2022 Cook County, Illinois, elections

2022 Cook County, Illinois, elections

November 8, 2022

The Cook County, Illinois, general elections were held on November 8, 2022.^[1] Primaries were held on June 28, 2022.^[2]

Elections were held for Assessor, Clerk, Sheriff, Treasurer, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, all 17 seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, all three seats of the Cook County Board of Review, three seats on the Water Reclamation District Board, and judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County.

The Republican Party saw its representation on the Cook County Board of Commissioners reduced from two seats to a single seat. Cook County Commissioner Sean M. Morrison's victory by a margin of 2.58% in his district marked the only victory in a partisan county race for a Republican nominee, with Democrats winning all other partisan elections.

Election information

2022 was a midterm election year in the United States. The primaries and general elections for Cook County races coincided with those for federal (House and Senate) and those for state elections.

In the primary, turnout among registered voters was 21.14%. Turnout among registered voters in suburban Cook County was 19.61%, with 319,825 ballots cast. Turnout among registered voters in the City of Chicago was 22.81%, with 341,901 ballots cast.^[3][4]

Assessor

2022 Cook County Assessor election

November 8, 2022

Candidate Fritz Kaegi Nico Tsatsoulis Party Democratic Libertarian Popular vote 1,063,188 228,425 Percentage 82.31% 17.69%

Assessor before election Fritz Kaegi Democratic Elected Assessor Fritz Kaegi Democratic

First-term incumbent assessor Fritz Kaegi, a Democrat, was reelected to a second term.

Democratic primary

In the Democratic primary, the incumbent Kaegi was challenged by Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Kari Steele.^[5]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Fritz Kaegi	Kari Steele	Undecided
Impact Research (D)	August 16–19, 2021	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	22%	21%	56%

Endorsements

Fritz Kaegi

Mayors

• Roger Agpawa, mayor of Markham^[6]
• Nathanieal Booker, mayor of Maywood^[6]
• Ronald Denson, mayor of Calumet Park^[6][b]
• James Ford, mayor of Country Club Hills^[6]
• Dan Foy, mayor of Burbank^[6]
• Andre Harvey, mayor of Bellwood^[6]
• Rick Reinbold, mayor of Richton Park^[6]
• Katrina Thompson, mayor of Broadview^[6]
• George Van Dusen, mayor of Skokie^[6]

State representatives

• Daniel Didech, state representative from the 59th district (2019–)^[6]
• Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, state representative from the 17th district (2019–)^[6]
• Bob Morgan, state representative from the 58th district (2019–)^[6]

Organizations

• Equality Illinois^[7]

2022 Cook County Assessor Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Fritz Kaegi	258,848	53.79
	Democratic	Kari K. Steele	222,371	46.21
Total votes			481,219	100

Republican nomination

No candidates ran in the Republican primary.^[2]

Libertarian primary

Nico Tsatsoulis ran uncontested in the Libertarian primary for assessor.

2022 Cook County Assessor Libertarian primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Nico Tsatsoulis	1,931	53.79
Total votes			1,931	100

General election

2022 Cook County Assessor election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Fritz Kaegi	1,063,188	82.31
	Libertarian	Nico Tsatsoulis	228,425	17.69
Total votes			1,291,613	100

Clerk

2022 Cook County Clerk election

November 8, 2022

Candidate Karen Yarbrough Tony Peraica Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,003,854 368,095 Percentage 71.58% 26.25

Clerk before election Karen Yarbrough Democratic Elected Clerk Karen Yarbrough Democratic

Incumbent clerk Karen Yarbrough, a Democrat, was reelected to a second term.

Democratic primary

Yarbrough ran uncontested in the Democratic primary.

2022 Cook County Clerk Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Karen A. Yarbrough (incumbent)	450,832	100
Total votes			450,832	100

Republican nomination

No candidate ran in the Republican primary.^[2] The Republican Party ultimately nominated former Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica.^[8]

Libertarian primary

Joseph Schreiner, an occasional candidate for office and 2020 Illinois House of Representatives Libertarian candidate in District 19,^{[citation needed]} ran uncontested in the Libertarian primary.

Marco Gomez expressed interest, but did not run.^{[citation needed]}

2022 Cook County Clerk Libertarian primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Joseph Schreiner	1,930	100
Total votes			1,930	100

General election

2022 Cook County Clerk election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Karen A. Yarbrough (incumbent)	1,003,854	71.58
	Republican	Tony Peraica	368,095	26.26
	Libertarian	Joseph Schreiner	30,514	2.18
Total votes			1,402,463	100

Sheriff

2022 Cook County Sheriff election

November 8, 2022

Candidate Tom Dart Lupe Aguirre Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,041,525 321,252 Percentage 74.21% 22.89%

Sheriff before election Tom Dart Democratic Elected Sheriff Tom Dart Democratic

The incumbent sheriff Tom Dart, a Democrat, was reelected to a fifth term.

