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Government of Cook County, Illinois
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| Seat: Chicago |
| Population (2020): 5,275,541 |
| County Commissioners: 17 |
| County Website: Official website |
The county government of Cook County is located in Chicago, Illinois. The county, established in 1831, was the 54th established county in Illinois. It covers a total of 946 square miles of land in northeast Illinois.[1]
Elections
2024
Cook County, Illinois, held general elections for state's attorney, board of review commissioners, water reclamation district, clerk of circuit court, circuit court judges, and subcircuit court judges and a special election for county clerk and a county commissioner on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for March 19, 2024. The filing deadline for the primary was December 4, 2023, and the filing deadline for the general election was June 24, 2024.
2022
Cook County, Illinois, held general elections for assessor, clerk, sheriff, treasurer, county commissioners, board of review, water reclamation board, circuit court judges, and subcircuit court judges on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for June 28, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was March 14, 2022.
2020
Cook County, Illinois, held general elections for county clerk, county attorney, county board of review commissioner, county water reclamation district board member, circuit court judgeships, and subcircuit court judgeships on November 3, 2020. If a race had multiple candidates for a party nomination, a primary was held on March 17, 2020.
2018
Cook County, Illinois, held general elections for county commission president, county commissioner, county assessor, county clerk, county sheriff, county treasurer, county board of review commissioner, and county water reclamation district board member on November 6, 2018. If a race had multiple candidates for a party nomination, a primary was held on March 20, 2018.
2016
Cook County held elections for county board of review, state's attorney, clerk of the circuit court, county recorder, and special districts in 2016. The general election was held on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on March 15, 2016.
Elected officials
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If any officeholder information below is no longer accurate, please contact us with any updates. |
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Board of commissioners
- See also: County commission
The board of commissioners functions as the county's primary legislative and policy-making body. Most boards also control county land usage, oversee environmental issues and possess executive powers, meaning they have the authority to appoint or remove departmental heads. Cook County has 17 commissioners who are elected by district to four-year terms. In addition to the 17 commissioners, there is a president of the board of commissioners who serves as the chief executive officer of Cook County.[2]
The table below provides information on each of the county commissioners:[3]
The widget below automatically displays information about their meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Board of review
The Cook County Board of Review is a three-member board whose purpose is to review all assessments of property within Cook County in accordance with the Property Tax Code.[4]
The table below provides information on each of the county commissioners:[5]
| Office | Name | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|
| Cook County Board of Review District 1 | George Cardenas | December 5, 2022 |
| Cook County Board of Review District 2 | Samantha Steele | December 5, 2022 |
| Cook County Board of Review District 3 | Larry Rogers Jr. | 2004 |
Other elected officials
Cook County residents also elect the following public officials:
| Office | Name | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|
| Cook County Assessor | Frederick Kaegi | 2019 |
| Cook County Clerk | Monica Gordon | December 1, 2024 |
| Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court | Mariyana Spyropoulos | December 1, 2024 |
| Cook County Sheriff | Thomas Dart | 2006 |
| Cook County State's Attorney | Eileen O'Neill Burke | December 1, 2024 |
| Cook County Treasurer | Maria Pappas | 1998 |
Special districts
- See also: Special districts
Special districts are a form of local government that exist to fulfill a specific purpose within a certain geographic area. This region can be as large as a county or smaller than a city block. Special districts have the power to tax their local residents in order to fund operational expenditures. Although a special district may be formed for any stated purpose, the most common examples include library, hospital, transportation, airport, utility, conservation, sanitation, fire control, and flood control districts.
Water
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) was established in 1959 by the Illinois General Assembly to address the issue of water contamination in the Chicago area. MWRD's purpose as stated on its website is to "protect the health and safety of the public in its service area, protect the quality of the water supply source (Lake Michigan), improve the quality of water in watercourses in its service area, protect businesses and homes from flood damages, and manage water as a vital resource for its service area."[6]
The MWRD Board of Commissioners has nine members who are elected at large to six-year terms. Every two years, three members face election.[7]
The table below provides information on each of the board members:[8]
Issues
Sweetened beverage tax
The county adopted a one-cent-per-ounce sweetened beverage tax in 2016 which took effect in August 2017 after legal challenges delayed its implementation. The tax applied to all sweetened beverages, including regular and diet soda, sports drinks, pre-packaged coffees and teas with added sugar or artificial sweeteners, and energy drinks. The measure was originally supposed to take effect on July 1, 2017, but Cook County Circuit Judge Daniel J. Kubasiak blocked its enactment while a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the measure was pending. Kubasiak dismissed that lawsuit and lifted his restraining order on July 28, 2017, ruling that the county was within its authority to adopt the tax.
Public health groups supported the measure as a means to discourage consumption of sweetened beverages and reduce obesity. Opponents of the Cook County tax contended that the measure was applied unfairly, since pre-packaged sweetened coffees, for example, are taxed under the law, while those prepared on-demand in a restaurant or coffee shop were not. Beverage retailers and trade groups said they would continue to contest the tax and would look for opportunities to have it repealed. Despite the delay, Cook County anticipated it would receive almost $50 million in revenue from the tax in 2017, and over $200 million in 2018.[9]
In October 2017, the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted 15-2 to repeal the tax.[10]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Cook County Illinois. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Cook County, Illinois | Illinois | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook County, "About Cook County," accessed August 30, 2016
- ↑ Cook County, "Board of Commissioners," accessed August 30, 2016
- ↑ Cook County, "Officials: Board of Commissioners," accessed August 30, 2016
- ↑ Cook County, "Board of Review," accessed August 30, 2016
- ↑ Cook County, "Officials: Board of Review," accessed August 30, 2016
- ↑ Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, "Mission & Services," accessed August 30, 2016
- ↑ Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, "Governance," accessed August 30, 2016
- ↑ Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, "Board of Commissioners," accessed February 15, 2019
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Soda tax rollout leaves Chicago-area shoppers grumbling, confused," August 3, 2017
- ↑ WGN9, "Cook County sweetened beverage tax officially over," December 1, 2017
