The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the United States' second-largest county with a population of 5.2 million residents. The county board sets policy and laws for the county regarding property, public health services, public safety, and maintenance of county highways.[1] It is presided over by its president and the county's chief executive, currently Toni Preckwinkle.
The commissioners, president, and county clerk (who serves as clerk of the board), hold the same offices ex officio on the separate governmental taxing body, the Cook County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners.
History
October 8, 2013 meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
Until 1870, Cook County had been governed under the "township supervisor" system, under which each Chicago ward elected a supervisor, and each township elected one or more as well depending on population, creating a board of 50 members, less than half from Chicago. In the wake of a scandal involving then board chairman J. J. Kearney (who was eventually unseated and expelled from the board), the new commission was created pursuant to an amendment to the state constitution, initially with ten Chicago commissioners elected from groups of wards within the city, and five members elected from groups of townships outside the city, presided over by a chairman elected by the board from among their own number. The commissioners were elected for three-year terms, on a staggered basis. The first meeting of the new board took place December 4, 1871; they elected businessman and Civil War general Julius White of Evanston as their chairman.[2]
Elections
The board's seventeen commissioners are elected from individual constituencies for four year terms, with elections for all constituencies held during United States midterm elections.[3] Its president is elected at-large to a four-year term in elections held during United States midterm elections.
Up through 1990, commissioners were elected through two sets of elections, one held in Chicago to elect ten commissioners and another held in suburban Cook County to elect the remaining seven commissioners. In 1994, the board switched to having commissioners elected from individual constituencies.[4]
Commissioners
Graph of the progression of the partisan seat share won at each election since 1986
Current
This is a list of the Cook County Commissioners in order by district. This list is current as of December 2022.
^Johnson, Charles B. Growth of Cook County Vol. 1: A History of the Large Lake-Shore County That Includes Chicago Chicago: Board of Commissioners of Cook County, Ill., 1960; pp. 91-101
