Courtesy of Cook County Democratic Party Chair Toni Preckwinkle

When I became Chair of the Cook County Democratic Party, I committed to moving our Party in a progressive direction that engages people who have previously felt disenfranchised. More women and younger voters showed up excitedly for our Democratic slate, which led to the big wins we are celebrating tonight. Our early voting numbers came close to those seen at this time during the 2016 presidential election.

Democrats and our working families had many historic wins tonight. We held Governor Rauner accountable, as he has consistently sided with President Trump’s policies — in his place, we elected a Democratic governor who will usher in a progressive vision for Illinois that will protect our working families, women, immigrants, and the labor movement. We also elected an Attorney General, who is ready to fight against President Trump’s policies.

Together, we flipped two Republican commissioner districts to blue. We defeated President Trump’s ally and Illinois GOP Chair Cook County Commissioner Tim Schneider and elected the first openly LGBT member to serve on the Cook County Board. For the first time in the Party’s history, Judge Matthew Coghlan was not endorsed for retention, and due to his historic loss in his retention race, he will no longer serve as a Cook County judge.

Tonight, Democrats sent a clear message to President Trump and Republicans – their policies of fear and bigotry are not welcomed in Cook County. The Cook County Democratic Party serves to attract, endorse, and support qualified Democratic candidates for office, to develop positions on issues of public importance, to advance the ideals and principles of the Democratic Party, and to seek to improve the lives of the people of Cook County through effective, efficient and fair government.