The Cook County, Illinois, general elections were held on November 8, 2022.[1] Primaries were held on June 28, 2022.[2]
Elections were held for Assessor, Clerk, Sheriff, Treasurer, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, all 17 seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, all three seats of the Cook County Board of Review, three seats on the Water Reclamation District Board, and judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County.
The Republican Party saw its representation on the Cook County Board of Commissioners reduced from two seats to a single seat. Cook County Commissioner Sean M. Morrison's victory by a margin of 2.58% in his district marked the only victory in a partisan county race for a Republican nominee, with Democrats winning all other partisan elections.
2022 was a midterm election year in the United States. The primaries and general elections for Cook County races coincided with those for federal (House and Senate) and those for state elections.
In the primary, turnout among registered voters was 21.14%. Turnout among registered voters in suburban Cook County was 19.61%, with 319,825 ballots cast. Turnout among registered voters in the City of Chicago was 22.81%, with 341,901 ballots cast.[3][4]
First-term incumbent assessor Fritz Kaegi, a Democrat, was reelected to a second term.
In the Democratic primary, the incumbent Kaegi was challenged by Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Kari Steele.[5]
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.[2]
Nico Tsatsoulis ran uncontested in the Libertarian primary for assessor.
Incumbent clerk Karen Yarbrough, a Democrat, was reelected to a second term.
Yarbrough ran uncontested in the Democratic primary.
No candidate ran in the Republican primary.[2] The Republican Party ultimately nominated former Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica.[8]
Joseph Schreiner, an occasional candidate for office and 2020 Illinois House of Representatives Libertarian candidate in District 19,[citation needed] ran uncontested in the Libertarian primary.
Marco Gomez expressed interest, but did not run.[citation needed]
The incumbent sheriff Tom Dart, a Democrat, was reelected to a fifth term.
Only Democrats have held this office ever since Michael F. Sheahan unseated Republican James E. O'Grady in 1990.
Dart was challenged in the Democratic primary by Noland Rivera, Carmen Navarro Gercone, LaTonya Ruffin, and Kirk Ortiz. Only Rivera made the ballot.[9][10]
No candidates ran in the Republican Party primary.[2] The Republican Party later nominated Lupe Aguirre.[11]
Cook County Sheriff's Department Deputy Brad Sandefur ran uncontested in the Libertarian primary after perennial candidate Richard Mayers was disqualified and removed from the ballot. Jack Kozlowski had expressed interest, but did not run.[citation needed]
Incumbent treasurer Maria Pappas, a Democrat, was reelected to a seventh term.
Pappas ran unchallenged in the Democratic primary.
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.[2] The Republican Party later nominated Peter Kopsaftis.[12]
Michael Murphy ran unchallenged in the Libertarian primary.
Incumbent president Toni Preckwinkle, a Democrat, was elected to a fourth term.
Community activist Zerlina Smith-Members and former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin challenged Preckwinkle in the Democratic primary.[13] Only Boykins made the ballot.
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.[2] Subsequently, Bob Fioretti, who previously ran for the office in the Democratic primary in 2018, was nominated by the Republican Party.[14]
Thea Tsatsos, a 2002 candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in District 1, ran unchallenged in the Libertarian primary.
Ruben Pantoja considered running, but did not file.[citation needed]
The 2022 Cook County Board of Commissioners election saw all 17 seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners up for election to four-year terms.
As this was the first election held following the 2020 United States Census, the seats faced redistricting before this election.[15] A new map was unanimously adopted by the Cook County Board of Commissioners in September 2021.[16]
Democrats won 16 seats, while Republicans won only a single seat.[1]
In the 2022 Cook County Board of Review election, all three seats, all of which were Democratic-held, were up for reelection.
The Cook County Board of Review has its three seats rotate the length of terms. In a staggered fashion (in which no two seats have coinciding two-year terms), the seats rotate between two consecutive four-year terms and a two-year term.[17] This was the first year since 2012 that all three seats were coincidingly up for election.
The seats faced redistricting before this election.[17]
Democratic nominee George Cardenas, a Chicago alderman, won the general election without an opponent. First-term Commissioner Tammy Wendt, a Democrat first elected in 2020, had been defeated for renomination by Cardenas. This election was for a four-year term.[17]
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.[2]
Democratic nominee Samantha Steele won election to the 2nd district seat. Incumbent second-term Commissioner Michael Cabonargi, a Democrat, was defeated for renomination by Steele in the Democratic primary. This election was for a four-year term.[17]
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.[2]
Incumbent commissioner Larry Rogers, Jr., a Democrat, was reelected to a sixth term. He was unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election. This election was for a two-year term.[17]
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.[2]
In the 2022 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago election, three six-year term seats were up for a regularly-scheduled election and an additional seat was upon for election to a partial term in a special election.
Three seats with six-year terms were up for election in the regular election, with voters able to vote for up to three candidates.[2] In both the primaries and general election, the top-three finishers were the winners.
Incumbent Democrat Mariyana Spyropoulos was reelected alongside New Democratic members Yumeka Brown and Patricia Theresa Flynn. Incumbent Democrats Josina Morita and Barbara McGowan did not seek reelection.[2][1][19]
Incumbent Mariyana Spyropoulos was renominated. Among the unsuccessful candidates was former commissioner Rick Avila.[2][19]
Only one candidate, R. Cary Capparelli, ran in the Republican primary.
The Green Party nominated only one candidate, Mark E. Buettner.[1]
A seat with a partial unexpired term was up for election. Incumbent Perry D. Chakena, who had been appointed to fill the vacancy, unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination to finish the partial term that she had been appointed to.[2][19]
No candidate ran in the Republican primary
The Green Party nominated Toneal M. Jackson.
Judicial elections to the Circuit Court of Cook County were also held. All 61 justices up for retention elections were retained.[1][20] There were 29 partisan elections to fill judicial vacancies. Democratic nominees won all of these, with only one judicial race having a competitive general election (featuring a Republican Party opponent).[1]
Coinciding with the primaries, elections were held to elect both the Democratic and Republican committeepeople for the suburban townships.[2]