The Cook County Clerk is the clerk of county government in Cook County, Illinois. The clerk serves the Cook County Board of Commissioners, registers vital records and deeds, and oversees elections. It is a county-wide elected office with a four year term.
History The office of Cook County Clerk was established in 1831, the year that Cook County, Illinois was created. For the first several years, the clerk was appointed by the three-member Cook County Board of Commissioners. This was changed, and it became an elected office with a four-year term in 1837, with the first election being held in August of that year.
Officeholders #ClerkTerm in officePartyNotesCite 1st William Lee 1831 Appointed in March 1831, resigned in December 1831 2nd Richard J. Hamilton 1831–1837 Democratic Appointed to the office in December 1831 3rd George Davis 1837–1849 The first elected Cook County Clerk (first elected in August 1837) 4th Edmund S. Kimberly 1849–1853 Elected in August and November 1849 5th Charles B. Farwell 1853–1861 6th Laurin P. Hilliard 1861–1865 7th Edward S. Salomon 1865–November 1869 Republican 8th John G. Gindele 1869–January 1872 Died in office 9th George W. Wheeler 1873–December 1873 10th Hermann Lieb 1873–December 1877 11th Ernest F.C. Klokke 1877–December 1882 Term extended, by law, for one year 12th Michael W. Ryan 1882–December 1886 13th Henry Wulff 1886–1894 Republican 14th Philip Knopf 1894–1902 Republican 15th Peter B. Olsen 1902–1906 Republican 16th Joseph F. Haas 1906–1910 Republican 17th Robert Sweitzer December 1910–December 1934 Democratic Elected in 1910, 1914, 1918, 1922, 1926, 1930, 1934; resigned to serve as Cook County Treasurer in December 1934 18th Michael J. Flynn 1935–1950 Democratic Appointed in 1935; elected in 1938, 1942, 1946 19th Richard J. Daley December 1950 – 1955 Democratic Elected in 1950 and 1954; resigned in 1955 to serve as mayor of Chicago 20th Edward J. Barrett 1955–1973 Democratic Appointed in 1955; elected in 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970; resigned in 1973 21st Stanley Kusper 1973–December 1990 Democratic Appointed in 1973, elected in 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986 22nd David Orr December 1990–December 2018 Democratic Elected in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 23rd Karen Yarbrough December 2018–April 2024 Democratic Elected in 2018 and 2022; died in office in April 2024 – Cedric Giles(acting) 2024 Acting clerk 24th Monica Gordon December 2024–present Democratic Elected in 2024
Recent election results
| colspan=16 style="text-align:center;" |Cook County Clerk general elections |- !Year !Winning candidate !Party !Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) |- |1986 | | Stanley Kusper | | Democratic | | 929,949 (68.35%) | | Diana Nelson | | Republican | | 430,568 (31.35%)
|1990 | | David D. Orr | | Democratic | | 799,884 (63.48%) | | Sam Panayotovich | | Republican | | 353,531 (28.06%) |Text style="background:#D2B48C | Heldia R. Richardson |Text style="background:#D2B48C | Harold Washington Party |Text style="background:#D2B48C | 106,588 (8.46%)
|1994 | | David D. Orr | | Democratic
| | Edward Howlett | | Republican
|Text style="background:#D2B48C | Herman W. Baker, Jr. |Text style="background:#D2B48C | Harold Washington Party |Text style="background:#D2B48C | | Curtis Jones | Populist
|1998 | | David D. Orr | | Democratic | | 988,136 (77.30%) | | Judie A. Jones | | Republican | | 290,256 (22.70%)
|2002 | | David D. Orr | | Democratic | | 992,441 (76.11%) | | Kathleen A. Thomas | | Republican | | 311,552 (23.89%)
|2006 | | David D. Orr | | Democratic | | 1,034,263 (80.78%) | | Nancy Carlson | | Republican | | 246,044 (19.22%)
|2010 | | David D. Orr | | Democratic | | 1,047,462 (77.77%) | | Angel Garcia | | Republican | | 299,449 (22.23%)
|2014 | | David D. Orr | | Democratic | | 1,061,515 (100%)
|2018 | | Karen Yarbrough | | Democratic | | 1,415,244 (99.07%) | Others | Write-ins | 13,120 (0.93%)
|2022 | |Karen Yarbrough | | Democratic | |1,003,854 (71.58%) | | Tony Peraica | | Republican | |368,095 (26.26%) | | Joseph Schreiner | | Libertarian | |30,514 (2.18%)
|2024
References
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