Cook County Clerk

Cook County Clerk
Incumbent Karen Yarbrough since December 2018
Term length	4 years
Formation	March 1831 (appointed position) August 1837 (elected position)

The Cook County Clerk is the clerk of county government in Cook County, Illinois.

History

The office of Cook County Clerk was established as an elected office with a four-year term in August 1837. Prior to this, from 1831 to 1837, the Clerk was appointed by the three cook County Commissioners.

Officeholders, 1837–present

Clerk		Term in office	Party	Notes	Cite
	George Davis	1837–1849		First elected Cook County Clerk
	Edmund S. Kimberly	1849–1853
	Charles B. Farwell	1853–1861
	Laurin P. Hilliard	1861–1865
	Edward S. Salomon	1865–November 1869	Republican
	John G. Gindele	1869–January 1872		Died in office
	George W. Wheeler	1873–December 1873
	Hermann Lieb	1873–December 1877
	Ernest F.C. Klokke	1877–December 1882		Term extended, by law, for one year
	Michael W. Ryan	1882–December 1886
	Henry Wulff	1886–1894	Republican
	Philip Knopf	1894–1902	Republican
	Peter B. Olsen	1902–1906	Republican
	Joseph F. Haas	1906–1910	Republican
	Robert Sweitzer	December 1910–December 1934	Democratic	Elected in 1910, 1914, 1918, 1922, 1926, 1930, 1934; resigned to serve as Cook County Treasurer in December 1934
	Michael J. Flynn	1935–1950	Democratic	Appointed in 1935; elected in 1938, 1942, 1946
	Richard J. Daley	December 1950 – 1955	Democratic	Elected in 1950 and 1954; resigned in 1955 to serve as mayor of Chicago
	Edward J. Barrett	1955–1973	Democratic	Appointed in 1955; elected in 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970; resigned in 1973
	Stanley Kusper	1973–December 1990	Democratic	Appointed in 1973, elected in 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986
	David Orr	December 1990–December 2018	Democratic	Elected in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
	Karen Yarbrough	December 2018–present	Democratic	Elected in 2018 and 2022

Recent election results