2002 Cook County, Illinois elections
The Cook County, Illinois general election was held on November 5, 2002.
Primaries were held March 19, 2002.
Elections were held for Cook County Assessor, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Sheriff, Cook County Treasurer, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, all 17 seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, all 3 seats of the Cook County Board of Review, three seats on the Water Reclamation District Board, and judgeships in the Circuit Court of Cook County and its subcircuits.
Election information
2002 was a midterm election year in the United States. The primaries and general elections for Cook County races coincided with those for federal and those for state elections.Voter turnout
Voter turnout in Cook County during the primaries was 36.69%, with 987,676 ballots cast. Among these, 713,040 Democratic, 189,244 Republican, 117 Libertarian, and 6,710 nonpartisan primary ballots were cast. The city of Chicago saw 39.83% turnout and suburban Cook County saw 33.40% turnout.The general election saw 52.12% turnout, with 1,423,403 ballots cast. Chicago saw 53.16% turnout and suburban Cook County saw 51.09% turnout.
Assessor
In the 2002 Cook County Assessor election, incumbent first-term Assessor James Houlihan, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
Clerk
In the 2002 Cook County Clerk election, incumbent third-term Clerk David Orr, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
Sheriff
In the 2002 Cook County Sheriff election, incumbent third-term Sheriff Michael F. Sheahan, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
Treasurer
In the 2002 Cook County Treasurer election, incumbent first-term Treasurer Maria Pappas, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
In the 2002 President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners election, incumbent third-term President John Stroger, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
Cook County Board of Commissioners
The 2002 Cook County Board of Commissioners election saw all seventeen seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners up for election to four-year terms.As these were the first elections held following the 2000 United States Census, the seats faced redistricting before this election.
1st district
Incumbent first-term Commissioner Earlean Collins, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary. The Republican Party ultimately nominated Robin Lee Meyer.General election
2nd district
Incumbent fourth-term Commissioner Bobbie L. Steele, a Democrat, was reelected, running unopposed in both the primary and general election.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.General election
3rd district
Incumbent Commissioner Jerry Butler, a Democrat who first assumed the office in 1985, was reelected, running unopposed in both the primary and general election.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.General election
4th district
Incumbent Commissioner John Stroger, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
5th district
Incumbent second-term Commissioner Deborah Sims, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
Republican primary winner Daniel "Dan" Wooten withdrew and was not replaced on the ballot.6th district
Incumbent first-term Commissioner William Moran, a Democrat, unsuccessfully sought reelection. Joan Patricia Murphy defeated him for the Democratic nomination, and won the general election unopposed.Incumbent Moran had been a perennial candidate who, in the 1998 general election, had won an upset victory over incumbent then-Republican Barclay "Bud" Fleming.
Barclay "Bud" Fleming, who had been ousted in 1998, also unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for this election.
Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.General election
7th district
Incumbent fourth-term Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary. The Republican Party ultimately nominated Juan Moreno.General election
8th district
Incumbent second-term Commissioner Roberto Maldonado, a Democrat, was reelected, running unopposed in both the primary and general election.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.General election
9th district
Incumbent second-term Commissioner Peter N. Silvestri, a Republican, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
10th district
Incumbent first-term Commissioner Mike Quigley, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.General election
11th district
Incumbent Commissioner John P. Daley, a Democrat in office since 1992, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
12th district
Incumbent fourth-term Commissioner Ted Lechowicz, a Democrat, sought reelection, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Forrest Claypool, who went on to win the general election.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.General election
13th district
Incumbent second-term Commissioner Calvin Sutker, a Democrat, sought reelection, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Larry Suffredin, who went on to win the general election.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary. The Republican Party ultimately nominated Robert D. Shearer, Jr.General election
14th district
Incumbent first-term Commissioner Gregg Goslin, a Republican, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
15th district
Incumbent seventh-term Commissioner Carl Hansen, a Republican, was reelected.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
16th district
Incumbent Commissioner Allan C. Carr, a Republican, sought reelection, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Tony Peraica, who went on to win the general election.Primaries
Democratic
Village President Ronald M. Serpico won the Democratic primary, defeating lawyer William Edward Gomolinski, Patrick "Chico" Hernandez and Stephen J. Mazur.Republican
General election
17th district
Incumbent fourth-term Commissioner Hubert T. Shumann, Jr., a Republican, sought reelection, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Elizabeth Ann Doody Gorman, who went on to win the general election.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
Democratic primary winner Candice Marie Morrison withdrew before the election.Cook County Board of Review
In the 2002 Cook County Board of Review election, all three seats, two Democratic-held and one Republican-held, were up for election.Beginning with the 2002 elections, the Cook County Board of Review has had its three seats rotate the length of terms. In a staggered fashion, the seats rotate between two consecutive four-year terms and a two-year term.
As this was the first elections held following the 2000 United States Census, the seats faced redistricting before this election.
1st district
Incumbent first-term member Maureen Murphy, a Republican, was reelected, being unopposed in both the Republican primary and general election. This election was to a four-year term.Primaries
Democratic
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Democratic primary. The Democratic Party ultimately nominated Brendan F. Houlihan.Republican
General election
2nd district
Incumbent first-term member Joseph Berrios, a Democrat, was reelected, running unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election. Berrios had not only served since the Board of Review was constituted in 1998, but had also served on its predecessor organization, the Cook County Board of Appeals, for ten years. This election was to a four-year term.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.General election
3rd district
Incumbent first-term member Robert Shaw, a Democrat, was reelected. This election was to a two-year term.Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.General election
Water Reclamation District Board
In the 2006 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago election, three of the nine seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board were up for election in an at-large race. Since three six-year seats were up for election, voters could vote for up to three candidates and the top-three finishers would win.Two Democratic incumbents Kathy Meany and Cynthia Santos, won reelection. They were joined in being elected by fellow Democrat Frank Avila. One Democratic incumbent, Martin Sandoval, had withdrawn ahead of the Democratic primary.
Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
Judicial elections
Partisan elections were held for judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County, due to vacancies. Other judgeships had retention elections.Partisan elections were also held for subcircuit courts judgeships due to vacancies. Other judgeships had retention elections.