List of presidents of the Cook County Board of Commissioners

President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
Incumbent Toni Preckwinkle since December 6, 2010
Term length	4 years

The President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners is the chief executive of county government in Cook County, Illinois. ^[1] They are the head of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The president is chosen in a county-wide general election for a 4-year term, without term limits, at the same time that the county elects single-district board members.

Office description

Duties of the President include presenting a balanced budget to the Board for approval, as well as overseeing County Board meetings and the Bureaus of Offices Under the President. This grants them the ability to veto or approve ordinances and resolutions, as well as the ability to appoint certain employees to the Cook County administration, though they may need the consent of the Board to do so.

Additionally, the President must present an annual report to the Board on county affairs and its finances, which would require reports and an examination of Cook County administrative units, as well as their properties. The President is also able to enter into intergovernmental agreements as well as agreements with the private sector with the consent and advice of the Board. ^[1]

While the 1970 state constitution of Illinois permits all counties to directly-elect their chief executive, Cook County is the only county in Illinois that does so. ^[2] Under the constitution, any county that directly elects its chief executive is a home rule county. Because Cook County already elected its county president, when the constitution went into effect it was the only county that automatically became a home rule county (by virtue of having a directly-elected chief executive. ^[3]

Officeholders

President [4] [5] [note 1]		Term start	Term end	Terms	Years		Party
	Julius White [6]	1871	1872
	Henry B. Miller [5]	1872	1873		2
	S. Ashton [5]	1873	1874		1
	William R. Burdick [5]	1874	1875		1
	A. B. Johnson [5]	1875	1876		1
	Charles C. P. Holden [5]	1876	1877		1		Republican [7]
	Henry Senne [5]	December 1877	December 1879		2
	John Wesley Stewart [5]	December 1879	December 1880		1		Republican
	D. B. Purington [5]	1880	1881		1
	D. W. Clark [5]	1881	1882		1
	Adam Ochs [5]	1882	1883				Democratic
	Joseph Donnersberger	1883	1884		1		Democratic
	Henry Senne	1884	1885		1
	George C. Klehm	1885	1887		2		Republican
	J. Frank Aldrich	1887	1887				Republican
	Henry C. Senne	1887	1889				Republican [8]
	George Edmanson	1889	1890		1
	Robert J. Smith	1890	1891		1
	John M. Green	1891	1892		1
	George Edmanson	1892	1893		1
	George Struckman	1893	1894		1
	Daniel D. Healy	1894	1898		4
	James C. Irwin	1898	1900		2
	John J. Hanberg	1900	1902		2
	Henry G. Foreman	1902	1904		2		Republican [9]
	Edward J. Brundage	1904	1907		3		Republican [10]
	William Busse	1907	1910		3		Republican [11]
	Peter Bartzen	1910	1912		2		Democratic [12]
	Alexander A. McCormick	1912	1914		2		Progressive [13]
	Peter Reinberg	1914	1921		7		Democratic [13]
	Daniel Ryan Sr.	1921	1922		1		Democratic
	Anton Cermak	1922	1931		8¼		Democratic
	Emmett Whealan	1931	1934		3		Democratic [14]
	Clayton F. Smith	1934	1946		12		Democratic [15]
	William N. Erickson	1946	1954				Republican [16]
	Dan Ryan Jr.	1954	1961		7¼		Democratic
	John J. Duffy	1961	1962		¾		Democratic [17]
	Seymour Simon	1962	1966	1	4		Democratic [18]
	Richard B. Ogilvie	1966	January 1969	¾	3		Republican
	George Dunne	January 1969	December 1990	5¼	21		Democratic
	Richard Phelan	December 1990	December 1994	1	4		Democratic
	John Stroger	December 5, 1994	August 1, 2006	2+7⁄8	11+1⁄2		Democratic
	Bobbie L. Steele	August 1, 2006	December 4, 2006	1⁄8	1⁄2		Democratic
	Todd Stroger	December 4, 2006	December 6, 2010	1	4		Democratic
	Toni Preckwinkle	December 6, 2010		4*	13*		Democratic

