2012 Cook County, Illinois, elections

The Cook County, Illinois, general election was held on November 6, 2012.[1]

2012 Cook County, Illinois, elections

← 2010 November 6, 2012 2014 →
Turnout70.59%

Primaries were held March 20, 2012.[2]

Elections were held for Clerk of the Circuit Court, Recorder of Deeds, State's Attorney, all three seats on the Board of Review, three seats on the Water Reclamation District Board, and judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Election information

edit

2012 was a presidential election year in the United States. The primaries and general elections for Cook County races coincided with those for federal races (President and House) and those for state elections.

Voter turnout

edit

Voter turnout in Cook County during the primaries was 24.03%, with 644,701 ballots cast. Among these, 440,873 Democratic, 200,750 Republican, 112 Green, and 2,966 nonpartisan primary ballots were cast.[3][4] The city of Chicago saw 24.46% turnout, its lowest turnout for a presidential primary on record (with the records dating back to 1942).[3][4][5][6] Suburban Cook County saw 23.63% turnout.[3][4]

The general election saw 70.59% turnout, with 2,030,563 ballots cast. Chicago saw 73.01% turnout and suburban Cook County saw 70.70% turnout.[7][8]

Clerk of the Circuit Court

edit
2012 Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County election
← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →
Turnout63.74%[7][8]
     
Candidate Dorothy A. Brown Diane Shapiro
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,291,499 541,973
Percentage 70.44% 29.56%

Clerk before election

Dorothy A. Brown
Democratic

Elected Clerk

Dorothy A. Brown
Democratic

In the 2012 Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County election, incumbent third-term Clerk Dorothy A. Brown, a Democrat, was reelected.

Primaries

edit

Democratic

edit
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County Democratic primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dorothy A. Brown (incumbent) 269,781 67.44
Democratic Ricardo Muñoz 130,221 32.56
Total votes 400,002 100

Republican

edit

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.[2] The Republican Party ultimately nominated Diane S. Shapiro.

General election

edit
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dorothy A. Brown (incumbent) 1,291,499 70.44
Republican Diane S. Shapiro 541,973 29.56
Total votes 1,833,472 100

Recorder of Deeds

edit
2012 Cook County Recorder of Deeds election
← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →
Turnout61.88%[7][8]
     
Candidate Karen Yarbrough Sherri Griffith
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,313,967 466,038
Percentage 73.82% 26.18%

Recorder of Deeds before election

Eugene Moore
Democratic

Elected Recorder of Deeds

Karen Yarbrough
Democratic

In the 2012 Cook County Recorder of Deeds election, incumbent Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore, a Democrat, did not seek reelection. Moore had served as Recorder of Deeds since 1999.[9] Karen Yarbrough was elected to succeed him.

Primaries

edit

Democratic

edit
Cook County Recorder of Deeds Democratic primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Karen A. Yarbrough 343,603 100
Total votes 343,603 100
Republican
edit

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.[2] The Republican Party ultimately nominated Sherri Griffith.

General election

edit
Cook County Recorder of Deeds election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Karen A. Yarbrough 1,313,967 73.82
Republican Sherri Griffith 466,038 26.18
Total votes 1,780,005 100

State's Attorney

edit
2012 Cook County State's Attorney election
← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →
Turnout64.39%[7][8]
     
Candidate Anita Alvarez Lori S. Yokoyama
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,427,145 421,810
Percentage 77.05% 22.77%

State's Attorney before election

Anita Alvarez
Democratic

Elected State's Attorney

Anita Alvarez
Democratic

In the 2012 Cook County State's Attorney election, incumbent first-term State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, a Democrat, was reelected.

Only Democrats had held this office ever since Richard A. Devine unseated Republican Jack O'Malley in 1996.[10]

Primaries

edit

Democratic

edit
Cook County State’s Attorney Democratic primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Anita Alvarez (incumbent) 343,555 100
Total votes 343,555 100

Republican

edit

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.[2] The Republican Party ultimately nominated Lori S. Yokoyama.

General election

edit
Cook County State’s Attorney election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Anita Alvarez (incumbent) 1,427,145 77.05
Republican Lori S. Yokoyama 421,810 22.77
Write-in Others 3,320 0.18
Total votes 1,852,275 100

Cook County Board of Review

edit
2012 Cook County Board of Review election
← 2010 November 6, 2012 2014 →

2 of 3 seats on the Cook County Board of Review
2 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Seats before 2 1
Seats after 2 1
Seat change    
Seats up 2 1
Races won 2 1

In the 2012 Cook County Board of Review election, all three seats, two Democratic-held and one Republican-held, were up for election. All incumbents won reelection.

The Cook County Board of Review has its three seats rotate the length of terms. In a staggered fashion (in which no two seats have coinciding two-year terms), the seats rotate between two consecutive four-year terms and a two-year term.[11] This was the first year since 2002 that all three seats were coincidingly up for election.

As these were the first elections held following the 2010 United States Census, the seats faced redistricting before this election.


