The
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...
, general election was held on November 6, 2012.
Primaries were held March 20, 2012.
Elections were held for
Clerk of the Circuit Court,
Recorder of Deeds
Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...
,
State's Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
, all three seats on the
Board of Review, three seats on the
Water Reclamation District Board, and judgeships on the
Circuit Court of Cook County
The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the United States — second only in size to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County since that court ...
.
Election information
2012 was a
presidential election year in the United States. The primaries and general elections for Cook County races coincided with those for federal races (
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
) and those for
state elections.
Voter turnout
Voter turnout in Cook County during the primaries was 24.03%, with 644,701 ballots cast. Among these, 440,873
Democratic, 200,750
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, 112
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
, and 2,966 nonpartisan primary ballots were cast.
[ The city of ]Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
saw 24.46% turnout, its lowest turnout for a presidential primary
The presidential primary elections and caucuses held in the various U.S. state, states, the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, and territories of the United States form part of the nominating process of candidates for United States preside ...
on record (with the records dating back to 1942).[ Suburban Cook County saw 23.63% turnout.]
Clerk of the Circuit Court
In the 2012 Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County
The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County is the clerk of Circuit Court of Cook County, located in Cook County, Illinois.
Office description
On January 1, 1964, the circuit courts of Cook County were unified. Before this, there were more t ...
election, incumbent third-term Clerk Dorothy A. Brown, a Democrat, was reelected.
Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.
General election
Recorder of Deeds
In the 2012 Cook County Recorder of Deeds
The Cook County Recorder of Deeds was the recorder of deeds of county government in Cook County, Illinois until the position's abolishment in 2020.
History of office
The office was established in December 1872. Before this, the Clerk of the Cir ...
election, incumbent Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore, a Democrat, did not seek reelection. Moore had served as Recorder of Deeds since 1999. Karen Yarbrough
Karen Yarbrough is an American politician currently serving as Cook County Clerk. Elected on November 6, 2018, she is the first female and African American to hold the position. Yarbrough previously served as Cook County Recorder of Deeds from 2 ...
was elected to succeed him.
Primaries
Democratic
=Republican
=
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.
General election
State's Attorney
In the 2012 Cook County State's Attorney
The Cook County State's Attorney functions as the state of Illinois's district attorney for Cook County, Illinois, and heads the second-largest prosecutor's office in the United States. The office has over 700 attorneys and 1,100 employees. In ad ...
election, incumbent first-term State's Attorney Anita Alvarez
Anita M. Alvarez (born January 16, 1960) is the former State's Attorney for Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alvarez was the first Hispanic woman elected to this position, after being the first Latina to win the Democratic nomination for ...
, a Democrat, was reelected.
Only Democrats had held this office ever since Richard A. Devine
Richard A. Devine (born July 5, 1943) is an American attorney who served as the Cook County State's Attorney from 1996 to 2008.
Early life and education
The second of five children, he was the son of a Chicago Water Department employee. Devine g ...
unseated Republican Jack O'Malley in 1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
.
Primaries
Democratic
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.
General election
Cook County Board of Review
In the 2012 Cook County Board of Review The Cook County Board of Review is an independent office created by statute by the Illinois General Assembly and is governed by three commissioners who are elected by district for two- or four-year terms. Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, which in ...
election, all three seats, two Democratic-held and one Republican-held, were up for election. All incumbents won 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.2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, the seats faced redistricting
Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...
before this election.
1st district
Incumbent first-term member Dan Patlak, a Republican first elected in 2010, was reelected. This election was to a four-year term.
Primaries
=Democratic
=
=Republican
=
General election
2nd district
Incumbent member Michael Cabonargi
Michael M. Cabonargi (born January 29, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer who formerly served as a commissioner of the Cook County Board of Review from the Cook County Board of Review 2nd district, 2nd district from 2011 until 2022. Since ...
, a Democrat appointed in 2011 after Joseph Berrios
Joseph "Joe" Berrios (born February 14, 1952) is a Democratic politician who was the Assessor and Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party of Cook County, Illinois, as well as a registered Illinois state government lobbyist. He was the fir ...
resigned to assume office as Cook County Assessor, was reelected to a full term, running unopposed in both the Democratic primary and general election. 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 second-term member Larry Rogers, Jr.
Larry R. Rogers Jr. (born 1967/1968) is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as commissioner of Cook County Board of Review from the 3rd district since 2004.
Early life and education
Rogers is the son of lawyer Larry R. Rogers ...
, a Democrat, was reelected, running unopposed in both the Democratic primary and general election. Rogers had last been reelected in 2008. 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 2012 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), originally known as the Sanitary District of Chicago, is a special-purpose district chartered to operate in Cook County, Illinois since 1889. Although its name may imply other ...
election, three of the nine seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board were up for election in an at-large
At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
election.
Incumbent Democrats Debra Shore and Patricia Horton sought reelection. Horton failed to garner renomination, thus losing reelection.
Shore won reelection. Joining Shore in winning the general election were Democrats Kari K. Steele and Patrick Daley Thompson
Patrick Daley Thompson (born July 8, 1969) is an American politician who most recently served as an alderman from Chicago's 11th ward and was previously a commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. A member o ...
.
Primaries
Democratic
Republican
General election
Judicial elections
12 judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County
The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the United States — second only in size to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County since that court ...
were up for partisan elections due to vacancies.retention election
A judicial retention election (or retention referendum) is a periodic process in some jurisdictions whereby a judge is subject to a referendum held at the same time as a general election. The judge is removed from office if a majority of votes are ...
s.
23 subcircuit court judgeships were also up for partisan elections due to vacancies.
Other elections
Coinciding with the primaries, elections were held to elect both the Democratic and Republican committeemen
In the United States, a political party committee is an organization, officially affiliated with a political party and registered with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), which raises and spends money for political campaigning. Political party ...
for the wards of Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
.
See also
* 2012 Illinois elections
Elections were held in Illinois on November 6, 2012.
Primaries were held March 20.
Election information Turnout
Primary election
For the primary election, turnout was 23.20%, with 1,694,317 votes cast.
;Turnout by county
General electi ...
References
{{2012 United States elections
Cook County
Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...
Cook County, Illinois elections
Cook County 2012