David Orr
Orr in 2012
22ndCook County Clerk
In office December 11, 1990 – December 10, 2018
Preceded by	Stanley Kusper
Succeeded by	Karen Yarbrough
52ndMayor of Chicago
Acting
In office November 25, 1987 – December 2, 1987
Preceded by	Harold Washington
Succeeded by	Eugene Sawyer
3rdVice Mayor of Chicago
In office April 1987 – May 1988
Mayor	Harold Washington Eugene Sawyer
Preceded by	Richard Mell
Succeeded by	Terry Gabinski
Member of theChicago City Council from the 49th Ward
In office February 23, 1979 – December 10, 1990
Preceded by	Homer Johnson[1]
Succeeded by	Robert Clarke
Personal details
Born	David Duvall Orr (1944-10-04)October 4, 1944 (age 80) Chicago,Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Loretta Orr[2]
Children	4[2]
Education	Simpson College (BA) Case Western Reserve University (MA)[2]
Signature
Website	Official website

David Duvall Orr (born October 4, 1944) is anAmericanDemocraticpolitician who served as theCook County Clerk from 1990 to 2018. Orr previously served asalderman for the 49th ward inChicago City Council from 1979 to 1990. He briefly served as actingMayor of Chicago from November 25 to December 2, 1987, following the death of MayorHarold Washington.^[3] Orr retired from the office of Cook County Clerk in 2018, opting not to run for an eighth term.

Born in Chicago, Orr is a graduate ofSimpson College inIndianola, Iowa for his undergraduate and his Masters Degree in American Studies fromCase Western Reserve University inCleveland.^[2] He was an instructor atMundelein College in 1979, when he first decided to run for alderman.^[4][5]

Orr entered politics as an "independent Democrat", opposed to the official Democratic Party organization. The party organization was then controlled by the "Machine" created byMayorRichard J. Daley, who died in December 1976.^[5] In February 1979, Orr was elected by a narrow margin of 320 votes alderman from the 49th Ward,^[5] which covered most of theRogers Park neighborhood in the far northeastern corner ofChicago.

Orr was considered alakefront liberal.^[6]

Orr joined with other white "independent" aldermen from the "Lakefront" and black dissident aldermen from the south side and west side in opposing the corruption and racism of the Machine.^{[citation needed]} Orr was re-elected in February 1983 and 1987.

In February 1983, with the Machine divided between supporters ofJane Byrne andRichard M. Daley, black independentHarold Washington became Mayor. Washington was opposed by29 aldermen who tried to paralyze city government for three years in what was dubbed "Council Wars." Orr backed Washington, one of only five white aldermen to do so.^[7] After the Washington coalition won the majority in 1986, after special aldermanic elections were held, Orr was elected by the City Council in 1987 to serve as the city'sVice Mayor.^[8]

In 1986, Orr, with the assistance of fellow aldermanBernard Stone, successfully pushed an ordinance through City Council that declared Chicago a "nuclear-free zone".^[9]

As a city councilman, Orr often prevailed in getting the council to take actions which he fought for. Orr had a reputation of being a "clean" politician, devoid of corruption or negativity.^[9][5]Chicago Tribune columnistMike Royko, a cynic towards local politics, stated in 1988, "there are three or four aldermen who are suspected of being honest and [Orr] is one of them."^[5]

In May 1988, the City Council voted to oust Orr from his position as Vice Mayor as retribution for his attempts to make reforms that would have held the council's committees more accountable for the budgets they manage.^[8][10]

After Orr resigned from the City Council in 1990 in order to serve as county clerk, then-mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Robert Clarke as his replacement. In the 1991 aldermanic election, Clarke was defeated byJoe Moore, whom Orr had endorsed.^[11][12]

When Mayor Washington died of a heart attack on November 25, 1987, Orr, as Vice Mayor, became acting mayor.^[13][14] He took office on November 25 and served for a week until the Council elected a permanent replacement mayor. Orr was suggested as the obvious choice, but as a reformer, he was vehemently opposed by the remaining Machine aldermen, and many black Chicagoans wanted a black replacement for Washington. AldermanEugene Sawyer, who was black, and before 1983 had been a Machine loyalist, was chosen instead on December 2, 1987. Orr chaired Council meetings as mayor on December 1, a memorial meeting for Washington, and on December 2, when Sawyer was selected as his replacement.^[14][15]

In1990, the office ofCook County clerk was vacated byStanley T. Kusper, Jr. who ran unsuccessfully forpresident of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Orr ran for the office, and won the Democratic primary handily with 56% of the vote against two opponents.^[16] He also won easily in the general election, receiving more votes than any other candidate for county office.^[17] He was re-elected in1994,1998,2002,2006,2010, and2014. In 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010, he was unopposed for renomination, and faced only token opposition in the general election.^{[citation needed]}

After taking office, Orr put in place reforms, including instituting a newethics guide for employees of the Office of the Cook County Clerk.^[9]

In 1994, Orr was considered a potentialfront-runner if he entered the election for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, but he ultimately decided to run for reelection as clerk instead of seeking the position.^[18]

On June 21, 2017, he announced that he would not run for reelection to an eighth term.^[19]Karen Yarbrough, the then-Cook County Recorder of Deeds, succeeded Orr as the Clerk.^[20]

In 2013, Orr was appointed as a Senior Fellow at theHarris School of Public Policy Studies in theUniversity of Chicago.^[21][22]

In June 2018, Orr founded apolitical action committee called Good Government Illinois, with the goal of supporting election reform, campaign finance reform, and candidates with shared goals.^[23][24][22] He supported several candidates in the2019 Chicago aldermanic election, includingMaria Hadden (who ran for his old 49th ward seat),Michael Rodriguez,Andre Vasquez,Matt Martin,Susan Sadlowski Garza,David Moore, andScott Waguespack.^[25]

Orr considered running for mayor of Chicago in the2019 Chicago mayoral election after incumbent mayorRahm Emanuel declared in early September 2018 that he would no longer be seeking a third term.^[26][27] However, he ultimately did not run. In the week prior to the first round of the election, Orr publicly endorsed the candidacy ofLori Lightfoot.^[28]

In the2023 Chicago mayoral election, Orr endorsed U.S. RepresentativeChuy Garcia's candidacy for mayor.^[29]

In 2012, Orr was inducted into theChicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame as a Friend of the Community.^[30]

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• 1944 births
• Living people
• Chicago City Council members
• Illinois Democrats
• Mayors of Chicago
• Simpson College alumni
• Cook County Clerks
• 20th-century mayors of places in Illinois
• Vice mayors of Chicago

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