The Cook County Recorder of Deeds was the recorder of deeds of county government in Cook County, Illinois, prior to the position's abolishment in 2020.
History of office An early incarnation of a dedicated county recorder of deeds was established with the creation of Cook County in 1831. In 1848, it was eliminated, being merged into the position of clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County (which was renamed "clerk and recorder"). For decades thereafter, the clerk of the Circuit Court served as the ex-officio county recorder of deeds.
An independent position of Cook County recorder of deeds was re-created in December 1872.
On November 8, 2016, Cook County voters approved a binding referendum to eliminate the office, merging its functions into the purview of the Cook County Clerk. The office formally ceased to exist on December 7, 2020.
Officeholders 1831–1848 Recorder of DeedsTerm in officePartyNotesCite R. J. Hamilton 1831–1839 Democratic Eli R. Williams 1839–1843 William A. Eagan 1843–1847 Ed S. Kimberly 1847–1848
1872–2020
Recorder of DeedsTerm in officePartyNotesCite James Stewart 1872–1876 James W. Brockway 1876–1884 Republican Wiley Scribner 1884–1889 Republican 'Official Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of Cook County, Illinois.' Cook County, Illinois Board of Commissioners; 1889, Official Proceedings, Board of Commissioners, Cook County, Illinois, Monday September 29, 1889, The Honorable Wiley Scribner, pp. 703–704 Abel Davis 1904–1912 Republican Elected in 1904 and 1908 Joseph F. Connery 1912– Democratic Joseph F. Haas Salomea Jaranowski Clayton F. Smith Edward J. Kaindl Democratic Victor L. Schlaeger Joseph T. Baran Joseph F. Ropa Edmund J. Kucharski 1956–1960 Republican Elected in 1956; lost reelection in 1960 Sid Olsen December 1976–December 1984 Democratic Elected in 1976 and 1980 Harry Yourell December 1984–December 1, 1988 Democratic Elected in 1984 Carol Moseley Braun December 1, 1988 – December 1, 1992 Democratic Elected in 1988 Jesse White December 1, 1992 – January 11, 1999 Democratic Elected in 1992 and 1996; resigned in January 1999 to serve as Illinois Secretary of State Eugene Moore January 1999–December 2012 Democratic Appointed in January 1999; elected in 2000, 2004, 2008 Karen Yarbrough December 2012–December 3, 2018 Democratic Elected in 2012 and 2016 Edward Moody December 4, 2018 – December 7, 2020 Democratic Appointed in December 2018
Recent election results
| colspan=16 style="text-align:center;" |Cook County Recorder of Deeds general elections |- !Year !Winning candidate !Party !Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) |- |1984 | | Harry "Bus" Yourell | | Democratic | | 1,232,485 (60.94%) | | Deborah L. Murphy | | Republican | | 789,906 (39.06%)
|1988 | | Carol Moseley Braun | | Democratic | | 1,020,805 (54.32%) | | Bernard L. Stone | | Republican | | 795,540 (42.33%) |Text style="background:#008000 | Edward M. Wojkowski |Text style="background:#008000 | Illinois Solidarity |Text style="background:#008000 | 62,968 (3.35%)
|1992 | | Jesse White | | Democratic | | 1,121,865 (58.07%) | | Susan Catania | | Republican | | 809,963 (41.93%)
|1996 | | Jesse White | | Democratic | | 1,061,436 (65.33%) | | Patrick A. Dwyer | | Republican | | 499,551 (30.75%) |Text style="background:#D2B48C | Brenda Hernandez Frias |Text style="background:#D2B48C | Harold Washington Party |Text style="background:#D2B48C | 53,421 (3.29%) | Smith Wiiams | Justice Party | 10,251 (0.63%) |- |2000 | | Eugene "Gene" Moore | | Democratic | | 1,167,630 (73.01%) | | Arthur D. Sutton | | Republican | | 431,717 (26.99%)
|2004 | | Eugene "Gene" Moore | | Democratic | | 1,283,762 (70.74%) | | John H. Cox | | Republican | | 530,945 (29.26%)
|2008 | | Eugene "Gene" Moore | | Democratic | | 1,324,426 (70.49%) | | Gregory Goldstein | | Republican | | 451,452 (24.03%) | | Terrence A. Gilhooly | | Green | | 102,968 (5.48%)
|2012 | | Karen Yarbrough | | Democratic | | 1,313,967 (73.82%) | | Sherri Griffith | | Republican | | 466,038 (26.18%)
|2016 | | Karen Yarbrough | | Democratic | | 1,647,174 (98.58%) | Others | Write-ins | 7,250 (0.81%)
References