1990 was a midterm election year in the United States. The primaries and general elections for Cook County races coincided with those for federal (Senate and House) and those for state elections.
The general election saw turnout of 52.75%, with 1,408,516 ballots cast.[4] Chicago saw 750,842 ballots cast, and suburban Cook County saw 52.82% turnout (with 657,674 ballots cast).[1][5]
In the 1990 Cook County Clerk election, incumbent fourth-term clerk Stanley Kusper, a Democrat, did not seek reelection, instead opting to run for both Cook County Board of Commissioners president and Cook County commissioner.[6][7] Democrat David Orr was elected to succeed him.
Chicago alderman David Orr won the Democratic nomination. Sutker, who placed second, had been slated by the Cook County Democratic Party organization as its endorsed candidate in the race.[8]
Corruption allegations took a toll on incumbent Republican James E. O'Grady's prospects for reelection.[9] O'Grady ultimately had failed to live up to his 1986 campaign promises of disposing of politics and corruption in the Cook County Sheriff's Office, and had become unpopular among his constituents.[10]
Democratic nominee Michael F. Sheahan defeated O'Grady by a broad margin.[10] O'Grady suffered one of biggest defeats that a Republican Party nominee had experienced in a countywide Cook County election in years.[10] Sheahan had managed to beat O'Grady in 24 of the county's 30 suburban townships and in every ward of Chicago.[11] Sheahan had even managed to carry many of the county's Republican strongholds.[11] Within the city of Chicago, O'Grady even trailed Harold Washington Party nominee Tommy Brewer, who was considered a political unknown.[11]
Incumbent board president George Dunne made a suprise announcement that he would not seek re-election in 1990.[15]
The Cook County Democratic Party's efforts select a candidate to slate for president was chaotic.[15] The party organization ultimately slated State Senator Ted Lechowicz.[15][16] The chaotic nature of the slating process negated the typical benefit of carrying the party organization's endorsement, and Lechowicz ultimately finished third in the primary.[15]
Richard Phelan, a millionaire attorney from Winnetka, won the Democratic primary.[7] He had entered the race as a political unknown.[7] Phelan did not have a strong political organization, but ran a multimillion-dollar campaign with heavy investment in television advertising.[7] He defeated former Illinois Appellate judge R. Eugene Pincham, State Senator Lechowicz, and Cook County Clerk Stanley Kusper.[7] Phelan ran on a message of change, running against the county Democratic Party establishment.[7] Originally, Kusper had been the race's frontrunner, but by election day, had been relegated to an also-ran.[7]
President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Democratic primary[2]
The 1990 Cook County Board of Commissioners election saw all seventeen seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners up for election to four-year terms in two sets of elections (ten elected from an election held in the city of Chicago and seven elected from an election held in suburban Cook County). This was the last election for the Cook County Board of Commissioners done this way, as the board would switch to districts for its 1994 election.[17]
By winning a suburban seat, Democrats increased their majority by a single seat.[18]
Before the general election, Democratic nominee R. Eugene Pincham left to run on the Harold Washington Party slate, and was replaced on the Democratic slate by Danny K. Davis.[19] Republican nominee Percy V. Coleman also switched from their slate to the Harold Washington Party slate.
Cook County Board of Commissioners Chicago election[1]
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