Karen Yarbrough is an American politician currently serving as

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 ...

. Elected on November 6, 2018, she is the first female and

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to hold the position. Yarbrough previously 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 Cir ...

from 2012 to 2018 and as a member of the

Illinois House of Representatives 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 re ...

from 2001 to 2013. She became the interim Chair of the

Democratic Party of Illinois The Democratic Party of Illinois is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the oldest extant state party in Illinois and one of just two recognized parties in the state, along with the Republican Party. It is ...

after long-time chair Michael Madigan resigned from the position on February 22, 2021.

Education and career

Yarbrough earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from

Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black public university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, it was an innovative teachers college. Eventually the Chicago Public Schools assumed control of t ...

, a master’s in Inner City Studies from

Northeastern Illinois University Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois. NEIU serves approximately 9,000 students in the region and is a Hispanic-serving institution. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park wi ...

and attended nondegree executive education at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. Yarbrough is the founder and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Hathaway Insurance Agency, where she has worked for thirty years.

Community involvement

Yarbrough has served as president of the Maywood

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

, and on the boards of

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

of Suburban Chicago and the Oak Park

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

State Representative

In 1998, Yarbrough unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Eugene Moore in the Democratic primary for the 7th district seat in the

. Yarbrough ran again for the 7th district seat in the Illinois House of Representatives again in 2000, this time succeeding, unseating incumbent

Wanda Sharp Wanda J. Sharp (born July 23, 1950) is an American politician. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Sharp worked as a supervisor, safety trainer, and coordinator for Ford Motor Company. Sharp is an African-American. She served on the board of trustees for ...

in the Democratic primary and winning the general election. Her term began in January, 2001, and she was later appointed an assistant majority leader.clerk's office posted bio sign 15may2019 She served on several house committees (Housing and Urban Development (Chairwoman); House Insurance Committee (Vice-Chairwoman); Environmental Health Committee; Appropriations: Public Safety, Computer Technology) and was a member of the

Illinois Legislative Black Caucus The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to the Illinois Legislature The Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature (United States), legislature of the U.S. state o ...

, and the Governor’s Safety and Re-Entry Commission.

Cook County Recorder of Deeds

Cook County Clerk

Vice chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois

Yarbrough serves as vice-chair of the

. Yarbrough is regarded as an ally of former state party chairman Michael Madigan.

Personal life

Yarbrough's father, Don Williams, is an insurance agent and former village president of the Village of Maywood. She is married to Henderson Yarbrough, Sr., a current Maywood village trustee and former Maywood village president. They have seven grandchildren.

References

External links

Representative Karen A. Yarbrough
official website
Illinois General Assembly - Representative Karen A. Yarbrough (D) 7th District
official IL House website
BillsCommitteesProject Vote Smart - Representative Karen A. Yarbrough (IL)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Karen Yarbrough
20062004200220001998
campaign contributions
Illinois House Democrats - Karen A. Yarbrough
profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Yarbrough, Karen 1950 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American anti–death penalty activists Chicago State University alumni Cook County Clerks Cook County Recorders of Deeds Living people Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Northeastern Illinois University alumni People from Maywood, Illinois People from Washington, D.C. Women state legislators in Illinois