Edward M. Moody is an American politician who formerly served as

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 ...

. He was appointed in December 2018, and served until the office was abolished in December 2020. From October 2016 through December 2018, he served as

Cook County Commissioner 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 Un ...

from the 6th district. Before 2016, he served as a Worth Township highway commissioner.

Early life

Moody and twin brother Fred were born in either 1964 or 1965. When they were 14 years old, their mother died. Their father was an alcoholic.

Early political career

Moody and his twin brother Fred joined the 13th Ward Democrats, where they campaigned for

Michael Madigan Michael Joseph Madigan (born April 19, 1942) is an American politician who is the former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. He was the longest-serving leader of any state or federal legislative body in the history of the United Sta ...

and other candidates. Over the years, the Moody twins would come to be considered to be among Michael Madigan's most effective and loyal operatives. The twins said, in a 2016 interview, that they regarded Madigan as a father figure. Moody worked as a precinct captain under Worth Township committeeperson and

Illinois state representative The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 repr ...

Harry Yourell. Moody served as president of

Chicago Ridge Chicago Ridge is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 14,433. History Chicago Ridge takes its name from ridges left behind when trainloads of dirt were brought out by the Wabash Railroad d ...

School District 127.5, and president of the governing board for the Eisenhower Special Education Co-op. Moody served as a Worth Township highway commissioner. Moody served as the chairman of the Worth Township Fair Housing Committee. He also served as a court coordinator for the office of Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County

Timothy C. Evans Timothy C. Evans (born June 1, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, former alderman and the current Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court. Evans is noted as the first African-American Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court. A gra ...

Cook County Board of Commissioners

After the death in office of Joan Patricia Murphy, Moody was appointed in October 2016 to replace her by a vote of the democratic committee of the 6th district 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 ...

. He was unanimously chosen by the committee. He had been one of seven individuals that had put themselves forward as candidates to fill the vacancy. Moody did not seek election to a full term in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. Before he dropped-out, he had already seen challengers since announced by three individuals, largely due to his support of president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Toni Preckwinkle's controversial tax on sweetened beverages.

Cook County Recorder of Deeds

After Karen Yarbrough resigned December 3, 2018 as

in order to assume the office of Cook County clerk, Moody was appointed by the

on December 4, 2018 to replace her as Cook County recorder of deeds. His appointment had been backed by Michael Madigan. Moody served until December 7, 2020, when the office ceased to exist, having been formally merged with the office of Cook County clerk, as per a 2016 referendum.

ComEd scandal

In 2020, Moody's became one of a number of Michael Madigan allies that were implicated as beneficiaries of a

bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...

scheme involving Commonwealth Edison (ComEd). Internal emails released by ComEd on November 25, showed Moody to have had secret communications with the energy provider that were arranged by two lobbyists that had been incited.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moody, Edward Cook County Recorders of Deeds Illinois Democrats Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Year of birth missing (living people) Living people