Cook County Clerk
County clerk of Cook County, Illinois
Cook County Clerk Incumbent Vacant
since April 7, 2024
Term length 4 years Formation March 1831 (appointed position) August 1837 (elected position)
The Cook County Clerk is the clerk of county government in Cook County , Illinois .
History
The office of Cook County Clerk was established as an elected office with a four-year term in August 1837. Prior to this, from 1831 to 1837, the Clerk was appointed by the three Cook County Commissioners.[ 1]
Officeholders, 1837–present
#
Clerk
Term in office
Party
Notes
Cite
1st
George Davis
1837–1849
First elected Cook County Clerk
[ 1]
2nd
Edmund S. Kimberly
1849–1853
[ 1]
3rd
Charles B. Farwell
1853–1861
[ 1]
4th
Laurin P. Hilliard
1861–1865
[ 1]
5th
Edward S. Salomon
1865–November 1869
Republican
[ 2] [ 3]
6th
John G. Gindele
1869–January 1872
Died in office
[ 1]
7th
George W. Wheeler
1873–December 1873
[ 1]
8th
Hermann Lieb
1873–December 1877
[ 1]
9th
Ernest F.C. Klokke
1877–December 1882
Term extended, by law, for one year
[ 1]
10th
Michael W. Ryan
1882–December 1886
[ 1]
11th
Henry Wulff
1886–1894
Republican
12th
Philip Knopf
1894–1902
Republican
13th
Peter B. Olsen
1902–1906
Republican
14th
Joseph F. Haas
1906–1910
Republican
[ 4]
15th
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
16th
Michael J. Flynn
1935–1950
Democratic
Appointed in 1935; elected in 1938, 1942, 1946
17th
Richard J. Daley
December 1950 – 1955
Democratic
Elected in 1950 and 1954; resigned in 1955 to serve as mayor of Chicago
18th
Edward J. Barrett
1955–1973
Democratic
Appointed in 1955; elected in 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970; resigned in 1973
19th
Stanley Kusper
1973–December 1990
Democratic
Appointed in 1973, elected in 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986
[ 5]
20th
David Orr
December 1990–December 2018
Democratic
Elected in 1990 , 1994 , 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , 2010 , 2014
21st
Karen Yarbrough
December 2018–April 2024
Democratic
Elected in 2018 and 2022 ; died in office in April 2024
[ 6]
–
Cedric Giles (acting)
2024–present
Acting clerk
Recent election results
Cook County Clerk general elections
Year
Winning candidate
Party
Vote (pct)
Opponent
Party
Vote (pct)
Opponent
Party
Vote (pct)
Opponent
Party
Vote (pct)
1986 [ 7]
Stanley Kusper
Democratic
929,949 (68.35%)
Diana Nelson
Republican
430,568 (31.35%)
1990 [ 8]
David D. Orr
Democratic
799,884 (63.48%)
Sam Panayotovich
Republican
353,531 (28.06%)
Heldia R. Richardson
Harold Washington Party
106,588 (8.46%)
1994
David D. Orr
Democratic
Edward Howlett
Republican
Herman W. Baker, Jr.
Harold Washington Party
Curtis Jones
Populist
1998 [ 9]
David D. Orr
Democratic
988,136 (77.30%)
Judie A. Jones
Republican
290,256 (22.70%)
2002 [ 10] [ 11]
David D. Orr
Democratic
992,441 (76.11%)
Kathleen A. Thomas
Republican
311,552 (23.89%)
2006 [ 12]
David D. Orr
Democratic
1,034,263 (80.78%)
Nancy Carlson
Republican
246,044 (19.22%)
2010 [ 13]
David D. Orr
Democratic
1,047,462 (77.77%)
Angel Garcia
Republican
299,449 (22.23%)
2014 [ 14]
David D. Orr
Democratic
1,061,515 (100%)
2018 [ 15]
Karen Yarbrough
Democratic
1,415,244 (99.07%)
Others
Write-ins
13,120 (0.93%)
2022 [ 16]
Karen Yarbrough
Democratic
1,003,854 (71.58%)
Tony Peraica
Republican
368,095 (26.26%)
Joseph Schreiner
Libertarian
30,514 (2.18%)
References
^ a b c d e f g h i j History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time . Chicago: A.T. Andreas. 1886.
^ Andreas, Alfred Theodore (1885). From 1857 until the fire of 1871 . A. T. Andreas. p. 235. Retrieved December 26, 2020 .
^ Benjaminson, Eric (2001). "A Regiment of Immigrants: The 82nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry and the Letters of Captain Rudolph Mueller" . Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society . 94 (2): 137– 180. ISSN 1522-1067 . JSTOR 40193360 . Retrieved December 26, 2020 .
^ Chicago Daily News National Almanac for 1910 . Chicago Daily News. 1909. p. 459. Retrieved November 11, 2020 .
^ Hardy, Thomas (February 26, 1990). "STANLEY KUSPER HAS FEW REGRETS ABOUT PATH HIS CAREER HAS TAKEN" . chicagotribune.com . Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2020 .
^ Lewis, Sean; Smith, Andrew (April 7, 2024). "Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough dies at 73" . WGN 9. Retrieved April 7, 2024 .
^ "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF) . voterinfo.net . Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008.
^ "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1990" (PDF) . voterinfo.net . Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008.
^ "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1998" (PDF) . results.cookcountyclerkil.gov .
^ "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2002 A.D." (PDF) . Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Retrieved June 18, 2020 .
^ "SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY RESULTS" . voterinfonet.com . Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
^ "Cook County and the City of Chicago Combined Summary Report November 2006 General Election Tuesday, November 7th, 2006" (PDF) . Cook County Clerk's Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 22, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
^ "Cook County General Election November 2, 2010 Combined Summary Report" (PDF) . Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
^ "General Election Cook County and The City of Chicago Tuesday, November 4, 2014 Combined Summary" (PDF) . Cook County Clerk's Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 28, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
^ "Cook County and The City of Chicago General Election November 6, 2018 Combined Summary" (PDF) . Cook County Clerk's Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2020 .
^ "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 December 6, 2022 .
External links