Only Democrats have held this office ever since Michael F. Sheahan unseated Republican James E. O'Grady in 1990.

Democratic primary

Dart was challenged in the Democratic primary by Noland Rivera, Carmen Navarro Gercone, LaTonya Ruffin, and Kirk Ortiz. Only Rivera made the ballot.^[9][10]

2022 Cook County Sheriff Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas Dart (incumbent)	314,427	86.17
	Democratic	Noland Rivera	50,455	13.83
Total votes			364,882	100

Republican nomination

No candidates ran in the Republican Party primary.^[2] The Republican Party later nominated Lupe Aguirre.^[11]

Libertarian primary

Cook County Sheriff's Department Deputy Brad Sandefur ran uncontested in the Libertarian primary after perennial candidate Richard Mayers was disqualified and removed from the ballot. Jack Kozlowski had expressed interest, but did not run.^{[citation needed]}

2022 Cook County Sheriff Libertarian primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Brad Sandefur	1,957	100
Total votes			1,957	100

General election

2022 Cook County Sheriff election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas Dart (incumbent)	1,041,525	74.21
	Republican	Lupe Aguirre	321,252	22.89
	Libertarian	Brad Sandefur	40,752	2.90
Total votes			1,403,529	100

Treasurer

2022 Cook County Treasurer election

November 8, 2022

Candidate Maria Pappas Peter Kopsaftis Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,063,160 314,013 Percentage 75.41% 22.27%

Treasurer before election Maria Pappas Democratic Elected Treasurer Maria Pappas Democratic

Incumbent treasurer Maria Pappas, a Democrat, was reelected to a seventh term.

Democratic primary

Pappas ran unchallenged in the Democratic primary.

2022 Cook County Treasurer Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maria Pappas (incumbent)	468,247	100
Total votes			468,247	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the Republican primary.^[2] The Republican Party later nominated Peter Kopsaftis.^[12]

Libertarian primary

Michael Murphy ran unchallenged in the Libertarian primary.

2022 Cook County Treasurer Libertarian primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Michael Murphy	1,968	100
Total votes			1,968	100

General election

2022 Cook County Treasurer election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maria Pappas (incumbent)	1,063,160	75.41
	Republican	Peter Kopsaftis	314,013	22.27
	Libertarian	Michael Murphy	32,577	2.31
Total votes			1,409,750	100

President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners

2022 President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners election

November 8, 2022

Candidate Toni Preckwinkle Bob Fioretti Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 967,062 399,339 Percentage 68.54% 28.30%

President before election Toni Preckwinkle Democratic Elected President Toni Preckwinkle Democratic

Incumbent president Toni Preckwinkle, a Democrat, was elected to a fourth term.

Democratic primary

Community activist Zerlina Smith-Members and former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin challenged Preckwinkle in the Democratic primary.^[13] Only Boykins made the ballot.

2022 President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Toni Preckwinkle (incumbent)	374,699	75.76
	Democratic	Richard Boykin	119,915	24.24
Total votes			494,614	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the Republican primary.^[2] Subsequently, Bob Fioretti, who previously ran for the office in the Democratic primary in 2018, was nominated by the Republican Party.^[14]

Libertarian primary

Thea Tsatsos, a 2002 candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in District 1, ran unchallenged in the Libertarian primary.

Ruben Pantoja considered running, but did not file.^{[citation needed]}

2022 President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Libertarian primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Thea Tsatsos	1,992	100
Total votes			1,992	100

General election

2022 President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Toni Preckwinkle (incumbent)	967,062	68.54
	Republican	Bob Fioretti	399,339	28.30
	Libertarian	Thea Tsatsos	44,615	3.16
Total votes			1,441,016	100

Cook County Board of Commissioners

Main article: 2022 Cook County Board of Commissioners election

2022 Cook County Board of Commissioners election

November 8, 2022
All 17 seats on the Cook County Board of Commissioners 9 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 15 2 Seats won 16 1 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 1,013,467 299,095 Percentage 74.88% 22.10% Swing 6.91% 3.88%

The 2022 Cook County Board of Commissioners election saw all 17 seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners up for election to four-year terms.

