Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district
District
District 17
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyCook
Townships and equivalent jurisdictions
list
Government
 • TypeDistrict
 • BodyCook County Board of Commissioners
 • CommissionerSean M. Morrison (R)

Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district is a single-member electoral district for the Cook County Board of Commissioners. It is currently represented by Sean M. Morrison, a Republican. It is the only seat on the Board of Commissioners that is currently represented by a Republican.

History

The district was established in 1994, when the board transitioned from holding elections in individual districts, as opposed to the previous practice of having two multi-member districts districts: one for ten members from the city of Chicago and another for seven members from suburban Cook County.[1]

Geography

1994 boundaries

In its initial 1994 iteration, the district encompassed parts of the northwest, west, and southwest suburbs of Cook County.[2]

2001 redistricting

New boundaries were adopted in August 2001, with redistricting taking place following the 2000 United States Census.[3]

In regards to townships and equivalent jurisdictions, the district's redistricted boundaries included portions of the city of Chicago, as well as portions of Bremen, Elk Grove, Lemont, Leyden, Lyons, Maine, Northfield, Orland, Palos, Proviso, Wheeling, and Worth townships.[4]

2012 redistricting

The district, as redistricted in 2012 following the 2010 United States Census, included parts of Bensenville, Berkeley, Burr Ridge, Brookfield, Chicago, Countryside, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Franklin Park, Hickory Hills, Hillsdale, Hillside, Hinsdale, Hodgkins, Homer Glen, Indian Head Park, Justice, La Grange, La Grange Park, Lemont, Northlake, Orland Park, Orland Hills, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Palos Park, Park Ridge, Riverside, Rosment, Schiller Park, Tinley, Western Springs, Westcherster, Worth, Willow Springs.[5][6][7]

In regards to townships and equivalent jurisdictions, it included portions of the city of Chicago, as well as portions of Bremen, Elk Grove, Lemont, Leyden, Lyons, Orland, Palos, Proviso, Maine, Riverside, and Worth townships.[8]

The district almost entirely lied in suburban Cook County, as the only part of Chicago in the district was O'Hare International Airport and its direct surroundings.[6][7]

The district was 144.60 square miles (92,544.64 acres).[9]

2022 redistricting

The district, as redistricted in 2022 following the 2020 United States Census is contained portions of the city of Chicago as well as portions of Elk Grove, Maine, Lemont, Leyden, Lyons, Orland, Palos, Proviso, and Worth townships.[10]

Politics

The district has only had Republican commissioners since its inception, the only district for which this is the case. The district has been considered solidly Republican.[11] Nevertheless, it saw a close result in its most recent election, which saw an unprecedentedly strong and well-funded effort by the Cook County Democratic Party to target the district.[12][13]

For decades after its inception, the district was considered to be a Republican stronghold.[12][14] However, in the 2016 United States presidential election, the Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine won a strong victory in the district over the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence.[14]

The district is currently the district represented by a Republican commissioner, and the only one to never have been represented by the Democratic commissioner.

List of commissioners representing the district

Commissioner Party Years Electoral history
Herb Schumann Republican December 1994–December 2002 Previously served two terms as commissioner from suburban Cook County at-large;[15] elected in 1994 and 1998; lost reelection in 2002

Elizabeth Ann Doody Gorman 		Republican December 2002–July 20, 2015 Elected in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014; resigned in July 2015[16]
Sean M. Morrison Republican July 2015–present Appointed in July 2015;[16] elected in 2018 and 2022

Election results

Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district general elections Year Winning candidate Party Vote (pct) Opponent Party Vote (pct) Opponent Party Vote (pct) 1994[17] Herbert T. Schumann, Jr. Republican 54,502 (65.85%) William Hurley Democratic 28,267 (34.15%) 1998[18] Herbert T. Schumann, Jr. Republican 50,720 (56.82%) John K. Murphy Democratic 38,545 (43.18%) 2002[19][20] Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman Republican 53,212 (100%) 2006[21] Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman Republican 49,425 (55.60%) Thomas "Tommy" Kraus Democratic 39,473 (44.40%) 2010[22] Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman Republican 56,423 (58.59%) Patrick Maher Democratic 34,686 (36.02%) Matthew J. Ogean Green 5,194 (5.39%) 2014[23] Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman Republican 56,926 (100%) 2018[24] Sean M. Morrison Republican 61,572 (50.57%) Abdelnasser Rashid Democratic 60,195 (49.43%) 2022[25] Sean M. Morrison Republican 55,426 (51.29%) Daniel T. Calandriello Democratic 52,638 (48.71%)

References

  1. ^ "Choices for Cook County Board". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. October 22, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "Endorsements for Cook County Board". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  3. ^ Becker, Robert (August 24, 2001). "County's proposed redistricting map has a familiar look". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune.
  4. ^ "Commissioner District 17" (PDF). cookcountyclerk.com. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 21, 2010.
  5. ^ Leonard, Valerie (May 11, 2012). "Redistricting of Cook County board to be determined in coming weeks". AustinTalks. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Cook County Commissioner District 17 Municipalities" (PDF). Office of the Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Cook County Commissioner District 17 Municipalities" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. August 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "Cook County Commissioner District 17.pdf" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  9. ^ "Chicago Cityscape - Map of building projects, properties, and businesses in District 17, Commissioner Sean M. Morrison (Cook County Commissioner District)". www.chicagocityscape.com. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  10. ^ "Election Viewer". maps.cookcountyil.gov. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  11. ^ "Palos GOP's Morrison elected and sworn in to succeed Orland's Gorman on Cook County Board". theregionalnews.com. The Regional News. July 23, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Donovan, Lisa; Pratt, Gregory (November 7, 2018). "In Cook County Board races, Republican strongholds lose grip to blue wave — and a lot of green". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  13. ^ Swanson, Lorraine (November 6, 2018). "Morrison Squeaks By Rashid In Cook County Board Nail Biter". Palos, IL Patch. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  14. ^ a b Pratt, Gregory (November 2, 2018). "Democrats focus on longtime GOP strongholds hoping to increase Cook County Board lead: 'The suburbs ... are not what they once were.'". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  15. ^ "HERBERT T. SCHUMANN SR". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. November 21, 1990. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  16. ^ a b Zumbach, Lauren (July 22, 2015). "Morrison appointed to replace Gorman as Cook County commissioner". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  17. ^ "Cook County offices". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 10, 1994. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  18. ^ "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1998" (PDF). results.cookcountyclerkil.gov.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY RESULTS". voterinfonet.com. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ "Cook County General Election November 2, 2010 Combined Summary Report" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  23. ^ "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.
  24. ^ "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.
  25. ^ "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.
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