# Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district

Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district is a single-member electoral district for the Cook County Board of Commissioners. It is currently represented by Sean M. Morrison, a Republican. It is the only seat on the Board of Commissioners that is currently represented by a Republican.

## History

The district was established in 1994, when the board transitioned from holding elections in individual districts, as opposed to the previous practice of having two multi-member districts districts: one for ten members from the city of Chicago and another for seven members from suburban Cook County.

## Geography
### 1994 boundaries

In its initial 1994 iteration, the district encompassed parts of the northwest, west, and southwest suburbs of Cook County.

### 2001 redistricting

New boundaries were adopted in August 2001, with redistricting taking place following the 2000 United States Census.
In regards to townships and equivalent jurisdictions, the district's redistricted boundaries included portions of the city of Chicago, as well as portions of Bremen, Elk Grove, Lemont, Leyden, Lyons, Maine, Northfield, Orland, Palos, Proviso, Wheeling, and Worth townships.

### 2012 redistricting

The district, as redistricted in 2012 following the 2010 United States Census, included parts of Bensenville, Berkeley, Burr Ridge, Brookfield, Chicago, Countryside, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Franklin Park, Hickory Hills, Hillsdale, Hillside, Hinsdale, Hodgkins, Homer Glen, Indian Head Park, Justice, La Grange, La Grange Park, Lemont, Northlake, Orland Park, Orland Hills, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Palos Park, Park Ridge, Riverside, Rosment, Schiller Park, Tinley, Western Springs, Westcherster, Worth, Willow Springs.
In regards to townships and equivalent jurisdictions, it included portions of the city of Chicago, as well as portions of Bremen, Elk Grove, Lemont, Leyden, Lyons, Orland, Palos, Proviso, Maine, Riverside, and Worth townships.
The district almost entirely lied in suburban Cook County, as the only part of Chicago in the district was O'Hare International Airport and its direct surroundings.
The district was 144.60 square miles (92,544.64 acres).

### 2022 redistricting

The district, as redistricted in 2022 following the 2020 United States Census is contained portions of the city of Chicago as well as portions of Elk Grove, Maine, Lemont, Leyden, Lyons, Orland, Palos, Proviso, and Worth townships.

## Politics

The district has only had Republican commissioners since its inception, the only district for which this is the case. The district has been considered solidly Republican. Nevertheless, it saw a close result in its most recent election, which saw an unprecedentedly strong and well-funded effort by the Cook County Democratic Party to target the district.
For decades after its inception, the district was considered to be a Republican stronghold. However, in the 2016 United States presidential election, the Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine won a strong victory in the district over the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence.
The district is currently the district represented by a Republican commissioner, and the only one to never have been represented by the Democratic commissioner.

## List of commissioners representing the district

| Commissioner | Party | Years | Electoral history |
| Herb Schumann | Republican | December 1994–December 2002 | Previously served two terms as commissioner from suburban Cook County at-large; elected in 1994 and 1998; lost reelection in 2002 |
| Elizabeth Ann Doody Gorman | Republican | December 2002–July 20, 2015 | Elected in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014; resigned in July 2015 |
| Sean M. Morrison | Republican | July 2015–present | Appointed in July 2015; elected in 2018 and 2022 |

## Election results

Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district general elections :
| Year | Winning candidate | Party | Vote (pct) | Opponent | Party | Vote (pct) | Opponent | Party | Vote (pct) |
| 1994 | Herbert T. Schumann, Jr. | Republican | 54,502 (65.85%) | William Hurley | Democratic | 28,267 (34.15%) | | | |
| 1998 | Herbert T. Schumann, Jr. | Republican | 50,720 (56.82%) | John K. Murphy | Democratic | 38,545 (43.18%) | | | |
| 2002 | Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman | Republican | 53,212 (100%) | | | | | | |
| 2006 | Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman | Republican | 49,425 (55.60%) | Thomas "Tommy" Kraus | Democratic | 39,473 (44.40%) | | | |
| 2010 | Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman | Republican | 56,423 (58.59%) | Patrick Maher | Democratic | 34,686 (36.02%) | Matthew J. Ogean | Green | 5,194 (5.39%) |
| 2014 | Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman | Republican | 56,926 (100%) | | | | | | |
| 2018 | Sean M. Morrison | Republican | 61,572 (50.57%) | Abdelnasser Rashid | Democratic | 60,195 (49.43%) | | | |
| 2022 | Sean M. Morrison | Republican | 55,426 (51.29%) | Daniel T. Calandriello | Democratic | 52,638 (48.71%) | | | |