Cook County Clerk

Cook County Clerk
Cook County Clerk
	Incumbent; Monica Gordon; since December 2024
Term length	4 years
Formation	March 1831 (appointed position); August 1837 (elected position)

The Cook County Clerk is the 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, the clerk was appointed by the three-member Cook County Board of Commissioners. This was changed, and it became an elected office with a four-year term in 1837, with the first election being held in August of that year.^[1]^[2]

Officeholders

#		Term in office	Party	Notes	Cite
1st	William Lee	1831		Appointed in March 1831, resigned in December 1831	^[2]
2nd	Richard J. Hamilton	1831–1837	Democratic	Appointed to the office in December 1831	^[2]^[3]
3rd	George Davis	1837–1849		The first elected Cook County Clerk (first elected in August 1837)	^[1]^[2]
4th	Edmund S. Kimberly	1849–1853		Elected in August and November 1849	^[1]
5th	Charles B. Farwell	1853–1861			^[1]
6th	Laurin P. Hilliard	1861–1865			^[1]
7th	Edward S. Salomon	1865–November 1869	Republican		^[4]^[5]
8th	John G. Gindele	1869–January 1872		Died in office	^[1]
9th	George W. Wheeler	1873–December 1873			^[1]
10th	Hermann Lieb	1873–December 1877			^[1]
11th	Ernest F.C. Klokke	1877–December 1882		Term extended, by law, for one year	^[1]
12th	Michael W. Ryan	1882–December 1886			^[1]
13th	Henry Wulff	1886–1894	Republican
14th	Philip Knopf	1894–1902	Republican
15th	Peter B. Olsen	1902–1906	Republican
16th	Joseph F. Haas	1906–1910	Republican		^[6]
17th	Robert Sweitzer	December 1910–December 1934	Democratic	Elected in 1910, 1914, 1918, 1922, 1926, 1930, 1934; resigned to serve as Cook County Treasurer in December 1934
18th	Michael J. Flynn	1935–1950	Democratic	Appointed in 1935; elected in 1938, 1942, 1946	^[7]
19th	Richard J. Daley	December 1950 – 1955	Democratic	Elected in 1950 and 1954; resigned in 1955 to serve as mayor of Chicago
20th	Edward J. Barrett	1955–1973	Democratic	Appointed in 1955; elected in 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970; resigned in 1973
21st	Stanley Kusper	1973–December 1990	Democratic	Appointed in 1973, elected in 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986	^[8]
22nd	David Orr	December 1990–December 2018	Democratic	Elected in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
23rd	Karen Yarbrough	December 2018–April 2024	Democratic	Elected in 2018 and 2022; died in office in April 2024	^[9]
–	Cedric Giles (acting)	2024		Acting clerk
24th	Monica Gordon	December 2024–present	Democratic	Elected in 2024	^[10]

Recent election results

Year	Winning candidate	Party	Vote (pct)	Opponent	Party	Vote (pct)	Opponent	Party	Vote (pct)	Opponent	Party
Cook County Clerk general elections
1986^[11]	Stanley Kusper	Democratic	929,949 (68.35%)	Diana Nelson	Republican	430,568 (31.35%)
1990^[12]	David D. Orr	Democratic	799,884 (63.48%)	Sam Panayotovich	Republican	353,531 (28.06%)	Heldia R. Richardson	Harold Washington Party	106,588 (8.46%)
1994	David D. Orr	Democratic		Edward Howlett	Republican		Herman W. Baker, Jr.	Harold Washington Party		Curtis Jones	Populist
1998^[13]	David D. Orr	Democratic	988,136 (77.30%)	Judie A. Jones	Republican	290,256 (22.70%)
2002^[14]^[15]	David D. Orr	Democratic	992,441 (76.11%)	Kathleen A. Thomas	Republican	311,552 (23.89%)
2006^[16]	David D. Orr	Democratic	1,034,263 (80.78%)	Nancy Carlson	Republican	246,044 (19.22%)
2010^[17]	David D. Orr	Democratic	1,047,462 (77.77%)	Angel Garcia	Republican	299,449 (22.23%)
2014^[18]	David D. Orr	Democratic	1,061,515 (100%)
2018^[19]	Karen Yarbrough	Democratic	1,415,244 (99.07%)	Others	Write-ins	13,120 (0.93%)
2022^[20]	Karen Yarbrough	Democratic	1,003,854 (71.58%)	Tony Peraica	Republican	368,095 (26.26%)	Joseph Schreiner	Libertarian	30,514 (2.18%)
2024

