The Cook County Recorder of Deeds was the

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 ...

of county government in

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 state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

until the position's abolishment in 2020.

History of office

The office was established in December 1872. Before this, the

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 ...

served as the

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

for

. On November 8, 2016, Cook County voters approved a binding

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 ...

to eliminate the office, merging its functions into the purview of the

Cook County Clerk The Cook County Clerk is the 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 1837, the Clerk was ...

. The office formally ceased to exist on December 7, 2020.

Officeholders

Recent election results

, - , colspan=16 style="text-align:center;" , Cook County Recorder of Deeds general elections , - !Year !Winning candidate !Party !Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) , - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, , Harry "Bus" Yourell , , Democratic , , 1,232,485 (60.94%) , , Deborah L. Murphy , ,

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 ...

, , 789,906 (39.06%) , , , , , , , - ,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, ,

Carol Moseley Braun Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun, also sometimes Moseley-Braun (born August 16, 1947), is a former U.S. Senator, an American diplomat, politician, and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. Prior to her Senate ...

, , Democratic , , 1,020,805 (54.32%) , , Bernard L. Stone , , Republican , , 795,540 (42.33%) , Text style="background:#008000 , Edward M. Wojkowski , Text style="background:#008000 , Illinois Solidarity , Text style="background:#008000 , 62,968 (3.35%) , , , , - , 1992 , , Jesse White , , Democratic , , 1,121,865 (58.07%) , , Susan Catania , , Republican , , 809,963 (41.93%) , , , , , , , - , 1996 , , Jesse White , , Democratic , , 1,061,436 (65.33%) , , Patrick A. Dwyer , , Republican , , 499,551 (30.75%) , Text style="background:#D2B48C , Brenda Hernandez Frias , Text style="background:#D2B48C , Harold Washington Party , Text style="background:#D2B48C , 53,421 (3.29%) , Smith Wiiams , Justice Party , 10,251 (0.63%) , - ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, , Eugene "Gene" Moore , , Democratic , , 1,167,630 (73.01%) , , Arthur D. Sutton , , Republican , , 431,717 (26.99%) , , , , , , , - , 2004 , , Eugene "Gene" Moore , , Democratic , , 1,283,762 (70.74%) , , John H. Cox , , Republican , , 530,945 (29.26%) , , , , , , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , Eugene "Gene" Moore , , Democratic , , 1,324,426 (70.49%) , , Gregory Goldstein , , Republican , , 451,452 (24.03%) , , Terrence A. Gilhooly , ,

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 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

, , 102,968 (5.48%) , , , , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, ,

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 ...

, , Democratic , , 1,313,967 (73.82%) , , Sherri Griffith , , Republican , , 466,038 (26.18%) , , , , , , , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, , Karen Yarbrough , , Democratic , , 1,647,174 (98.58%) , ''Others'' ,

Write-ins A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be po ...

, 7,250 (0.81%) , , , , , ,

References

{{Cook County, Illinois government 1872 establishments in Illinois 2020 disestablishments in Illinois