Dorothy Brown wins 4th term as Cook County Circuit Court clerk

Dorothy Brown wins 4th term as Cook County Circuit Court clerk

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Dorothy Brown won re-election. (WBEZ/Bill Healy)
Dorothy Brown handily won a fourth term as the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County in Tuesday’s primary election. Brown received more than 65 percent of the vote in her contest with Chicago Ald. Ricardo Muñoz (22nd).

Muñoz says low voter turnout gave an advantage to machine candidates. “It’s pretty clear that Cook County is not ready for reform,” he said.

Brown is in her 12th year as Clerk of Court. After her victory Tuesday, she’ll serve at least another four years, as she will face no challenger in the general election. Her office is responsible for handling files in the Cook County court system.

In her election night victory speech Brown addressed some of the nuts and bolts of the office.

“We will finalize the imaging and document management system,” Brown told a mute crowd gathered at her election party in Chicago’s South Loop. “We will work with the (Illinois) Supreme Court to come up with the policy that will permit documents, electronic documents, to be seen online, over the Internet.”


But Brown got a bigger response when she changed the subject, particularly when she spoke about moving forward with “the wonderful employees of the Circuit Court of Cook County.”

Brown thanked supporters for another chance to “ensure that there is liberty and justice for all.”

Muñoz returns to his duties in the Chicago City Council, where many of his colleagues endorsed Brown. Nonetheless, Muñoz said he won’t harbor any hard feelings.

“It’s like you play a basketball game: The winner wins and the loser loses and then you move on,” he said. 

Muñoz did win his primary race for Democratic Party Committeeman in the 22nd Ward , where he also serves as alderman.