| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 73.71% (ballots cast)[a] 67.23% (votes cast)[b] | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
In the2008Cook County State's Attorney election, held on November 4, 2008, Democratic nomineeAnita Alvarez defeated Republican nomineeTony Peraica and Green nominee Thomas O'Brien. Alvarez begame the firstHispanic/Latina woman elected to the office.
Thegeneral election was preceded byprimary elections held on February 5.[3] After third-term Democratic incumbentRichard A. Devine opted to forgo seeking an additional term, Alvarez (a prosecutor in the State's Attorney's Office) narrowly won a crowded six-candidate Democratic primary with 25.73% of the vote. She won 9,562 (1.01%) more votes than runner-upThomas R. Allen (a member of theChicago City Council), who won 24.72% of the vote. In the primary,Larry Suffredin (a member of theCook County Board of Commissioners) received 22.14% of the vote,Howard Brookins (a member of the Chicago City Council) received 18.18% of the vote, Robert J. Milan (an Assistant State's Attorney) received 5.82% of the vote, and Tommy H. Brewer received 3.41% of the vote. In the crowded contest, Alvarez benefited from the an endorsement byChicago's police union, theFraternal Order of Police Lodge #7. In contrast to the crowded Democrati primary, the Republican primary saw Peraica run unopposed, and the Green Party nominated O'Brien without a primary contest.
Incumbent third-term State's AttorneyRichard A. Devine, a Democrat, did not seek reelection. The Democratic primary was won byAnita Alvarez, who was at the time the third-highest ranked prosecutor in the State's Attorneys office.[4] She was the firstHispanic/Latina woman to have ever won the party's nomination for Cook County State's Attorney.[5][6]
The Democratic primary had six candidates, among whom the leading contenders were Alvarez (Assistant State's Attorney),Thomas R. Allen (a member of theChicago City Council),Larry Suffredin (a member of theCook County Board of Commissioners),[4] andHoward Brookins (a member of the Chicago City Council).
Nofront-runner emerged from the crowded field, resulting in a tense campaign in which each of the candidates critiqued the rest of the field.[4]
The rest of the candidates criticized both Alvarez and Milan, who had worked as deputies under incumbent State's Attorney Divine, forwrongful convictions by the State's Attorney office and for the office's failure to bring criminal charges againstJon Burge (aChicago Police Department commander whotortured criminalsuspects into makingconfessions. Allen characterized Alvarez's candidacy as promising to continue thestatus quo of the department that had generated these and other scandals. Alvarez refuted the implication that she was connected to the scandals andstatus quo of the office, claiming, "despite being a 21-year prosecutor, I am not the status quo."[4]
Alvarez characterized her top opponents (Allen, Brookins, Sufferdin) as political insiders who were likely to be tempted to use the office of State's Attorney to punish political rivals and shieldcorrupt political allies. All three were far more integrated into local politics than Alvarez, holding elected offices. Alvarez characterized their candidacies as posing the, "true danger in handing [the office of State's Attorney] over to someone who will make charging decisions for political reasons".[4]
Sufferdin sought to position himself himself as a candidate aligned with reform efforts, and received the endorsement of several prominent localliberals (including CongressmanJesse Jackson Jr. and fellow County Board memberForrest Claypool). However, his opponents claimed that his alignment with reform was a hallow facade, noting that Sufferdin had previously worked as alobbyist for thetobacco industry andcasino industry.[4]
Alvarez benefited from the an endorsement byChicago's police union, theFraternal Order of Police Lodge #7.[7][8] The Fraternal Order of Police criticized Sufferdin, seizing on his representation in the 1970s of a client that had been seeking early release from prison after being convicted of murdering a police officer.[4]
Brookins, himselfAfrican-American, centered his candidacy on the view that Cook County's criminal justice system had mistreatedBlack people. His candidacy received the endorsement of noted civil rights activistJesse Jackson Sr.[4]
During the primary, a large portion of Alvarez's campaigns funds were from $640,000 in loans given to her committee by her husband (agynecologist andobstetrician).[4]
Alvarez expressed her belief that the differentiator of her gender and hispanic ethnicity played a role in benefiting her campaign for the nomination, but also believed that her professional experience as a prosecutor was a major factor in her success.[4]
The primary utilized afirst-past-the-post (single-round plurality) method. Alvarez narrowly won, with 25.73% of the vote –a percentage-point greater than the runner-up
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Anita Alvarez | 244,538 | 25.73 | |
| Democratic | Tom Allen | 234,976 | 24.72 | |
| Democratic | Larry Suffredin | 210,381 | 22.14 | |
| Democratic | Howard B. Brookins, Jr. | 172,746 | 18.18 | |
| Democratic | Robert J. Milan | 55,350 | 5.82 | |
| Democratic | Tommy H. Brewer | 32,430 | 3.41 | |
| Total votes | 950,421 | 100 | ||
Tony Peraica, a Republican member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, ran unopposed in the Republican primary.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tony Peraica | 137,767 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 137,767 | 100 | ||
While theGreen Party of Illinois (anthird party) had a publicly-run primary coinciding with those of the major party, there were no ballot-certified or formal write-in candidates in its primary seeking the office of State's Attorney.[3] The Green Party ultimately nominated Thomas O'Brien.
Alvarez won the general election, becoming the first Hispanic/Latina woman elected to the office.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Anita Alvarez | 1,378,452 | 69.90 | −9.63 | |
| Republican | Tony Peraica | 494,611 | 25.08 | +4.51 | |
| Green | Thomas O'Brien | 99,101 | 5.03 | N/A | |
| Total votes | 1,972,164 | 100 | |||
.jpg)
