Richard R. Boykin is a former member of the

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, Illinois, Cook County, which includes the City ...

who represented the 1st district from December 2014 until December 2018.

Political career

Boykin was elected in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

to represent the 1st district on the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The 1st district covers both Chicago and its suburbs. It includes the Chicago neighborhoods of Garfield Park, and Humboldt Park, and the suburbs of Broadview, Maywood, Bellwood, Forest Park, Oak Park, and Elmwood Park. On the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Boykin opposed the controversial "soda tax". Boykin came into conflict with the County Board President

Toni Preckwinkle Toni Lynn Preckwinkle (née Reed; born March 17, 1947) is an American politician and the incumbent County Board president in Cook County, Illinois, United States. She was elected to her first term as president of the Cook County Board of Commis ...

on this matter. Boykin took the lead against the tax, and succeeded in getting the Board to repeal it in 2017. On the infrequent votes by the Board that saw division by its members, Boykin was among the Board members who most regularly voted against the positions of County Board President Preckwinkle and her

floor leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are thei ...

Chuy García Jesús G. "Chuy" García ( ; born April 12, 1956) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Illinois's Illinois's 4th congressional district, 4th district since 2019. A member of the ...

. Per a 2018 analysis by the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'', Boykin had a high rate of attendance at board meetings, with the analysis finding him to have only missed 2% of meetings during a period from 2014 through 2017. The study found only John P. Daley to have a greater rate of attendance. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Boykin narrowly lost reelection in the Democratic primary to

Brandon Johnson Brandon Johnson (born March 27, 1976) is an American politician and educator who is currently serving as the 57th mayor of Chicago since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Johnson previously served on the C ...

, who had been endorsed against Boykin by Toni Preckwinkle. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, Boykin unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Clerk of the

Circuit Court of Cook County The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 25 Illinois circuit courts, circuit courts (trial courts of original jurisdiction, original and general jurisdiction) in the judiciary of Illinois as well as one of the largest unified cour ...

. Boykin unsuccessfully challenged President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Toni Preckwinkle in that office's

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Democratic Party primary.

Electoral history

References

External links

Official Richard R. Boykin website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boykin, Richard Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American people in Illinois politics Politicians from Chicago University of Dayton alumni Illinois Democrats Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners 21st-century African-American politicians