Recent election results

President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners general elections
Year	Winning candidate	Party	Vote (pct)	Opponent	Party	Vote (pct)	Opponent	Party	Vote (pct)	Opponent	Party	Vote (pct)
1986 [19]	George Dunne	Democratic	808,126 (60.61%)	Joseph D. Matthewson	Republican	525,288 (39.39%)
1990 [20]	Richard J. Phelan	Democratic	714,638 (55.65%)	Aldo DeAngelis	Republican	405,771 (31.60%)	Barbara J. Norman	Harold Washington Party	163,817 (12.76%)
1994	John H. Stroger, Jr.	Democratic		Joe Morris	Republican		Aloysius Majerczyk	Harold Washington Party		Jerome Carter	Populist
1998 [21]	John H. Stroger, Jr.	Democratic	834,972 (63.49%)	Aurelia Marie Pucinski	Republican	480,191 (36.61%)
2002 [22] [23]	John H. Stroger, Jr.	Democratic	901,679 (68.73%)	Christopher A. Bullock	Republican	410,155 (31.27%)
2006 [24]	Todd H. Stroger	Democratic	690,945 (53.68%)	Tony Peraica	Republican	596,212 (46.32%)
2010 [25]	Toni Preckwinkle	Democratic	939,056 (69.54%)	Roger A. Keats	Republican	357,070 (26.44%)	Thomas Tresser	Green	54,273 (4.02%)
2014 [26]	Toni Preckwinkle	Democratic	1,072,886 (100%)
2018 [27]	Toni Preckwinkle	Democratic	1,355,407 (96.11%)	Others	Write-ins	54,917 (3.89%)
2022 [28]	Toni Preckwinkle	Democratic	967,062 (68.54%)	Bob Fioretti	Republican	399,339 (28.30%)	Thea Tsatsos	Libertarian	44,615 (3.16%)

Notes

1. The History of Cook County (1884) and contemporaneous newspapers describe the position as "chairman" in the 1870s, and it was elected by the members of the county board (rather than by the voters of the county) until at least 1880. Around 1881, descriptions of the office as "president" began to be published. By (at latest) the county's November 1887 election, it became a county-wide popularly-elected office.

References

1. "Office of the President | CookCountyIL.gov". www.cookcountyil.gov. Government of Cook County. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
2. "Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) System Illinois State Archives". Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
3. Kopecky, Frank; Harris, Mary Sherman (2001). "Understanding the Illinois Constitution 2001 Edition" (PDF). Illinois Bar Association. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
4. "Cook County, Illinois - Secretary of the Board". legacy.cookcountyil.gov. Office of the Secretary to the Board of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
5. Andreas, A. T., ed. (1884). History of Cook County, Illinois. A. T. Andreas. p.  352 . Retrieved May 21, 2023.
6. Johnson, Charles B. Growth of Cook County Vol. 1: A History of the Large Lake-Shore County That Includes Chicago Chicago: Board of Commissioners of Cook County, Ill., 1960; pp. 100-101
7. "Holden Lionized". Chicago Tribune. November 26, 1876. p. 1. Retrieved November 12, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
8. "The Republican County Ticket". Chicago Tribune . November 6, 1887. p. 4. Retrieved May 21, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
9. "DRIVERS GO INTO POLITICS" . Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 3, 1902. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
10. "EDWARD J. BRUNDAGE Republican Candidate for President of County Board" . Newspapers.com. Chicago Eagle. October 29, 1904. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
11. Chicago Daily News National Almanac for 1910. Chicago Daily News. p. 459. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
12. "MANN'S FOE CITES 'HIGH PRICE' FIGUREs IN CONGRESS FIGHT" . Newspapers.com. October 29, 1910. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
13. "Worthy County Candidates Get "Tribune's" O.K." . Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 1, 1914. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
14. "CERMAK SELECTS OFFICIAL FAMILY" . Newspapers.com. The Indianapolis Star. April 10, 1931. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
15. "CLAYTON F. SMITH" . Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. January 1, 1946. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
16. "List of County Board Candidates" . Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. October 26, 1954. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
17. "Study of Family Court Offered by County Board" . Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 8, 1961. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
18. "Simon Raps Charges From GOP on 'Waste" . Newspapers.com. Arlington Heights Herald. October 4, 1962. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
19. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). voterinfo.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008.
20. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1990" (PDF). voterinfo.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2008.
21. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1998" (PDF). results.cookcountyclerkil.gov.
22. "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.
23. "SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY RESULTS". voterinfonet.com. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
24. "Cook County and the City of Chicago Combined Summary Report November 2006 General Election Tuesday, November 7th, 2006" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
25. "Cook County General Election November 2, 2010 Combined Summary Report" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
26. "General Election Cook County and The City of Chicago Tuesday, November 4, 2014 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
27. "Cook County and The City of Chicago General Election November 6, 2018 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
28. "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.