# Cook County Treasurer

The Cook County Treasurer is the treasurer of county government in Cook County, Illinois

## Office description

The Cook County Treasurer oversees what is the United States' second-largest system of property tax collection and distribution. The inaugural holder of the office of treasurer was Archibald Clybourn, an early settler of Cook County. The office was established in 1831, and since 1835 has been an elected, partisan position. Its elected terms were initially two years in length- Prior to 1835, it was appointed by the three-member Cook County Board of Commissioners. Today the terms are four years.
The treasurer holds responsibility for printing and mailing bills based on data they are provided by other county and state agencies regarding assessments, exemptions, and tax rate. The treasurer is responsible for the collection of $12 billion in taxes annually from owners of over 1.8 million parcels of property. The treasurer is responsible for the distribution of tax funds to approximately 2,200 local government agencies with the jurisdiction to collect taxes, including school districts, municipalities, townships, park systems, forest preserve systems, libraries, public health and safety agencies, election authorities, economic-development agencies, and public-works bonds. The treasurer needs to maintain an investment policy and strategy. The treasurer is tasked with receiving and safely keeping revenues and other public funds of the county, and all other money authorized by the law to be paid to them, and to disburse these funds in accordance to the law.
Under state law, to assist them with the execution of their duties, the treasurer appoints deputies, assistants, and personnel. The treasurer must file regular reports with the president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners providing summary of the financial status of their office. The treasurer also, per state law, oversees the process of refunding overpayment of taxes.
As of 2022, the salary paid to the elected Cook County Treasurer is $115,500. As of October 2021, the Cook County Treasurer's office has 58 employees and a total annual budget of $12,703,015.

## Officeholders

| Treasurer | Term in office | Party | Notes |
| Archibald Clybourn | March 1831–March 1834 | | |
| Isaac Harmon | March 1834–March 1835 | | |
| Henry Kimball | March 1835–March 1836 | | The first elected Treasurer |
| Samuel J. Trowbridge | March 1836–June 1837 | | |
| Edward E. Hunter | June 1837–May 1838 | | |
| John Calhoun | May 1838–June 1839 | | |
| Nathan H. Bolles | June 1839–October 1839 | | |
| Isaac Cook | October 1839–August 1843 | | |
| Anton Getzler | August 1843–August 1847 | | |
| William L. Church | August 1847–November 1849 | | |
| James Long | November 1849–November 1851 | | |
| Horatio N. Heald | 1851–1855 | | |
| Michael Gleason | 1855–1857 | | |
| Augustus H. Boyden | 1857–1861 | | |
| Jacob Rehm | 1861–1865 | | |
| Jesse M. Allen | 1865–1867 | | |
| Thomas O. Osborn | November 1867–1869 | | |
| H.S. Rexford | 1869–1871 | | |
| Julian Sidney Rumsey | 1871–1873 | Republican | |
| Henry B. Miller | 1873–1875 | | |
| Louis C. Huck | 1875–1877 | | |
| S.H. McCrea | 1877–1879 | | |
| William T. Johnson | 1879–1882 | | |
| William C. Seipp | 1882–1886 | Democratic | |
| John R. Thompson | ____–1910 | Republican | |
| W. L. O'Connell | 1910–____ | Democratic | |
| H. R. Gibbons | December 1918–April 19, 1921 | Democratic | Elected in 1918; died in office |
| Patrick J. Carr | April 20, 1921–____ | | Appointed by Cook County Board of Commissioners on April 20, 1921 |
| George F. Harding Jr. | 1926–30 | | |
| Joseph McDonough | 1930–1934 | | Elected in 1930; died in office |
| Robert Sweitzer | December 4, 1934–1935 | Democratic | Elected in 1934, removed from office by vote of the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 1935 |
| Joseph L. Gill | 1935–??? | Democratic | Appointed in 1935 |
| Herbert C. Paschen | 1954–1958 | Democratic | |
| Francis S. Lorenz | 1958–September 1961 | Democratic | Elected in 1958; resigned to accept appointment as Illinois Treasurer |
| Bernard J. Korzen | | | |
| Edward J. Rosewell | December 1974–December 1998 | Democratic | Elected in 1974, 1988, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994 |
| Maria Pappas | December 1998–present | Democratic | Elected in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2019, 2014, 2018, 2022 |

## Recent election results

Cook County Treasurer general elections :
| Year | Winning candidate | Party | Vote (pct) | Opponent | Party | Vote (pct) | Opponent | Party | Vote (pct) | Opponent | Party |
| 1986 | Edward J. Rosewell | Democratic | 905,190 (68.78%) | Richard M. Hetzer | Republican | 410,909 (31.22%) | | | | | |
| 1990 | Edward J. Roswell | Democratic | 710,699 (58.03%) | Thomas D. Eilers | Republican | 357,673 (29.21%) | Charles W. Alexander | Harold Washington Party | 156,294 (12.76%) | | |
| 1994 | Edward J. Roswell | Democratic | | Jean Reyes Pechette | Republican | | Robert J. Pettis | Harold Washington Party | | John Justice | Populist |
| 1998 | Maria Pappas | Democratic | 978,373 (77.79%) | Anthony Peraica | Republican | 279,355 (22.21%) | | | | | |
| 2002 | Maria Pappas | Democratic | 998,480 (76.20%) | Richard J. Daniels | Republican | 311,787 (23.80%) | | | | | |
| 2006 | Maria Pappas | Democratic | 1,074,756 (83.70%) | Erik Peck | Republican | 209,253 (16.30%) | | | | | |
| 2010 | Maria Pappas | Democratic | 1,042,318 (77.21%) | Carol A. Morse | Republican | 307,612 (22.79%) | | | | | |
| 2014 | Maria Pappas | Democratic | 1,048,234 (100%) | | | | | | | | |
| 2018 | Maria Pappas | Democratic | 1,447,145 (99.26%) | Others | Write-ins | 10,780 (0.74%) | | | | | |
| 2022 | Maria Pappas | Democratic | 1,063,160 (75.41%) | Peter Kopsaftis | Republican | 314,013 (22.28%) | Michael Murphy | Libertarian | 32,577 (2.31%) | | |