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Chicago: A.T. Andreas. 1886.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Officers of Cook County The Names of Officer-Holders from the Beginning". Chicago Tribune. December 12, 1867. Retrieved February 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Papers Of Abraham Lincoln". Papers of Abraham Lincoln. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
^ Andreas, Alfred Theodore (1885). From 1857 until the fire of 1871. A. T. Andreas. p. 235. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
^ Benjaminson, Eric (2001). "A Regiment of Immigrants: The 82nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry and the Letters of Captain Rudolph Mueller". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 94 (2): 137–180. ISSN 1522-1067. JSTOR 40193360. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
^ Chicago Daily News National Almanac for 1910. Chicago Daily News. 1909. p. 459. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
^ "Illinois Blue Book, 1947-1948". www.idaillinois.org. 1947. p. 666. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
^ Hardy, Thomas (February 26, 1990). "STANLEY KUSPER HAS FEW REGRETS ABOUT PATH HIS CAREER HAS TAKEN". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
^ Lewis, Sean; Smith, Andrew (April 7, 2024). "Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough dies at 73". WGN 9. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
^ Nolan, Mike (January 11, 2025). "Harvey Park District Director Named to Replace Monica Gordon on Cook County Board". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
^ "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). voterinfo.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008.
^ "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1990" (PDF). voterinfo.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008.
^ "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1998" (PDF). results.cookcountyclerkil.gov.
^ "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.
^ "SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY RESULTS". voterinfonet.com. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
^ "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.
^ "Cook County General Election November 2, 2010 Combined Summary Report" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "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.

External links

Official website

[Andreas-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Chicago: A.T. Andreas. 1886.

[officersDec1867-2] "Officers of Cook County The Names of Officer-Holders from the Beginning". Chicago Tribune. December 12, 1867. Retrieved February 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Papers Of Abraham Lincoln". Papers of Abraham Lincoln. Retrieved February 5, 2025.

[4] Andreas, Alfred Theodore (1885). From 1857 until the fire of 1871. A. T. Andreas. p. 235. Retrieved December 26, 2020.

[5] Benjaminson, Eric (2001). "A Regiment of Immigrants: The 82nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry and the Letters of Captain Rudolph Mueller". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 94 (2): 137–180. ISSN 1522-1067. JSTOR 40193360. Retrieved December 26, 2020.

[6] Chicago Daily News National Almanac for 1910. Chicago Daily News. 1909. p. 459. Retrieved November 11, 2020.

[7] "Illinois Blue Book, 1947-1948". www.idaillinois.org. 1947. p. 666. Retrieved August 20, 2025.

[8] Hardy, Thomas (February 26, 1990). "STANLEY KUSPER HAS FEW REGRETS ABOUT PATH HIS CAREER HAS TAKEN". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2020.

[9] Lewis, Sean; Smith, Andrew (April 7, 2024). "Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough dies at 73". WGN 9. Retrieved April 7, 2024.

[namedtoreplace1-10] Nolan, Mike (January 11, 2025). "Harvey Park District Director Named to Replace Monica Gordon on Cook County Board". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2025.

[11] "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). voterinfo.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008.

[12] "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1990" (PDF). voterinfo.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008.

[13] "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1998" (PDF). results.cookcountyclerkil.gov.

[14] "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.

[15] "SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY RESULTS". voterinfonet.com. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.

[16] "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.

[17] "Cook County General Election November 2, 2010 Combined Summary Report" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 16, 2020.

[18] "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.

[19] "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.

[20] "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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v t e Government of Cook County, Illinois
Elected executive offices	President of Board of Commissioners Assessor Clerk Sheriff State's Attorney Treasurer Defunct offices Coroner Recorder of Deeds Superintendent of the Education Service Region
Board of Commissioners	1st district 2nd district 3rd district 4th district 5th district 6th district 7th district 8th district 9th district 10th district 11th district 12th district 13th district 14th district 15th district 16th district 17th district
Other	Board of Review Circuit Court (Clerk) Superior Court defunct Committeepeople Forest Preserves Public Defender Public Guardian Medical Examiner
Elections	1946 1980 (State's Attorney) 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 (State's Attorney) 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 (State's Attorney) 2022 2024
Buildings and facilities	Administration Building City Hall-County Building Richard J. Daley Center Jail Provident Hospital John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital

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Cook County Clerk
Incumbent Monica Gordon since December 2024
Term length	4 years
Formation	March 1831 (appointed position) August 1837 (elected position)