The Cook County Recorder of Deeds was the

recorder of deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights ove ...

of county government in

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

, Illinois, prior to the position's abolishment in 2020.

History of office

An early incarnation of a dedicated county

was established with the creation of

in 1831. In 1848, it was eliminated, being merged into the position of

clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County is the Court clerk, clerk of Circuit Court of Cook County, located in Cook County, Illinois. Office description The office was first established in 1831, the year that Cook County was created. In 18 ...

(which was renamed "clerk and recorder"). For decades thereafter, the clerk of the Circuit Court served as the

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''List of Latin phrases (E)#ex officio, ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the off ...

county recorder of deeds. An independent position of Cook County recorder of deeds was re-created in December 1872. On November 8, 2016, Cook County voters approved a binding

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

to eliminate the office, merging its functions into the purview of the

Cook County Clerk The Cook County Clerk is the Municipal clerk, clerk of county government in Cook County, Illinois. History The office of Cook County Clerk was established in 1831, the year that Cook County, Illinois was created. For the first several years, th ...

. The office formally ceased to exist on December 7, 2020.

Officeholders

1831–1848

1872–2020

Recent election results

, - , colspan=16 style="text-align:center;" , Cook County Recorder of Deeds general elections , - !Year !Winning candidate !Party !Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) , - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, , Harry "Bus" Yourell , , Democratic , , 1,232,485 (60.94%) , , Deborah L. Murphy , , Republican , , 789,906 (39.06%) , , , , , , , - ,

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, ,

Carol Moseley Braun Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun, also sometimes Moseley-Braun (born August 16, 1947), is an American diplomat, politician, and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. Moseley Braun was the first African-Ameri ...

, , Democratic , , 1,020,805 (54.32%) , ,

Bernard L. Stone Bernard "Berny" L. Stone (November 24, 1927 – December 22, 2014) was alderman of the 50th Ward of the City of Chicago, Illinois from 1973 to 2011. The 50th Ward encompasses part of Chicago's far North Side and includes the West Ridge and Pete ...

, , Republican , , 795,540 (42.33%) , Text style="background:#008000 , Edward M. Wojkowski , Text style="background:#008000 , Illinois Solidarity , Text style="background:#008000 , 62,968 (3.35%) , , , , - ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, , Jesse White , , Democratic , , 1,121,865 (58.07%) , ,

Susan Catania Susan Catania (; December 10, 1941 – November 27, 2023) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 to 1983. She was involved in Women's rig ...

, , Republican , , 809,963 (41.93%) , , , , , , , - ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, , Jesse White , , Democratic , , 1,061,436 (65.33%) , , Patrick A. Dwyer , , Republican , , 499,551 (30.75%) , Text style="background:#D2B48C , Brenda Hernandez Frias , Text style="background:#D2B48C , Harold Washington Party , Text style="background:#D2B48C , 53,421 (3.29%) , Smith Wiiams , Justice Party , 10,251 (0.63%) , - ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, , Eugene "Gene" Moore , , Democratic , , 1,167,630 (73.01%) , , Arthur D. Sutton , , Republican , , 431,717 (26.99%) , , , , , , , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, , Eugene "Gene" Moore , , Democratic , , 1,283,762 (70.74%) , ,

John H. Cox John Herman Cox (né Kaplan; born July 15, 1955) is an American businessman, housing developer, political activist, and perennial candidate. A Republican, he was the party's nominee for Governor of California in 2018, as well as one of the part ...

, , Republican , , 530,945 (29.26%) , , , , , , , - ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, , Eugene "Gene" Moore , , Democratic , , 1,324,426 (70.49%) , , Gregory Goldstein , , Republican , , 451,452 (24.03%) , , Terrence A. Gilhooly , ,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

, , 102,968 (5.48%) , , , , - ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, ,

Karen Yarbrough Karen A. Yarbrough (August 22, 1950 – April 7, 2024) was an American politician who served as the Cook County Clerk from 2018 until her death in 2024. Yarbrough served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013, and ...

, , Democratic , , 1,313,967 (73.82%) , , Sherri Griffith , , Republican , , 466,038 (26.18%) , , , , , , , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, , Karen Yarbrough , , Democratic , , 1,647,174 (98.58%) , ''Others'' ,

Write-ins A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

, 7,250 (0.81%) , , , , , ,

References

{{Cook County, Illinois government 1872 establishments in Illinois 2020 disestablishments in Illinois 1831 establishments in Illinois 1848 disestablishments in Illinois