William G. “Bill” Holland, who served as Illinois’ auditor general for 23 years and worked in the public sector for four decades, died Saturday at his home in Seattle.
He was 72.
According to a family obituary, Holland had been diagnosed with colon cancer.
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Holland, originally from Joliet but raised in Kansas, was chief of staff to then-Senate President Phil Rock, D-Chicago, before being appointed auditor general by the Illinois General Assembly in 1992.
The agency, which was created in 1970 as part of the Illinois Constitution, analyzes state agencies to ensure that money is spent properly.
Holland’s tenure overlapped with five different governors, both Democratic and Republican.
According to a 2015 article in the State Journal-Register, Holland’s 2005 audit of the Department of Central Management Services called into question suspicious activities by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He was impeached in 2009.
Governor Jim Edgar told the SJ-R in 2015 that Holland never allowed party politics to play a role.
“He railed against Republicans and Democrats with equal enthusiasm,” Edgar said.
Prior to joining Rock’s staff, Holland was Director of the Illinois House Majority Appropriations Committee Staff and first Director of the Illinois General Assembly’s Washington, D.C. Office.
He is survived by three children and five grandchildren.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared in the State Journal-Register: Bill Holland, Illinois’ longest-serving auditor general, has died at 72
