1994 Cook County Board of Commissioners election
The 1994 Cook County Board of Commissioners election was held on November 9, 1994. It was preceded by a primary election held on March 15, 1994. It coincided with other 1994 Cook County, Illinois, elections. It saw all seventeen seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners up for election to four-year terms.
This was the first election for the Cook County Board of Commissioners conducted with individual districts, as previous elections had been conducted through two sets of at-large elections.
Six of those elected were new to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, though the number of seats that each party held remained unchanged.
Background and overview
This was the first election for the Cook County Board of Commissioners that had members elected from single-member districts. Previous elections had been conducted through two sets of at-large elections.Ninety candidates filed run ahead of the primaries. Six of those that won election were new to the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The number of seats that each party won remained unchanged.
1st district
Danny K. Davis, an incumbent Democrat who had served a single term as a commissioner from Chicago at-large, was elected to the 1st district.Primaries
Democratic
Davis faced no opponents in the Democratic primary.Republican
No candidates ran in the Republican Party primary.2nd district
Bobbie L. Steele, an incumbent Democrat who had served two-terms as a commissioner from Chicago at-large, was elected to the 2nd district.Primaries
Republican
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.3rd district
Jerry Butler, an incumbent Democrat who had served as a commissioner from Chicago at-large for two terms, was elected to the 3rd district.Primaries
Republican
The Republican primary was won by Clara Simms-Johnson, a child protective investigator for the Department of Children and Family Services, who ran unopposed.Harold Washington Party
No candidates ran in the Harold Washington Party primary.4th district
John Stroger, an incumbent Democrat who had served six terms as a commissioner from Chicago at-large, was elected to the 4th district.Primaries
Republican
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.Harold Washington Party
The Harold Washington Party primary was won by Bruce Crosby, a community activist.5th district
Deborah Sims, a Democrat, was elected to the 5th district.Primaries
Democratic
Deborah Sims defeated Governors State University political science professor Robert Donaldson in the Democratic primary.Republican
Lawrence Ragland, an accountant, won the Republican primary.6th district
Barclay "Bud" Fleming, a Republican, was elected to the 6th district.Primaries
Democratic
Worth Township supervisor Joan Patricia Murphy won the Democratic primary. Joan Patricia Murphy had defeated state senator Richard F. Kelly in the Democratic primary.Republican
Barclay "Bud" Fleming, an engineer who was the village president of Lynwood, won the Republican primary, defeating lawyer Helen Elizabeth Kelly as well as lawyer and East Hazel Crest village president Thomas Brown in the Republican primary.General election
The district was regarded as a potential "swing district", with both major parties seeing a potential for victory in its election.7th district
Joseph Mario Moreno, a Democrat, was elected to the 7th district.Primaries
Republican
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.Harold Washington Party
No candidates ran in the Harold Washington Party primary.8th district
Roberto Maldonado, a Democrat, was elected to the 8th district.Primaries
Republican
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.Harold Washington Party
No candidates ran in the Harold Washington Party primary.9th district
Peter N. Silvestri, a Republican, was elected to the 9th district.Domico had beaten five other candidates in the Democratic primary.
Silvestri faced no opponents in the Republican primary.
Primaries
Democratic
Marco Domico, who had served two terms as a commissioner from Chicago at-large, won the Democratic primary over seven opponents.Republican
Elmwood Park village president Peter N. Silvestri won the Republican primary, running unopposed.Harold Washington Party
No candidates ran in the Harold Washington Party primary.General election
This district had been regarded as a "swing district", with both major parties being seen as having a chance of winning it.10th district
Maria Pappas, an incumbent Democrat who had served a single term as a commissioner from Chicago at-large, was elected to the 10th district.Primaries
Democratic
Pappas defeated three opponents to win the Democratic primary.Republican
Republican Party nominee John McNeal, an attorney and 48th Ward Republican committeeman, won the Republican primary, running unopposed.11th district
John P. Daley, an incumbent Democrat that had been appointed a commissioner from Chicago at-large in 1992, was elected to the 11th district.Primaries
Democratic
John P. Daley defeated communications consultant Dennis Baker in the Democratic primary.Republican
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.Harold Washington Party
No candidates ran in the Harold Washington Party primary.12th district
Ted Lechowicz, an incumbent Democrat who had served two terms as a commissioner from Chicago at-large, was elected to the 12th district.Primaries
Democratic
Ted Lechowicz defeated two opponents in the Democratic primary.Republican
No candidates ran in the Republican primary.Harold Washington Party
No candidates ran in the Harold Washington Party primary.13th district
Calvin Sutker, a Democrat, was elected to the 13th district.Primaries
Democratic
Former state representative Calvin Sutker defeated two opponents in the Democratic primary.Republican
Lourdes Gagui Mon, an educator, won Republican primary.Harold Washington Party
No candidates ran in the Harold Washington Party primary.14th district
Richard Siebel, an incumbent Republican who had served several terms as a commissioner from suburban Cook County at-large, was elected to the 14th district. He defeated Democratic nominee Kelly Ann Sheehan.In the Republican primary, Siebel defeated Palatine village president Rita Mullins.