2002 Cook County Board of Commissioners election
The 2002 Cook County Board of Commissioners election was held on November 5, 2002. It was preceded by a primary election held on March 19, 2002. It coincided with other 2002 Cook County, Illinois, elections. It saw all seventeen seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners up for election to four-year terms.
As these were the first elections held following the 2000 United States census, the seats faced redistricting before this election.
1st district
Incumbent first-term Commissioner Earlean Collins, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary. The Republican Party ultimately nominated Robin Lee Meyer.2nd district
Incumbent fourth-term Commissioner Bobbie L. Steele, a Democrat, was reelected, running unopposed in both the primary and general election.Primaries
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.3rd district
Incumbent Commissioner Jerry Butler, a Democrat who first assumed the office in 1985, was reelected, running unopposed in both the primary and general election.Primaries
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.4th district
Incumbent Commissioner John Stroger, a Democrat, was reelected.5th district
Incumbent second-term Commissioner Deborah Sims, a Democrat, was reelected.General election
Republican primary winner Daniel "Dan" Wooten withdrew and was not replaced on the ballot.6th district
Incumbent first-term Commissioner William Moran, a Democrat, unsuccessfully sought reelection. Joan Patricia Murphy defeated him for the Democratic nomination, and won the general election unopposed.Incumbent Moran had been a perennial candidate who, in the 1998 general election, had won an upset victory over incumbent then-Republican Barclay "Bud" Fleming.
Barclay "Bud" Fleming, who had been ousted in 1998, also unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for this election.
Primaries
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.7th district
Incumbent second-term Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary. The Republican Party ultimately nominated Juan Moreno.8th district
Incumbent second-term Commissioner Roberto Maldonado, a Democrat, was reelected, running unopposed in both the primary and general election.Primaries
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.9th district
Incumbent second-term Commissioner Peter N. Silvestri, a Republican, was reelected.10th district
Incumbent first-term Commissioner Mike Quigley, a Democrat, was reelected.Primaries
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.11th district
Incumbent Commissioner John P. Daley, a Democrat in office since 1992, was reelected.12th district
Incumbent fourth-term Commissioner Ted Lechowicz, a Democrat, sought reelection, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Forrest Claypool who went on to win the general election.Primaries
Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.13th district
Incumbent second-term Commissioner Calvin Sutker, a Democrat, sought reelection, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Larry Suffredin, who went on to win the general election.Primaries
Democratic
In what was regarded to be an upset, Sutker unseated incumbent Suffredin.Republican
No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary. The Republican Party ultimately nominated Robert D. Shearer, Jr.14th district
Incumbent first-term Commissioner Gregg Goslin, a Republican, was reelected.15th district
Incumbent seventh-term Commissioner Carl Hansen, a Republican, was reelected.16th district
Incumbent Commissioner Allan C. Carr, a Republican, sought reelection, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Tony Peraica, who went on to win the general election.Primaries
Democratic
Melrose Park Village President Ronald M. Serpico won the Democratic primary, defeating lawyer William Edward Gomolinski, Patrick "Chico" Hernandez and Stephen J. Mazur.17th district
Incumbent fourth-term Commissioner Herb Schumann, a Republican, sought reelection, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Elizabeth Ann Doody Gorman, who went on to win the general election.General election
Democratic primary winner Candice Marie Morrison withdrew before the election.Summarizing statistics
| Parties contesting | Total | Democratic wins | Republicans wins |
| Seats contested by Democratic and Republican nominees | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| Seats contested only by Democratic nominees | 7 | 7 | |
| Seats contested only by Republican nominees | 1 | 1 |
| Party | Popular vote | Seats won |
| Democratic | 877,738 | 12 |
| Republican | 299,652 | 5 |
| Total | 1,177,390 |
| Party | Total incumbents | Incumbents that sought reelection/retired | Incumbents that won/lost re-nomination in primaries | Incumbents that won/lost general election |
| Democratic | 12 | 12 sought reelection 0 retired | 9 won re-nomination 3 lost re-nomination | 9 won 0 lost |
| Republican | 5 | 5 sought reelection 0 retired | 3 won re-nomination 2 lost re-nomination | 3 won 0 lost |
| Party | Returning members | Newly elected members |
| Democratic | 9 | 3 |
| Republican | 3 | 2 |