Ward Committeepeople and Township Committeepeople are political party officials who serve many standard

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 ...

duties on behalf of their

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

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 2 ...

Structure and election

The city of Chicago, the largest municipality in Cook County, elects committeepeople (known as "committeemen" until 2018) from each of its 50 wards. Each of the 30 suburban

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England, New York, and Wisconsin to ref ...

s in Cook County also elect committeepeople from each township. Each party that participates (the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, the Republican Party, and possibly others) elects its own committeeperson. Elections for Chicago ward committeepeople coincide with the primaries for presidential candidates, while elections for township committepeople coincide with primaries for gubernatorial candidates.

Roles

The positions are unpaid, with responsibilities that include voter registration, community forums, election materials, and election operations. In Chicago, the committeepeople are responsible for producing smooth political processes during the elections in their wards, which includes attempting to produce high voter turnout. Committeepeople are voting members in the political organization of their party in the County. This role gives them authority on behalf of the party to select replacements for some vacated political posts such as

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and state legislators. Replacements for some other vacancies are selected through other processes: vacated

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

posts are appointed by the Illinois Governor and vacated

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...

posts are appointed by the

Mayor of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...

. Operationally in Chicago, the committeeperson plays an important role in ward politics. The post of

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

and committeeperson are often closely linked: sometimes the former controls the latter and sometimes the same person holds both posts. In many cases, the committeeman also has influence over the doling out of jobs, favors, and services around the ward. Sometimes a committeeperson accumulates sufficient influence to place their loyalists into political positions outside of the ward.

Incumbents

Cook County Democratic Party The Cook County Democratic Party is a political party which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. The organization has dominated Chicago politics (and consequently, Illinois politics) si ...
Committeepeople

As of June 2020:

Cook County Republican Party The Cook County Republican Party is a political party which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. Cook County is the second-most populous county in the United States. Organization and lead ...
Committeepeople

As of May 2021:

Notes

External links

Cook County Directory of Elected Officials

Green Party Ward and Precinct Committeepersons
{{Cook County, Illinois government Government of Cook County, Illinois