Elections were held for the offices of Assessor, Clerk, Sheriff, State's Attorney, Cook County Superintendent of Education Service Region, Treasurer, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, all 17 seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, both seats of the Cook County Board of Appeals, 3 seats on the Water Reclamation District Board, and judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County.
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.
Voter turnout[]
Primary election[]
Turnout in the primaries was 36.93%, with 985,614 ballots cast.[3]
Chicago saw 607,899 ballots cast, and suburban Cook County saw 30.24% turnout (with 377,715 ballots cast).[2][4][5]
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]
Straight-ticket voting[]
Ballots had a straight-ticket voting option in 1990.[1]
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.
Primaries[]
Democratic[]
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]
Cook County Sheriff Illinois Solidarity primary[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Illinois Solidarity
William M. Piechuch, Sr.
189
100
Total votes
189
100
General election[]
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]
In the 1990 Cook County State's Attorney special election, incumbent state's attorney Cecil A. Partee, a Democrat appointed in 1989 after Richard M. Daley resigned to serve as mayor of Chicago, lost reelection to Republican Jack O'Malley.
This is the last time that a non-incumbent Republican has won election to a Cook County executive office.
Primaries[]
Democratic[]
Cook County State’s Attorney Democratic primary[2]
In the 1990 President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners election, incumbent president George Dunne, a Democrat that had held the office since 1969, did not seek reelection. Democrat Richard Phelan was elected to succeed him.
Primaries[]
Democratic[]
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 an multimillion-dollar campaign with heavy investment in television advertising.[7] He defeated former Illinois Appellate judge R. Eugene Pincham, Cook County clerk Stanley Kusper, and state senator Ted Lechowicz.[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] Lechowicz had been endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party.[15]
President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Democratic primary[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Richard J. Phelan
227,683
38.83
Democratic
R. Eugene Pincham
236,472
33.07
Democratic
Ted Lechowicz
138,569
19.38
Democratic
Stanley T. Kusper, Jr.
62,364
8.72
Total votes
665,088
100
Republican[]
President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Republican primary[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Aldo A. Deangelis
120,627
100
Total votes
120,627
100
General election[]
President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners election[1]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Richard J. Phelan
714,638
55.65
Republican
Aldo A. DeAngelis
405,771
31.60
Harold Washington
Barbara J. Norman
163,817
12.76
Total votes
1,284,226
100
Cook County Board of Commissioners[]
1990 Cook County Board of Commissioners election
← 1986
November 6, 1990
1994 →
All 17 seats on the Cook County Board of Commissioners 9 seats needed for a majority
First party
Second party
Third party
Party
Democratic
Republican
Harold Washington
Seats before
10
7
0
Seats won
11
6
0
Seat change
1
1
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).
Democrats increased their majority by a single seat.[16]
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]
City of Chicago[]
Ten seats were elected from the City of Chicago.
Primaries[]
Democratic[]
Cook County Board of Commissioners Chicago Democratic primary[2][18]
Cook County Board of Commissioners Chicago Republican primary[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Daniel R. Bennett
18,272
10.46
Republican
John J. Holowinski
18,238
10.44
Republican
Denise A. Barnes
17,916
10.26
Republican
Gerald S. Michalek
17,415
9.97
Republican
Wayne M. Haney
17,403
9.97
Republican
Percy V. Coleman
17,389
9.96
Republican
John E. McNeal
17,232
9.87
Republican
William A. Radatz
17,114
9.80
Republican
Jacoby W. Crutcher, Jr.
16,933
9.70
Republican
Donald H. Kahn
16,713
9.57
General election[]
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.[18] Republican nominee Percy V. Coleman also switched from their slate to the Harold Washington Party slate.
