The Cook County Medical Examiner is the

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Occupants are credential medical examiners, appointed by

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of the

Cook County Board of Commissioners The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the Uni ...

, subject to confirmation by the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The office was created in 1976, replacing the previous office of Cook County Coroner. The office of Cook County Coroner existed from 1831 to 1976, and from 1836 was an elected position. County voters, in 1972, elected to replace the office of coroner with the current office of medical examiner.

Former position of Cook County Coroner

The Cook County Coroner was the

until the position was abolished in 1976. The office of existed as an elected position from the early history of Cook County's government until its abolition in 1976. The first Coroner of Cook County was

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, who was appointed in April 1831. The first elected coroner, Orsemus Morrison, assumed office in 1836. From the inception, the coroner's office was a department riddled with

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

and corruption.

Ernst Schmidt Ernst Schmidt (12 October 1924 – 16 December 2009) was a German communist activist in West Germany during the Cold War. He was an active member of the Communist Party of Germany, which was banned as unconstitutional in 1956, and was senten ...

, elected in 1862, resigned due to protest of interference with his job in January 1864. In its later years, occupants of the office and their inquest jurors often acted a rubber-stamp to the findings of the police and prosecutors. In 1972, Cook County voters strongly voted by

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

in favor of eliminating the elected position of county coroner, replacing it with an appointed medical examiner. Several notable incidents which took place in the 1960s spurred this This was the last time that voters in Cook County would vote on whether to eliminate an office until

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, when they voted to eliminate the office of

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 ...

and merge its duties into the

Cook County Clerk The Cook County Clerk is the Municipal clerk, clerk of county government in Cook County, Illinois. History The office of Cook County Clerk was established as an elected office with a four-year term in August 1837. Prior to this, from 1831 to 18 ...

's office. The office was eliminated on December 6, 1976. It was replaced by the appointed position of Cook County Medical Examiner.

List of Cook County Coroners

Cook County Medical Examiner (since 1976)

The medical examiner and medical examiner's office took over the duties of the coroner and coroner's duty in 1976. The occupant of the office is a credentialed medical examiner. The office is appointed, rather than elected, with the

of the

nominating appointees, and the Cook County Board of Commissioners confirming them. By the turn of the 21st century, the medical examiner's office was tasked with investigating roughly 5,000 deaths annually. The medical examiner's office is located on the

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List of Cook County Medical Examiners

Reference

{{Cook County, Illinois government 1831 establishments in Illinois 1976 disestablishments in Illinois 1976 establishments in Illinois