As this was the first election held following the 2020 United States Census, the seats faced redistricting before this election.^[15] A new map was unanimously adopted by the Cook County Board of Commissioners in September 2021.^[16]

Democrats won 16 seats, while Republicans won only a single seat.^[1]

Cook County Board of Review

2022 Cook County Board of Review election

November 8, 2022
3 of 3 seats on the Cook County Board of Review 2 seats needed for a majority
First party   Party Democratic Seats before 3 Seats after 3 Seat change

In the 2022 Cook County Board of Review election, all three seats, all of which were Democratic-held, were up for reelection.

The Cook County Board of Review has its three seats rotate the length of terms. In a staggered fashion (in which no two seats have coinciding two-year terms), the seats rotate between two consecutive four-year terms and a two-year term.^[17] This was the first year since 2012 that all three seats were coincidingly up for election.

The seats faced redistricting before this election.^[17]

1st district

See also: Cook County Board of Review 1st district

Democratic nominee George Cardenas, a Chicago alderman, won the general election without an opponent. First-term Commissioner Tammy Wendt, a Democrat first elected in 2020, had been defeated for renomination by Cardenas. This election was for a four-year term.^[17]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• George Cardenas Chicago Alderman, 12th ward, 2003–present^[18]
• Tammy Wendt, incumbent commissioner of the Board of Review

Results

2022 Cook County Board of Review 1st district Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George A. Cardenas	61,278	57.24
	Democratic	Tammy Wendt (incumbent)	45,781	42.76
Total votes			107,059	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the Republican primary.^[2]

General election

2022 Cook County Board of Review 1st district election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George A. Cardenas	289,067	100
Total votes			289,067	100

2nd district

See also: Cook County Board of Review 2nd district

Democratic nominee Samantha Steele won election to the 2nd district seat. Incumbent second-term Commissioner Michael Cabonargi, a Democrat, was defeated for renomination by Steele in the Democratic primary. This election was for a four-year term.^[17]

Democratic primary

2022 Cook County Board of Review 2nd district Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Samantha Steele	90,293	52.42
	Democratic	Michael Cabonargi (incumbent)	81,970	47.58
Total votes			172,263	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the Republican primary.^[2]

General election

2022 Cook County Board of Review 2nd district election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Samantha Steele	413,835	100
Total votes			413,835	100

3rd district

See also: Cook County Board of Review 3rd district

Incumbent commissioner Larry Rogers, Jr., a Democrat, was reelected to a sixth term. He was unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election. This election was for a two-year term.^[17]

Democratic primary

2022 Cook County Board of Review 3rd district Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Larry Rogers, Jr. (incumbent)	160,923	100
Total votes			160,923	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the Republican primary.^[2]

General election

2022 Cook County Board of Review 3rd district election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Larry Rogers Jr. (incumbent)	375,518	100
Total votes			375,518	100

Water Reclamation District Board

2022 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago election

November 8, 2022
4 of 9 seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago 5 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Democratic Republican Green Seats before 9 0 0 Seats after 9 0 0 Seat change Seats up 3 0 0 Races won 4 0 0

In the 2022 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago election, three six-year term seats were up for a regularly-scheduled election and an additional seat was upon for election to a partial term in a special election.

Regular election

Three seats with six-year terms were up for election in the regular election, with voters able to vote for up to three candidates.^[2] In both the primaries and general election, the top-three finishers were the winners.

Incumbent Democrat Mariyana Spyropoulos was reelected alongside New Democratic members Yumeka Brown and Patricia Theresa Flynn. Incumbent Democrats Josina Morita and Barbara McGowan did not seek reelection.^[2][1][19]

Democratic primary

Incumbent Mariyana Spyropoulos was renominated. Among the unsuccessful candidates was former commissioner Rick Avila.^[2][19]

2022 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago regular election Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mariyana T. Spyropoulos (incumbent)	257,580	22.24
	Democratic	Patricia Theresa Flynn	201,003	17.35
	Democratic	Yumeka Brown	185,222	15.99
	Democratic	Sharon Waller	149,165	12.88
	Democratic	Precious W. Brady-Davis	126,672	10.94
	Democratic	Frank Avila	99,815	8.62
	Democratic	Rick Garcia	76,019	6.56
	Democratic	Cristina P. Nonato	62,738	5.42
Total votes			1,158,214	100

Republican primary

Only one candidate, R. Cary Capparelli, ran in the Republican primary.

