The 2018

Cook County Board of Commissioners 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 Uni ...

election was held on November 6, 2018, and was preceded by

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s held on March 20, 2018. It saw all seventeen seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners up for election to four-year terms and coincided with other 2018 Cook County, Illinois, elections (including

the election ''The Election'' () is a political drama series produced by Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV). With a budget of HK$15 million, filming started in July 2014 and wrapped up on 28 October 2014. Popularly voted to be the inaugural drama of ...

for

president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners The President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners is the chief executive of county government in Cook County, Illinois. They are the head of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Office description Officeholders Recent election res ...

). Anticipating a potential

wave election Wave elections in the United States are elections in which a political party makes major gains. Based on the " red states and blue states" color coding convention since 2000, wave elections have often been described as either a "blue wave" if the ...

year for Democrats, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and

Cook County Democratic Party The Cook County Democratic Party is a political party which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. The organization has dominated Chicago politics (and consequently, Illinois politics) si ...

Chairwoman

Toni Preckwinkle Toni Lynn Preckwinkle (née Reed; born March 17, 1947) is an American politician and the current County Board President in Cook County, Illinois, United States. She was first elected as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the e ...

made a focused effort to increase the Democrats' majority on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, focusing these efforts on three of the Board's four Republican-held seats. Preckwinkle-backed Democratic nominees ultimately succeeded in ousting Republican incumbents in the

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 and preceding 15. In relation to the word "four" ( 4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a stella octangula number. ...

and

15th 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicio ...

districts, but fell roughly a mere 2,000 votes shy of unseating the 17th district's Republican incumbent. Preckwinkle did not target the Republican-held 9th district seat, as the incumbent Republican,

Peter N. Silvestri Peter N. Silvestri (born January 12, 1957) is a Canadian-American attorney and politician serving as member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from the 9th district, which includes the Norwood Park and Dunning areas of the City of Chi ...

, was both popular and a political

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to th ...

and had a reputation for being a peacemaker on the Board at times when conflict arose between its members. Democrats ran candidates for all seventeen seats, compared to the fifteen seats that the party had contested in the preceding 2014 election. Meanwhile, Republicans ran candidates for eight seats, and increase from the five seats they had contested in the 2014 election. Seven new members were elected, and ten incumbents were reelected. Three incumbents did not seek reelection. Four incumbents lost reelection, with two being defeated in primaries and the other two losing their general elections. Two races saw seats change party, in both instances seeing an incumbent Republican losing to a Democratic challenger, creating a net gain of two seats for Democrats and a net loss of two seats for Republicans. Nine races saw a Democrat unchallenged in the general election.

1st district

Incumbent first-term Commissioner

Richard Boykin Richard R. Boykin is a former member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners who represented the 1st district from December 2014 until December 2018. Boykin was elected in 2014 to represent the 1st district on the Cook County Board of Commissi ...

, a Democrat, lost reelection, being unseated in the Democratic primary by

Brandon Johnson Brandon Johnson (born March 27, 1976) is an American educator and politician serving as the 57th mayor of Chicago. A member of the Democratic Party, Johnson was elected mayor in April 2023. He previously served on the Cook County Board of Commi ...

by a margin of 0.88%. Johnson went on to win the general election unopposed.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

Only write-in candidates ran in the Republican primary. No certified write-in received enough votes to win the nomination.

General election

2nd district

Incumbent Commissioner

Dennis Deer Dennis Deer (born August 7, 1972), is an American politician serving as the Cook County Commissioner for the 2nd district. The district contains many neighborhoods in Chicago, including portions of the Loop, Near West Side, Near South Side, No ...

, who was appointed in 2017 to fill the vacancy left by the

death in office A death in office is the death of a person who was incumbent of an office-position until the time of death. Such deaths have been usually due to natural causes, but they are also caused by accidents, suicides, disease and assassinations. The deat ...

of Robert Steele, won election to his first full term.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

3rd district

Incumbent Commissioner

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in ...

, a Democrat who first assumed the office in 1985, did not seek reelection. Democrat Bill Lowry was elected to succeed him.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary. Republicans ultimately nominated George Blakemore.

General election

4th district

Incumbent Commissioner Stanley Moore, a Democrat who was appointed to the office in 2013 and was elected outright to a full term in 2014, won reelection to a second full term.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

5th district

Incumbent sixth-term Commissioner Deborah Sims, a Democrat, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

6th district

Incumbent Commissioner

Edward Moody Edward M. Moody is an American politician who formerly served as Cook County recorder of deeds. He was appointed in December 2018, and served until the office was abolished in December 2020. From October 2016 through December 2018, he served as C ...

