Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx appears on “Chicago Tonight” on March 18, 2020. (WTTW News)
Update: 10:56 p.m.
Incumbent State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has declared victory in her contested bid for reelection. The Chicago Sun-Times has also projected her victory. Foxx says Republican challenger Pat O’Brien called her to concede the race for Cook County State’s Attorney, and that she’s “honored to have another chance to serve you all for four more years.”
With more than 95% of precincts reporting, Foxx leads O’Brien by more than 200,000 votes.
Update: 10:04 p.m.
Incumbent State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has managed to hold onto her significant lead over challenger Pat O’Brien in the race for Cook County State’s Attorney, according to city and county election data, the AP and the Chicago Sun-Times. With more than 90% of precincts reporting, Foxx leads by more than 180,000 votes, with huge support from the city of Chicago and O’Brien leading in suburban Cook County.
State Sen. Iris Martinez, the Democratic candidate for clerk of the Circuit Court, is projected to defeat Republican candidate Barbara Bellar, according to the AP.
The three Democratic candidates for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board appear to have defeated their Green party challengers.
With 93% of precincts reporting, incumbent Dan Patlak leads by more than 32,000 votes in the Board of Review race against challenger Tammy Wendt.
Update: 9:29 p.m.
Incumbent State’s Attorney Kim Foxx holds a significant lead over challenger Pat O’Brien in the race for Cook County State’s Attorney, according to city and county election data, the AP and the Chicago Sun-Times. With nearly 90% of precincts reporting, Foxx leads by nearly 170,000 votes, with huge support from the city of Chicago and O’Brien leading in suburban Cook County.
State Sen. Iris Martinez, the Democratic candidate for clerk of the Circuit Court, has a significant lead over Republican candidate Barbara Bellar.
The three Democratic candidates for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board hold a commanding lead so far over their Green party challengers, as expected.
With about two-thirds of precincts reporting, incumbent Dan Patlak holds about a 28,000 vote lead in the Board of Review race against challenger Tammy Wendt.
Update: 8:50 p.m.
With about 30% of precincts reporting, incumbent State’s Attorney Kim Foxx trails challenger Pat O’Brien in the race for Cook County State’s Attorney by about 5,000 votes, according to city and county election data, the AP and the Chicago Sun-Times.
State Sen. Iris Martinez, the Democratic candidate for clerk of the Circuit Court, has a significant lead over Republican candidate Barbara Bellar.
The three Democratic candidates for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board hold a commanding lead so far over their Green party challengers, as expected.
So far, the Board of Review race between Tammy Wendt and Dan Patlak is extremely close, but no Cook County precincts outside of Chicago have yet to see vote totals reported online. Only Chicagoans in 62 precincts are eligible to vote in that race.
As reported earlier:
Embattled State’s Attorney Kim Foxx hopes to win a second term in office and fend off a challenge from Republican Pat O’Brien in what’s likely the most contentious race on the Cook County ballot.
Foxx, a Democrat, is a political ally of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and has been endorsed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. She was first elected in 2016 after defeating former State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez in the Democratic primary in what was widely seen as a referendum on Alvarez’s handling of the Laquan McDonald shooting. Foxx, and former chief of staff to Preckwinkle who’s made reforming the criminal justice system a centerpiece of her tenure, has faced criticism for being soft on crime. She’s also been slammed for how her office handled the Jussie Smollett case.
“Her policies have in effect made it more difficult for … homicides to be solved and people brought to justice,” said GOP challenger O’Brien in a recent appearance on “Chicago Tonight.” “She has failed, essentially, to work with the police, and in doing so basically has left them on their own.”
O’Brien, a former Cook County judge and prosecutor, has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police. Critics of O'Brien say there was a pattern of wrongful convictions during his time as a prosecutor and then a supervisor in the criminal division of the state’s attorney’s office.
Foxx declined to join O’Brien for a recent candidate forum on “Chicago Tonight,” with her campaign saying she wouldn’t debate O’Brien because of “Trump-like name-calling and fearmongering.”
Libertarian Brian Dennehy is also on the ballot for state’s attorney.
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Another county-level office up for grabs is clerk of the Circuit Court, which was left open after longtime clerk Dorothy Brown announced she wouldn’t run for reelection. State Sen. Iris Martinez won the four-way Democratic primary in March. She faces physician and attorney Barbara Bellar, a Republican.
MWRD
Also on the ballot are three seats on the board of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. The Democratic candidates are Eira Corral Sepulveda, who currently serves as Hanover Park’s village clerk, as well as Kimberly Neely Dubuclet and Cam Davis. Dubuclet and Davis are currently near the end of serving the two-year terms they won in 2018, and would be elected to full six-year terms should they win this year. Three Green party candidates are also running: teacher Tammie Felicia Vinson, data scientist Troy Antonio Hernandez and educator and writer Rachel Wales.
Board of Review
There is also one seat up for election on the three-member Cook County Board of Review, which hears taxpayer appeals on property value assessments. Republican Dan Patlak, the incumbent, faces a challenge from attorney Tammy Wendt, a Democrat.
Polls close at 7 p.m. Check back for updates.