2022 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago regular election Republican primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	R. Cary Capparelli	100,427	100
Total votes			100,427	100

Green nomination

The Green Party nominated only one candidate, Mark E. Buettner.^[1]

General election

2022 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago regular election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mariyana T. Spyropoulos (incumbent)	865,103	29.56
	Democratic	Patricia Theresa Flynn	766,291	26.18
	Democratic	Yumeka Brown	710,037	24.26
	Republican	R. Cary Capparelli	365,671	12.49
	Green	Mark E. Buettner	219,771	7.51
Total votes			2,926,813	100

Special election

A seat with a partial unexpired term was up for election. Incumbent Perry D. Chakena, who had been appointed to fill the vacancy, unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination to finish the partial term that she had been appointed to.^[2][19]

Democratic primary

2022 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago special election Democratic primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel "Pogo" Pogorelski	156,746	35.99
	Democratic	Elizabeth Joyce	154,754	35.54
	Democratic	Chakena D. Perry (incumbent)	123,993	28.47
Total votes			435,493	100

Republican nomination

No candidate ran in the Republican primary

Green nomination

The Green Party nominated Toneal M. Jackson.

2022 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago special election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel "Pogo" Pogorelski	974,338	78.96
	Green	Toneal M. Jackson	259,623	21.04
Total votes			1,223,961	100

Circuit Court of Cook County

Judicial elections to the Circuit Court of Cook County were also held. All 61 justices up for retention elections were retained.^[1][20] There were 29 partisan elections to fill judicial vacancies. Democratic nominees won all of these, with only one judicial race having a competitive general election (featuring a Republican Party opponent).^[1]

Other elections

Coinciding with the primaries, elections were held to elect both the Democratic and Republican committeepeople for the suburban townships.^[2]

See also

• 2022 Illinois elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Source incorrectly says Calumet City.

References

1. "Tabulated Statement of the Returns and Proclamation of the Results of the Canvass of the Election Returns for the November 8, 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Held in Each of the Precincts in Cook County, Illinois Including the City of Chicago" (PDF). www.cookcountyclerkil.gov. Cook County Clerk. 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
2. "Cook County & City of Chicago Primary Election June 28, 2022 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. 2022.
3. "Tabulated Statement of the Returns and Proclamation of the Results of the Canvass of the Election Returns for the June 28, 2022 General Primary Election Held in Each of the Precincts in all of the Wards in the City of Chicago" (PDF). 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
4. "Cook County Clerk's Office - Election Results". results622.cookcountyclerkil.gov. Cook County Clerk. November 18, 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
5. Hinton, Rachel. "Water treatment board president Kari Steele to challenge Assessor Fritz Kaegi Archived 2021-10-02 at the Wayback Machine", Chicago Sun-Times. September 20, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
6. Kapos, Shia (29 April 2022). "Illinois Playbook - POLITICO". www.politico.com. Politico. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
7. "Endorsed Candidates << Equality Illinois". www.equalityillinois.us. Equality Illinois. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
8. Samara, Mohammad (2 November 2022). "Democrat Yarbrough and Republican Peraica look to history in clerk's race — and rehash a little along the way". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
9. Terry, Jermont (June 14, 2022). "Longtime deputy Carmen Navarro Gercone loses bid to stay in race for Cook County Sheriff". CBS News. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
10. Yin, Alice (May 4, 2022). "Top rival to Sheriff Tom Dart vows appeal after being tossed from ballot over controversial provision in new law". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
11. "Illinois 2022 live election results: Cook County sheriff". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
12. "Illinois 2022 live election results: Cook County treasurer". Chicago Tribune. November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
13. Esposito, Stefano (December 13, 2021). "West Side community activist takes out second mortgage on home to help fund her campaign for Cook County board president". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
14. "The GOP has put up its largest slate in years to run in Cook County. Some candidates, like ex-alderman Bob Fioretti, are former Democrats". Chicago Tribune. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
15. Kapos, Shia (23 April 2021). "POLICE CHIEF EMERGES — COOK COUNTY's REMAP — PROBING DEADLY FIRES — A NOD TO TERM LIMITS". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
16. Quig, A.D. (23 September 2021). "Here's the new Cook County Board map". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
17. "35 ILCS 200/5-5". ilga.gov. Government of Illinois. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
18. Quig, A.D. (July 6, 2021). "Longtime alderman to run for property tax appeals panel". Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
19. "COMPLETE LIST OF BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FROM DATE OF ORGANIZATION" (PDF). mwrd.org/. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
20. Dukmasova, Maya (30 November 2022). "Election results: All Cook County judges won retention in 2022 election". Injustice Watch. Retrieved 6 December 2022.