Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district | |
|---|---|
| District 17 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Cook |
| Townships and equivalent jurisdictions | |
| Government | |
| • Type | District |
| • Body | Cook County Board of Commissioners |
| • Commissioner | Sean M. Morrison (R) |
Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district is asingle-memberelectoral district for theCook County Board of Commissioners. It is currently represented bySean M. Morrison, aRepublican. It is the only seat on the Board of Commissioners that is currently represented by a Republican.
The district was established in 1994, when the board transitioned from holding elections in individual districts, as opposed to the previous practice of having twomulti-member districts: one for ten members from the city ofChicago and another for seven members from suburban Cook County.[1]
In its initial 1994 iteration, the district encompassed parts of the northwest, west, and southwest suburbs of Cook County.[2]
New boundaries were adopted in August 2001, withredistricting taking place following the2000 United States census.[3]
In regards totownships and equivalent jurisdictions, the district's redistricted boundaries included portions of the city ofChicago, as well as portions ofBremen,Elk Grove,Lemont,Leyden,Lyons,Maine,Northfield,Orland,Palos,Proviso,Wheeling, andWorth townships.[4]
The district, as redistricted in 2012 following the2010 United States census, included parts ofBensenville,Berkeley,Burr Ridge,Brookfield, Chicago,Countryside,Des Plaines,Elk Grove Village,Elmhurst,Franklin Park,Hickory Hills,Hillsdale,Hillside,Hinsdale,Hodgkins,Homer Glen,Indian Head Park,Justice,La Grange,La Grange Park,Lemont,Northlake,Orland Park,Orland Hills,Palos Heights,Palos Hills,Palos Park,Park Ridge,Riverside,Rosment,Schiller Park,Tinley,Western Springs,Westcherster,Worth,Willow Springs.[5][6][7]
In regards to townships and equivalent jurisdictions, it included portions of the city of Chicago, as well as portions of Bremen, Elk Grove, Lemont, Leyden, Lyons, Orland, Palos, Proviso, Maine,Riverside, and Worth townships.[8]
The district almost entirely lied in suburban Cook County, as the only part of Chicago in the district wasO'Hare International Airport and its direct surroundings.[6][7]
The district was 144.60 squaremiles (92,544.64acres).[9]
The district, as redistricted in 2022 following the2020 United States census is contained portions of the city of Chicago as well as portions of Elk Grove, Maine, Lemont, Leyden, Lyons, Orland, Palos, Proviso, and Worth townships.[10]
The district has only hadRepublican commissioners since its inception, the only district for which this is the case. The district has been considered solidly Republican.[11] Nevertheless, it saw a close result in its most recent election, which saw an unprecedentedly strong and well-funded effort by theCook County Democratic Party to target the district.[12][13]
For decades after its inception, the district was considered to be a Republican stronghold.[12][14] However, in the2016 United States presidential election, theDemocratic ticket ofHillary Clinton andTim Kaine won a strong victory in the district over the Republican ticket ofDonald Trump andMike Pence.[14]
The district is currently the district represented by a Republican commissioner, and the only one to never have been represented by the Democratic commissioner.
| Commissioner | Party | Years | Electoral history |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herb Schumann | Republican | December 1994–December 2002 | Previously served two terms as commissioner from suburban Cook County at-large;[15] elected in1994 and1998; lost reelection in2002 |
 Elizabeth Ann Doody Gorman | Republican | December 2002–July 20, 2015 | Elected in2002,2006,2010,2014; resigned in July 2015[16] |
| Sean M. Morrison | Republican | July 2015–present | Appointed in July 2015;[16] elected in2018 and2022 |
| Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district general elections | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Winning candidate | Party | Vote (pct) | Opponent | Party | Vote (pct) | Opponent | Party | Vote (pct) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994[17] | Herbert T. Schumann, Jr. | Republican | 54,502 (65.85%) | William Hurley | Democratic | 28,267 (34.15%) | |||||||||
| 1998[18] | Herbert T. Schumann, Jr. | Republican | 50,720 (56.82%) | John K. Murphy | Democratic | 38,545 (43.18%) | |||||||||
| 2002[19][20] | Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman | Republican | 53,212 (100%) | ||||||||||||
| 2006[21] | Elizabeth Doody Gorman | Republican | 49,425 (55.60%) | Thomas "Tommy" Kraus | Democratic | 39,473 (44.40%) | |||||||||
| 2010[22] | Elizabeth Doody Gorman | Republican | 56,423 (58.59%) | Patrick Maher | Democratic | 34,686 (36.02%) | Matthew J. Ogean | Green | 5,194 (5.39%) | ||||||
| 2014[23] | Elizabeth Doody Gorman | Republican | 56,926 (100%) | ||||||||||||
| 2018[24] | Sean M. Morrison | Republican | 61,572 (50.57%) | Abdelnasser Rashid | Democratic | 60,195 (49.43%) | |||||||||
| 2022[25] | Sean M. Morrison | Republican | 55,426 (51.29%) | Daniel T. Calandriello | Democratic | 52,638 (48.71%) | |||||||||