Cook County Board of Commissioners

The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the United States' second-largest county with a population of 5.2 million residents. The county board sets policy and laws for the county regarding property, public health services, public safety, and maintenance of county highways.[1] It is presided over by its president, currently Toni Preckwinkle.

Cook County Board of Commissioners
Type
Type
Leadership
Toni Preckwinkle
since 2010
Structure
Seats17
Political groups
Majority
  •  Democratic (15)

Minority

Length of term
4 years
Elections
Last election
2018
Next election
2022
Meeting place
City Hall and County Building
118 N. Clark Street Chicago, Illinois
Website
cookcountyil.gov

The commissioners, president, and county clerk (who serves as clerk of the board), hold the same offices ex officio on the separate governmental taxing body, the Cook County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners.

History

Until 1870, Cook County had been governed under the "township supervisor" system, under which each Chicago ward elected a supervisor, and each township elected one or more as well depending on population, creating a board of 50 members, less than half from Chicago. In the wake of a scandal involving then board chairman J. J. Kearney (who was eventually unseated and expelled from the board), the new commission was created pursuant to an amendment to the state constitution, initially with ten Chicago commissioners elected from groups of wards within the city, and five members elected from groups of townships outside the city, presided over by a chairman elected by the board from among their own number. The commissioners were elected for three-year terms, on a staggered basis. The first meeting of the new board took place December 4, 1871; they elected businessman and Civil War general Julius White of Evanston as their chairman.[2]

Elections

The board's seventeen commissioners are elected from individual constituencies for four year terms, with elections for all constituencies held during United States midterm elections.[3] Its president is elected at-large to a four-year term in elections held during United States midterm elections.

Prior to 1990, commissioners were elected through two sets of elections, one held in Chicago to elect ten commissioners and another held in suburban Cook County to elect the remaining seven commissioners. In 1994, the board switched to having commissioners elected from individual constituencies.[4]

Commissioners

Current

This is a list of the Cook County Commissioners in order by district. This list is current as of April 17, 2020.

DistrictCommissionerResidenceIn office sinceParty
President
(at-large)		Toni PreckwinkleChicago2010Democratic
1Brandon JohnsonChicago2018Democratic
2Dennis DeerChicago2017Democratic
3Bill LowryChicago2018Democratic
4Stanley MooreChicago2013Democratic
5Deborah SimsChicago1994Democratic
6Donna MillerLynwood2018Democratic
7Alma AnayaChicago2018Democratic
8Luis Arroyo Jr.Chicago2014Democratic
9Peter N. SilvestriElmwood Park1994Republican
10Bridget GainerChicago2009Democratic
11John P. DaleyChicago1992Democratic
12Bridget DegnenChicago2018Democratic
13Larry SuffredinEvanston2002Democratic
14Scott R. BrittonGlenview2018Democratic
15Kevin B. MorrisonMount Prospect2018Democratic
16Frank AguilarCicero2020Democratic[5]
17Sean M. MorrisonPalos Park2015Republican

Before 1994

Individuals who, before 1994, served as president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners included J. Frank Aldrich, Edward J. Brundage, Anton Cermak, George Dunne, Richard B. Ogilvie, Richard Phelan, Dan Ryan Jr. Charles C. P. Holden, and Seymour Simon. The first county board chairman (a role which preceded the creation of the president position) was Julius White.[6]

Individuals who served as commissioners before the move to individual constituencies in 1994 included Charles Bernardini, George Marquis Bogue, Charles S. Bonk, Jerry Butler, Allan C. Carr, Carl R. Chindblom, John P. Daley, Danny K. Davis, Oscar Stanton De Priest, Marco Domico, Martin Emerich, Carter Harrison Sr., John Humphrey, John Jones, Walter J. LaBuy, Ted Lechowicz, Maria Pappas, Lillian Piotrowski, Herb Schumann, Harry H. Semrow, Francis Cornwall Sherman, Seymour Simon, Horace M. Singer, Bobbie L. Steele, Alanson Sweet, William Hale Thompson, and Jill Zwick.

Since 1994
SessionPresident1st district2nd district3rd district4th district5th district6th district7th district8th district9th district10th district11th district12th district12th district14th district15th district16th district17th district
1994–1998John StrogerDanny K. DavisBobbie L. SteeleJerry ButlerJohn StrogerDeborah SimsBud FlemingJoseph Mario MorenoRoberto MaldonadoPeter N. SilvestriMaria PappasJohn P. DaleyTed LechowiczCalvin SutkerRichard SiebelCarl R. HansenAllan C. CarrHerb Schumann
Darlena Williams-Burnett
1998–2002Earlean CollinsWilliam MoranMike QuigleyGregg Goslin
2002–2006Joan Patricia MurphyForrest ClaypoolLarry SuffredinTony PeraicaElizabeth Ann Doody Gorman
Bobbie L. Steele
2006–2010Todd StrogerRobert SteeleWilliam BeaversTim Schneider
Edwin ReyesBridget Gainer
2010–2014Toni PreckwinkleJesús "Chuy" GarcíaJohn FritcheyJeff Tobolski
Stanley Moore
2014–2018Richard BoykinLuis Arroyo Jr.
Dennis DeerEdward MoodySean M. Morrison
2018–2022Brandon JohnsonBill LowryDonna MillerAlma E. AnayaBridget DegnenScott R. BrittonKevin B. Morrison
Frank Aguilar

See also

References
  1. About the Cook County Board of Commissioners Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Johnson, Charles B. Growth of Cook County Vol. 1: A History of the Large Lake-Shore County That Includes Chicago Chicago: Board of Commissioners of Cook County, Ill., 1960; pp. 91-101
  3. "Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2020)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  4. "CHOICES FOR COOK COUNTY BOARD". Chicago Tribune. 22 October 1998. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  5. Hinton, Rachel (April 16, 2020). "Mystery shrouds closed-door vote on Tobolski successor". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  6. "Cook County, Illinois - Secretary of the Board". legacy.cookcountyil.gov. Office of the Secretary to the Board of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
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