1st district

edit

Incumbent first-term member Dan Patlak, a Republican first elected in 2010, was reelected. This election was to a four-year term.[11]

Primaries

edit
Democratic
edit
Cook County Board of Review 1st district Democratic primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Casey Thomas Griffin 71,168 100
Total votes 71,168 100
Republican
edit
Cook County Board of Review 1st district Republican primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Patlak (incumbent) 59,778 53.68
Republican Sean M. Morrison 51,577 46.32
Total votes 111,355 100

General election

edit
Cook County Board of Review 1st district election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Patlak (incumbent) 316,190 51.52
Democratic Casey Thomas Griffin 297,517 48.48
Total votes 613,707 100

2nd district

edit

Incumbent member Michael Cabonargi, a Democrat appointed in 2011 after Joseph Berrios resigned to assume office as Cook County Assessor,[12] was reelected to a full term, running unopposed in both the Democratic primary and general election. This election was to a four-year term.

Primaries

edit
Democratic
edit
Cook County Board of Review 2nd district Democratic primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael Cabonargi (incumbent) 88,990 100
Total votes 88,990 100
Republican
edit

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.[2]

General election

edit
Cook County Board of Review 2nd district election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael Cabonargi (incumbent) 404,100 100
Total votes 404,100 100

3rd district

edit

Incumbent second-term member Larry Rogers, Jr., a Democrat, was reelected, running unopposed in both the Democratic primary and general election. Rogers had last been reelected in 2008. This election was to a two-year term.

Primaries

edit
Democratic
edit
Cook County Board of Review 3rd district Democratic primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Larry Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) 170,821 100
Total votes 170,821 100
Republican
edit

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.[2]

General election

edit
Cook County Board of Review 3rd district election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Larry Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) 584,624 100
Total votes 584,624 100

Water Reclamation District Board

edit
2012 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago election
← 2010 November 6, 2012 2014 →

3 of 9 seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
5 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Party Democratic Republican Green
Seats before 9 0 0
Seats after 9 0 0
Seat change      
Seats up 3 0 0
Races won 3 0 0

In the 2012 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago election, three of the nine seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board were up for election in an at-large election.

Incumbent Democrats Debra Shore and Patricia Horton sought reelection.[13][14] Horton failed to garner renomination, thus losing reelection.

Shore won reelection. Joining Shore in winning the general election were Democrats Kari K. Steele[15] and Patrick Daley Thompson.

Primaries

edit

Democratic

edit
Water Reclamation District Board election Democratic primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Debra Shore (incumbent) 194,936 21.05
Democratic Kari K. Steele 182,369 19.70
Democratic Patrick Daley Thompson 162,329 17.53
Democratic Patricia Young 129,670 14.01
Democratic Patricia Horton 128,432 13.87
Democratic Stella B. Black 125,147 13.52
Write-in Others 2,968 0.32
Total votes 925,851 100

Republican

edit
Water Reclamation District Board election Republican primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Harold "Noonie" Ward 124,643 100
Total votes 124,643 100

General election

edit
Water Reclamation District Board election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Debra Shore (incumbent) 1,071,670 26.34
Democratic Kari K. Steele 919,841 22.61
Democratic Patrick Daley Thompson 893,178 21.96
Republican Harold "Noonie" Ward 334,207 8.22
Republican Carl Segvich 341,603 8.40
Green Dave Ehrlich 200,953 4.94
Green Karen Roothaan 189,505 4.66
Green Nasrin R. Khalili 117,089 2.88
Total votes 4,068,046 100

Judicial elections

edit

12 judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County were up for partisan elections due to vacancies.[1] 56 Circuit Court judgeships were up for retention elections.[16]

23 subcircuit court judgeships were also up for partisan elections due to vacancies.[1] Multiple subcircuit court judgeships were also up for retention elections.[17]

Other elections

edit

Coinciding with the primaries, elections were held to elect both the Democratic and Republican committeemen for the wards of Chicago.[18]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Cook County and the City of Chicago Combined Summary Report General Election November 6, 2012" (PDF). Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Combined Summary Cook County Primary Election March 20, 2012" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Cook County Primary Election March 20, 2012 Summary Report" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RESULTS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE MARCH 20, 2012 GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL OF THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO" (PDF). chicagoelections.com. Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Despite coronavirus anxiety and problems at the polls, Cook County and Chicago avoid record-low turnout in primary election". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  6. ^ Pearson, Rick (6 April 2020). "Despite coronavirus fears, Chicago's primary turnout was nowhere near a record low". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d "Cook County General Election November 6, 2012 Summary Report" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RESULTS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE NOVEMBER 6, 2012 GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL OF THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO" (PDF). chicagoelections.com. Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Eugene Moore, former Cook Co. recorder of deeds, dead at 73". ABC7 Chicago. WLS-TV. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  10. ^ Hinton, Rachel (19 March 2020). "Republicans: O'Brien has 'really decent chance' to oust Foxx in November". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  11. ^ a b "35 ILCS 200/5-5". ilga.gov. Government of Illinois. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  12. ^ Mihalopoulos, Dan (3 September 2011). "With Online Filing System, Property Tax Appeals Get Easier". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Democratic candidate for MWRD commissioner: Debra Shore". Chicago Sun-Times. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  14. ^ Dardick, Hal (19 March 2012). "Daley nephew has big-name backing in sewer board bid". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  15. ^ Blumberg, ck; Palmore, Rebecca (9 October 2018). "Kari K. Steele: Candidate for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, 6-Year Term". WTTW News. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Downloadable Vote Totals". Illinois Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017.
  17. ^ "Illinois judicial elections, 2012". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  18. ^ "POST-ELECTION REPORT Presidential Primary Election Suburban Cook County March 20, 2012" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. Retrieved 20 November 2020.