# Cook County Recorder of Deeds

The Cook County Recorder of Deeds was the recorder of deeds of county government in Cook County, Illinois, prior to the position's abolishment in 2020.

## History of office

An early incarnation of a dedicated county recorder of deeds was established with the creation of Cook County in 1831. In 1848, it was eliminated, being merged into the position of clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County (which was renamed "clerk and recorder"). For decades thereafter, the clerk of the Circuit Court served as the ex-officio county recorder of deeds.
An independent position of Cook County recorder of deeds was re-created in December 1872.
On November 8, 2016, Cook County voters approved a binding referendum to eliminate the office, merging its functions into the purview of the Cook County Clerk. The office formally ceased to exist on December 7, 2020.

## Officeholders
### 1831–1848

| Recorder of Deeds | Term in office | Party |
| R. J. Hamilton | 1831–1839 | Democratic |
| Eli R. Williams | 1839–1843 | |
| William A. Eagan | 1843–1847 | |
| Ed S. Kimberly | 1847–1848 | |

### 1872–2020

| Recorder of Deeds | Term in office | Party | Notes |
| James Stewart | 1872–1876 | | |
| James W. Brockway | 1876–1884 | Republican | |
| Abel Davis | 1904–1912 | Republican | Elected in 1904 and 1908 |
| Joseph F. Connery | 1912– | Democratic | |
| Joseph F. Haas | | | |
| Salomea Jaranowski | | | |
| Clayton F. Smith | | | |
| Edward J. Kaindl | | | |
| Victor L. Schlaeger | | | |
| Joseph T. Baran | | | |
| Joseph F. Ropa | | | |
| Edmund J. Kucharski | 1956–1960 | Republican | Elected in 1956; lost reelection in 1960 |
| Sid Olsen | December 1976–December 1984 | Democratic | Elected in 1976 and 1980 |
| Harry Yourell | December 1984–December 1, 1988 | Democratic | Elected in 1984 |
| Carol Moseley Braun | December 1, 1988–December 1, 1992 | Democratic | Elected in 1988 |
| Jesse White | December 1, 1992–January 11, 1999 | Democratic | Elected in 1992 and 1996; resigned in January 1999 to serve as Illinois Secretary of State |
| Eugene Moore | January 1999–December 2012 | Democratic | Appointed in January 1999; elected in 2000, 2004, 2008 |
| Karen Yarbrough | December 2012–December 3, 2018 | Democratic | Elected in 2012 and 2016 |
| Edward Moody | December 4, 2018–December 7, 2020 | Democratic | Appointed in December 2018 |

## Recent election results

Cook County Recorder of Deeds general elections :
| Year | Winning candidate | Party | Vote (pct) | Opponent | Party | Vote (pct) | Opponent | Party | Vote (pct) | Opponent | Party | Vote (pct) |
| 1984 | Harry "Bus" Yourell | Democratic | 1,232,485 (60.94%) | Deborah L. Murphy | Republican | 789,906 (39.06%) | | | | | | |
| 1988 | Carol Moseley Braun | Democratic | 1,020,805 (54.32%) | Bernard L. Stone | Republican | 795,540 (42.33%) | Edward M. Wojkowski | Illinois Solidarity | 62,968 (3.35%) | | | |
| 1992 | Jesse White | Democratic | 1,121,865 (58.07%) | Susan Catania | Republican | 809,963 (41.93%) | | | | | | |
| 1996 | Jesse White | Democratic | 1,061,436 (65.33%) | Patrick A. Dwyer | Republican | 499,551 (30.75%) | Brenda Hernandez Frias | Harold Washington Party | 53,421 (3.29%) | Smith Wiiams | Justice Party | 10,251 (0.63%) |
| 2000 | Eugene "Gene" Moore | Democratic | 1,167,630 (73.01%) | Arthur D. Sutton | Republican | 431,717 (26.99%) | | | | | | |
| 2004 | Eugene "Gene" Moore | Democratic | 1,283,762 (70.74%) | John H. Cox | Republican | 530,945 (29.26%) | | | | | | |
| 2008 | Eugene "Gene" Moore | Democratic | 1,324,426 (70.49%) | Gregory Goldstein | Republican | 451,452 (24.03%) | Terrence A. Gilhooly | Green | 102,968 (5.48%) | | | |
| 2012 | Karen Yarbrough | Democratic | 1,313,967 (73.82%) | Sherri Griffith | Republican | 466,038 (26.18%) | | | | | | |
| 2016 | Karen Yarbrough | Democratic | 1,647,174 (98.58%) | Others | Write-ins | 7,250 (0.81%) | | | | | | |