Richard R. Boykin is a former member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners who represented the 1st district from December 2014 until December 2018.[1]

Richard R. Boykin
Boykin in 2017
Member of the
Cook County Board of Commissioners
from the 1st district
In office
December 1, 2014 (2014-12-01) – November 28, 2018 (2018-11-28)
Preceded byEarlean Collins
Succeeded byBrandon Johnson
Personal details
BornJackson, Mississippi
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Chicago, Illinois
Alma materUniversity of Dayton School of Law
ProfessionAttorney
politician

Political career

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Boykin was elected in 2014 to represent the 1st district on the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The 1st district covers both Chicago and its suburbs. It includes the Chicago neighborhoods of Garfield Park, and Humboldt Park, and the suburbs of Broadview, Maywood, Bellwood, Forest Park, Oak Park, and Elmwood Park.[2]

On the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Boykin opposed the controversial "soda tax".[3] Boykin came into conflict with the County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on this matter. Boykin took the lead against the tax, and succeeded in getting the Board to repeal it in 2017.[4] On the infrequent votes by the Board that saw division by its members, Boykin was among the Board members who most regularly voted against the positions of County Board President Preckwinkle and her floor leader, Chuy García.[5]

Per a 2018 analysis by the Chicago Sun-Times, Boykin had a high rate of attendance at board meetings, with the analysis finding him to have only missed 2% of meetings during a period from 2014 through 2017. The study found only John P. Daley to have a greater rate of attendance.[5]

In 2018, Boykin narrowly lost reelection in the Democratic primary to Brandon Johnson, who had been endorsed against Boykin by Toni Preckwinkle.[5]

In 2020, Boykin unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Boykin unsuccessfully challenged President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Toni Preckwinkle in that office's 2022 Democratic Party primary.[6]

Electoral history

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2014 Cook County Board of Commissioners 1st district Democratic primary[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard R. Boykin 7,288 30.38
Democratic Blake Sercye 6,118 25.51
Democratic Isaac "Ike" Carothers 5,602 23.35
Democratic Brenda Smith 4,111 17.14
Democratic Ronald Lawless 868 3.62
Total votes 23,987 100
2014 Cook County Board of Commissioners 1st district election[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard R. Boykin 68,305 99.36
Write-in Others 441 0.64
Total votes 68,746 100
2018 Cook County Board of Commissioners 1st district Democratic primary[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Brandon Johnson 24,863 50.44
Democratic Richard Boykin (incumbent) 24,426 49.56
Total votes 49,289 100
2020 Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County Democratic primary[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Iris Y. Martinez 269,578 33.67
Democratic Michael M. Cabonargi 216,180 27.00
Democratic Richard R. Boykin 199,526 24.92
Democratic Jacob Meister 113,855 14.22
Write-in Others 1,511 0.19
Total votes 800,650 100
2022 President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Democratic primary[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Toni Preckwinkle (incumbent) 374,699 75.76
Democratic Richard Boykin 119,915 24.24
Total votes 494,614 100

References

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  1. ^ Romain, Michael (March 27, 2018). "Johnson upsets Boykin in 1st district race". Forest Park Review. Forest Park, Illinois. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  2. ^ https://www.cookcountyclerk.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/UPDATED_Cook_County_Commissioners_2012_w_2017_names01232018.pdf Cook County Commissioner Districts - 2021 at the Wayback Machine (archived March 18, 2021)
  3. ^ Stewart, Russ (October 23, 2019). "NON -NICETIES ABOUND IN CIRCUIT COURT CONTEST". www.russstewart.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "Toni Preckwinkle comes out on top against onetime foe Richard Boykin in Democratic Cook County Board President primary". CBS News. June 28, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Mouritsen Zmuda, Melissa; Simpson, Dick; McKevitt, Kelly; Gradel, Thomas J. (January 25, 2018). "The Cook County Board During President Preckwinkle's Second Term Cook County Board of Commissioners Report December 2014 – December 2017" (PDF). pols.uic.edu. University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Political Science. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  6. ^ "Illinois Primary Election Results". The New York Times. June 28, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  7. ^ "General Primary Election Cook County and The City of Chicago Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "General Election Cook County and The City of Chicago Tuesday, November 4, 2014 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Cook County and The City of Chicago Primary Election March 20, 2018 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  10. ^ "Cook County and The City of Chicago Primary Election March 17, 2020 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  11. ^ "Cook County & City of Chicago Primary Election June 28, 2022 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. 2022.
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