the State Journal Register

Governor losing key aide
Curry to work for lobbying firm
By BERNARD SCHOENBURG
POLITICAL WRITER
12/01/04
Former state Rep. Julie Curry, a key downstate member of the Blagojevich administration, is leaving her post at the end of the year to start a job that involves lobbying state government.
Curry said she will join a firm headed by John Potts - a principal in the Chicago firm Ronan Potts LLC that on Tuesday was sentenced by a federal judge in a bid-rigging case involving a contract at Chicago's McCormick Place. Neither Potts nor former state Rep. Al Ronan, D-Chicago, the other leader of the firm, has been charged personally in the case.
Curry, 42, said her motivation to leave her $115,000 job as Blagojevich's deputy chief of staff for economy and environment is personal. A resident of DeWitt County, she said that during the week, she sees her 7-year-old son about an hour a day, in the morning before her 50-minute commute to Springfield.
"It was just a real struggle for me personally because I love what I do, but I also love my family, and an opportunity came about that would allow me to continue to be able to work in government ... but spend a lot more time at home," Curry said in a telephone interview.
The lobbying firm to be headed by Potts will be called Illinois Strategies, she said, adding that she believes Ronan is retiring and that Potts had bought him out. Neither Potts nor Ronan could be reached for comment Tuesday.
"I've worked with these folks for a number of years when I was a legislator," Curry said. "I respect all of the people in that firm and the job that they do. They're well respected, and I'm not a bit concerned about any past controversy."
State ethics law that blocks the "revolving door" of government officials taking jobs in the private sector to influence government does not prevent her move, Curry said.
"The only thing that would stop me from representing certain clients is if I'd had direct involvement in contracts they would receive, and in my ... job, I don't do that," Curry said.
"I'll do everything ethical and by the book."
Cindi Canary, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said that if Curry hasn't overseen the awarding of contracts, "she probably isn't in any sort of conflict with the letter of the law."
Still, Canary said, "We always hate to see these kinds of revolving-door situations because, obviously, she's well known in the legislature and the executive branch.
"Representative Curry has been a good legislator and good public official and a good person," Canary added. "I hope that that will continue. But her primary responsibility when she joins the firm will be to her clients, and I hope the firm, in its new incarnation, has a better understanding and a deeper commitment to doing things the right way."
In her job with the Blagojevich administration, Curry oversees the departments of corrections, state police, natural resources, economic opportunity, environmental protection, agriculture and revenue. She also has oversight of eight boards or commissions, including the gaming board and prisoner review board. She said she's had many other responsibilities, as well, and was involved in top-level decision-making.
"I was involved in more than you can imagine," Curry said, including all of the leadership meetings involving the governor during last summer's prolonged legislative session.
A native of Highland and a graduate of Eastern Illinois University, Curry was Macon County treasurer from 1990 to 1994 and an Illinois House member from 1995 to 2003, when she joined the Blagojevich administration.
She called Blagojevich "my good friend and somebody who I respect a lot." She expects to volunteer to help him get re-elected in 2006, something she believes "absolutely" will happen. While the Blagojevich team sought to entice her to stay on, Curry said, the governor "understands the importance of family."
In a statement, Blagojevich said he's known Curry since they served together in the Illinois House.
"I knew when I was elected governor that she would be an important member of our team," he said. "She's a talented, dedicated public servant who shares my commitment to helping the people of this state. I am proud of the work that Julie did and I wish her the best."
Curry said it has been a difficult time during her two years with the governor's office.
"Nothing about letting people go is an easy decision," Curry said of state government layoffs. But she said that making such difficult decisions is "what being a leader is all about, and that's what I, frankly, admire the governor for. ... In the end, it's about managing the taxpayers' dollars."
She said she has had a role in bringing some Decatur-area people into state government.
"There are a lot of great people from the Decatur area that are very well qualified to serve ... and ... for a very long time, they didn't have that opportunity. ... Now, we've been able to put some people in ... and they've been very helpful to the administration, and we're proud of that," she said.
Curry, whose son is from her first marriage, was married to Kevin Ryan in July 2003. He recently got a promotion from Iowa-based Stein Seed Co. and will be traveling more, she said, and that played a role in her decision.
"We don't want our son raised by baby-sitters," she said.
Curry was also lauded, when named to her post by Blagojevich in 2003, as helping provide the administration downstate perspective.
She said she expects the administration to replace her with someone from the Springfield area who will be based in Springfield.
As to her political future, Curry said you "never say never, but I can tell you that my days of running for public office are over with. I made that decision when I left the General Assembly."
Bernard Schoenburg can be reached at 788-1540 or bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com.