Cook County Board of Commissioners Chicago election[1]
Cook County Board of Commissioners suburban Cook County Democratic primary[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Sheila H. Schultz
126,595
13.63
Democratic
Thomas M. O'Donnell
125,696
13.54
Democratic
Patricia Kane McLaughlin
124,096
13.36
Democratic
Richard J. Phelan
118,146
12.72
Democratic
Ervin F. Kozicki
109,626
11.81
Democratic
Edward C. Reinfranck
109,550
11.80
Democratic
Pat Peter Capuzzi
108,387
11.67
Democratic
Lawrence G. Zdarsky
106,460
11.47
Republican[]
Cook County Board of Commissioners suburban Cook County Republican primary[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Carl R. Hansen (incumbent)
101,223
14.11
Republican
Mary M. McDonald (incumbent)
99,894
13.93
Republican
Allan C. Carr (incumbent)
95,978
13.38
Republican
(incumbent)
94,638
13.19
Republican
Aldo A. DeAngelis
85,395
11.90
Republican
Harold L. Tyrell (incumbent)
85,003
11.85
Republican
Herbert T. Schumann, Jr. (incumbent)
84,087
11.72
Republican
William L. Russ
71,120
9.91
General election[]
Republican nominee Harold L. Tyrell was replaced on the ballot by Angelo Saviano.
Cook County Board of Commissioners suburban Cook County election[1][19]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Mary M. McDonald (incumbent)
326,865
8.78
Republican
Aldo A. DeAngelis
314,466
8.44
Republican
Carl R. Hansen (incumbent)
313,917
8.43
Democratic
Richard J. Phelan
298,067
8.00
Republican
(incumbent)
294,886
7.92
Republican
Herbert T. Schumann, Jr. (incumbent)
273,368
7.34
Republican
Allan C. Carr (incumbent)
268,823
7.22
Democratic
Patricia Kane McLaughlin
256,494
6.89
Republican
Angelo "Skip" Saviano
252,373
6.78
Democratic
Sheila H. Schultz
246,986
6.63
Democratic
Pat Capuzzi
233,521
6.27
Democratic
Thomas M. O'Donnell
225,171
6.05
Democratic
Ervin F. Kozicki
210,196
5.64
Democratic
Edward C. Reinfranck
209,290
5.62
Cook County Board of Appeals[]
1990 Cook County Board of Appeals election
← 1988 (special)
November 6, 1990
1994 →
2 of 2 seats on the Cook County Board of Review
First party
Second party
Third party
Party
Democratic
Republican
Harold Washington
Seats before
2
0
0
Seats after
2
0
0
Seat change
In the 1990 Cook County Board of Appeals election, both seats on the board were up for election. The election was an at-large election.
Primaries[]
Democratic[]
Cook County Board of Appeals Democratic primary[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Wilson Frost (incumbent)
390,175
41.44
Democratic
Joseph Berrios (incumbent)
330,190
35.07
Democratic
Edward J. Schumann
221,200
23.49
Republican[]
Cook County Board of Appeals Republican primary[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Charles A. Wilson
121,954
50.88
Republican
Gilbert M. Vega
116,617
49.12
General election[]
Cook County Board of Appeals Democratic primary[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Wilson Frost (incumbent)
634,509
28.06
Democratic
Joseph Berrios (incumbent)
610,760
26.63
Republican
Charles A. Wilson
407,671
17.77
Republican
Gilbert M. Vega
379,048
16.53
Harold Washington
Kenneth G. Hopkins
131,007
5.71
Harold Washington
Will Lawrence
121,624
5.30
Water Reclamation District Board[]
1990 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago election
← 1988
November 6, 1990
1992 →
3 of 9 seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
In the 1990 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago election, three of the nine seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board were up for election in an at-large election.[1] All three Democratic nominees won.[1]
Judicial elections[]
Partisan elections were held for judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County, due to vacancies. Other judgeships had retention elections.[1]
Ballot questions[]
Two ballot questions were included on ballots county-wide during the November general election.
^ abcdefgHardy, Thomas Hardy; Davis, Robert; Griffin, Jean Latz; Mills, Marja (21 March 1990). "PHELAN EDGES PINCHAM". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 October 2020.