Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2026)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge-smaller use.png

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Appellate courts • All local elections by county • How to run for office
Flag of Illinois.png


2024
2026 Cook County elections
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Election dates
Filing deadline: November 3, 2025
Primary election: March 17, 2026
General election: November 3, 2026
Election stats
Offices up: Assessor, clerk, sheriff, treasurer, board of commissioners, board of review, water reclamation board, circuit court judges, subcircuit court judges
Other municipal elections
U.S. municipal elections, 2026

Cook County, Illinois, is holding general elections for assessor, clerk, sheriff, treasurer, board of commissioners, board of review, water reclamation board, circuit court judges, subcircuit court judges on November 3, 2026. A primary is scheduled for March 17, 2026. The filing deadline for the primary was November 3, 2025. The filing deadline for judges seeking retention is May 3, 2026. The filing deadline for the general election is May 26, 2026.

Elections

Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.

Note: Ballotpedia will add the candidate list for this election once we have it.

Help inform our readers

Take our candidate survey

See also: Survey

At Ballotpedia, we believe that everyone deserves meaningful, reliable, trustworthy information about their candidates. We also know that good information—especially at the local level—is hard to find. That's why Ballotpedia created Candidate Connection.

We ask all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Our survey helps voters better understand how their candidates think about the world and how they intend to govern—information they need to feel confident they're picking the best person for the role.

If you are a candidate, take our survey here. Or you can ask a candidate to take the survey by sharing the link with them.

Submit endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Endorsements can be particularly helpful for voters trying to decide between candidates in local races, which often feature nonpartisan candidates. Endorsements from individuals and organizations can help voters better understand policy differences between candidates in these cases where little or no other news coverage of policy stances exists.

Candidates, share endorsements here. Readers, share endorsements you know about here.

About the county

See also: Cook County, Illinois

The county government of Cook County is located in Chicago, Illinois. The county was first established in 1831. It covers a total of 946 square miles of land in northeast Illinois. As of 2020, its population was 5,275,541.

County government

See also: Government of Cook County, Illinois

Cook County is overseen by a 17-member board of commissioners. Each commissioner is elected by district to a four-year term. Residents also elect a three-member board of review, county assessor, state's attorney, county sheriff, clerk of the circuit court, county clerk, county treasurer, and county recorder.

Demographics

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.

Demographic Data for Cook County, Illinois
Cook County Illinois
Population 5,275,541 12,812,508
Land area (sq mi) 944 55,512
Race and ethnicity**
White 54.4% 69.8%
Black/African American 23.3% 14.1%
Asian 7.5% 5.6%
Native American 0.3% 0.3%
Pacific Islander 0% 0%
Other (single race) 9.6% 6%
Multiple 4.9% 4.2%
Hispanic/Latino 25.3% 17.2%
Education
High school graduation rate 87.7% 89.7%
College graduation rate 40% 35.5%
Income
Median household income $67,886 $68,428
Persons below poverty level 13.7% 12%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


See also

Cook County, Illinois Illinois Municipal government Other local coverage
Map of Illinois highlighting Cook County.svg
Seal of Illinois.png
Municipal Government Final.png
Local Politics Image.jpg

External links

Footnotes