, a Democrat who was appointed to the seat in 2016 following the

of Joan Patricia Murphy, did not seek reelection. Democrat

Donna Miller Donnna Miller (''née'' Black; born September 7, 1965) is a politician currently serving as a Cook County commissioner, representing the board's 6th district. Early life and career Miller was born "Donna Lynne Black" on September 7, 1965. She s ...

was elected to succeed him.

Primaries

Democratic

Donna Miller defeated Patricia Joan Murphy, the daughter of deceased former 6th district commissioner Joan Patricia Murphy and Crestwood mayor Louis Presta.

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

7th district

Incumbent second-term Commissioner

Jesús "Chuy" García Jesus ( AD 30 or 33) was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who most Christians believe to be the incarnation of God and Muslims believe was a prophet. Jesus may also refer to: People Religious figures * Elymas Bar-Jesus, a Jew in the ''Ac ...

, a Democrat, did not seek reelection, instead opting to run for election to

Illinois's 4th congressional district The 4th congressional district of Illinois includes part of Cook County, and has been represented by Democrat Jesús "Chuy" García since January 2019. In November 2017, incumbent Luis Gutiérrez announced that he would retire from Congress at ...

. Democrat Alma Anaya was elected to succeed him.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

8th district

Incumbent first-term Commissioner

Luis Arroyo Jr. Luis Arroyo Jr. was a Democratic member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, representing the 8th district. In 2014 Arroyo defeated incumbent Edwin Reyes to become a Cook County commissioner. In 2015, Arroyo was a key vote to raise the ...

, a Democrat, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

9th district

Incumbent sixth-term Commissioner

, a Republican, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

10th district

Incumbent Commissioner

Bridget Gainer Bridget Gainer (born 1968/1969) is an American politician serving as a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from the 10th district. She was appointed to the position in 2009. Early life and education Gainer was born and raised in the ...

, a Democrat first appointed in 2009 and elected outright to two full-terms, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

11th district

Incumbent Commissioner

John P. Daley John P. Daley (born December 5, 1946) is the 11th Ward Democratic Committeeman in Chicago, Illinois, a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners ( 11th district), and the Chair of the Cook County Board Audit and Finance Committee. He has ...

, a Democrat in office since 1992, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

12th district

Incumbent second-term Commissioner

John Fritchey John Alden Fritchey IV (born March 2, 1964) is a former Democratic Cook County Commissioner of the Cook County Board of Commissioners who represented the 12th district in Chicago from 2010 until 2018 and was a Democratic State Representative in ...

, a Democrat, lost reelection, being unseated in the Democratic primary by Bridget Degnen, who went on to win the general election unopposed.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

13th district

Incumbent fourth-term Commissioner

Larry Suffredin Lawrence J. "Larry" Suffredin (born October 5, 1947) is an American politician who formerly served as a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners representing the 13th district. Early life and education Suffredin was born October 5, 1947 ...

, a Democrat, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

14th district

Incumbent fifth-term Commissioner

Gregg Goslin Gregg Goslin was a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners for the 14th district which includes parts of Barrington, Inverness, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Arlington Heights, Wheeling, Northbrook, Northfield and Glenview. Early ...

, a Republican, lost reelection to Democrat Scott R. Britton.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

15th district

Incumbent third-term Commissioner

Tim Schneider Timothy O. Schneider is the former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party and a former member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners representing the 15th district, which includes all or parts of Arlington Heights, Barrington, Barrington ...

, a Republican, lost reelection to Democrat Kevin B. Morrison.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

16th district

Incumbent second-term Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, a Democrat, was reelected, running unopposed in both the Democratic primary and general election.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

17th district

Incumbent Commissioner

Sean M. Morrison Sean M. Morrison is an American politician currently serving as Cook County commissioner from the 17th district and the chair of the Cook County Republican Party. Early life and education Morrison was born in 1967 or 1968. Morrison attended Mo ...

, a Republican appointed in 2015 following the resignation of

Elizabeth Ann Doody Gorman Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman (born February 19, 1968) is a Republican member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from 2002 until her resignation in 2015 to accept a job in the private sector. Gorman served as Chairman of the Cook County Re ...

, was reelected, defeating his Democratic opponent, Abdelnasser Rashid, by a narrow 1.14% margin in the general election.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

Summarizing statistics

References

{{2018 United States elections Cook County Board of Commissioners elections

Board of Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...