The Cook County Historic Archives and Records Office (CARO) is responsible for compiling the history of Cook County Government and explaining the role the County played in the growth and development of the region, state and nation.
Women Leading the Way: Celebrating Women's History Month
In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Cook County Historic Archives and Records Offifice highlighting remarkable women that led Cook County. Thank you to these inspiring leaders past and present who will continue to pave the way for future women. Recognizing Cook Count leaders is an ongoing project, so please let us know about leaders not featured in this list.
Mae Abernathy |
Board Member |
The Retirement Board County Employees Annuity and Benefit Fund |
Delrice Adams |
Director |
Justice Advisory Council |
Donna Alexander, DVM |
Director |
Animal Control |
Zahra Ali |
Director |
Revenue |
Anita Alvarez |
State's Attorney |
State's Attorney of Cook County |
Alma Anaya |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Shannon Andrews |
Director |
Procurement |
Tanya Anthony |
Chief Administrative Officer |
Bureau of Administration |
Ponni Arunkamar |
Medical Examiner |
Medical Examiner's Office |
Anna Ashcraft |
Director |
Real Estate |
Angela Bailey |
Director |
Adoption & Child Custody Advocacy |
Jennifer Ballard Croft |
Chief of Staff |
State's Attorney's Office |
Shelly Banks |
Auditor |
Cook County Auditor |
Mary Bartelme |
Judge |
Circuit Court (Juvenile Court) |
Anna Bemis |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Rachel G. Blanchard |
Superintendent |
Home for Delinquent and Dependent Children and Juvenile Court |
Dorothy A. Boland |
County Purchasing Agent |
Procurement |
Dorothy Brown |
Clerk of the Circuit Court |
Clerk of the Circuit Court |
Lena M. Bruno |
Zoning Administrator |
Building and Zoning |
Barbara Bruno |
Director |
Revenue |
Laura Burman |
Auditor |
Cook County Auditor |
Jessica Caffrey |
Director |
Real Estate |
Amy Campanelli |
Public Defender |
Public Defender |
Susan Campbell |
Director |
Planning and Development |
Mildred Casey |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Maria Choca Urban |
Director |
Planning and Development |
Gwendolyn Clemons |
Director |
Planning and Development |
Grace Colbert |
Director |
Budget and Management Services |
Earlean Collins |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Mary Collins |
Matron |
Home for Delinquent and Dependent Children |
Elizabeth A. Conkey |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Linda Coronado |
Chief |
Bureau of Health Services |
Lourdes Coss |
Director |
Procurement |
Karen Crawford |
Chief of Staff |
Office of the President |
Delphia M. Culver |
Superintendent |
Home for Delinquent and Dependent Children and Juvenile Court |
Mary Decker Laraia |
Chief |
Capital Planning and Policy |
Bridget Degnen |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Paula Driver |
Undersheriff |
Sheriff |
Donna Dunnings |
Chief Financial Officer |
Bureau of Finance |
Sylvia Edwards |
Chief Operating Officer |
Oak Forest Hospital |
Margaret Egan |
Director |
Justice Advisory Council |
Mrs. Edward J. Fleming |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Xochitl Flores |
Chief |
Bureau of Economic Development |
Mary Nic Foster |
Director |
Human Rights and Ethics |
Kim Foxx |
State's Attorney |
State's Attorney of Cook County |
Rita Fry |
Public Defender |
Public Defender |
Bridget Gainer |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Andrea Gibson |
Director |
Budget and Management Services |
Jackie Gomez |
Director |
Contract Compliance |
Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Elizabeth Granato |
Chief |
Bureau of Asset Management |
Tasha Green Cruzat |
Chief of Staff |
Office of the President |
Annette Guzman |
Director |
Budget and Management Services |
Velisha Haddox |
Chief |
Bureau of Human Resources |
LaVerne Hall |
Director |
Contract Compliance |
Betty Hancock Perry |
Director |
Contract Compliance |
Jacqueline Harder |
Director |
Economic Development |
Michelle Harris |
Secretary to the Board |
Secretary to the Board of Commissioners |
Suzanne Hayes |
Director |
CDBG Program |
Lanetta Haynes Turner |
Chief of Staff |
Office of the President |
Cynthia Henderson |
Chief Operating Officer |
Oak Forest Hospital |
Irene C. Hernandez |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Alexis Herrera |
Chief Financial Officer |
Sheriff |
Mary Jo Horace |
Chief Information Officer |
Bureau of Technology |
Rebecca Horowitz |
Director |
Justice Advisory Council |
Bilqis Jacobs-El |
Director |
Facilities Management |
Salomea Jaranowski |
Recorder of Deeds |
Recorder of Deeds |
Nancy Jones |
Medical Examiner |
Medical Examiner's Office |
Ann Kalayil |
Chief |
Bureau of Asset Management |
Mary Kehoe Griffin |
Chief |
Bureau of Public Safety |
Robin Kelly |
Chief Administrative Officer |
Bureau of Administration |
Connie Kravitz |
Comptroller |
Comptroller's Office |
Tracey Ladner |
Chief |
Bureau of Human Resources |
Maragaret LaRaviere |
Director |
Adoption & Child Custody Advocacy |
Laura Lechowicz Felicione |
Special Legal Assistant |
Office of the President |
Elaine Lockwood Bean |
Chief |
Bureau of Asset Management |
Rose-Marie Love |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Cathy Maras O'Leary |
Chief Information Officer |
Bureau of Technology |
Martha Martinez |
Chief Administrative Officer |
Bureau of Administration |
Ada Belle McCleery |
Manager |
Tubercular Hospital, Dunning, Oak Forest |
Mary McDonald |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Mary McEnerney |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Adrienne Mebane |
Chief of Staff |
State's Attorney's Office |
Donna Miller |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Peggy Montes |
Chair |
Commission on Women's Issues |
Carol Moseley Braun |
Recorder of Deeds |
Recorder of Deeds |
Joan Patricia Murphy |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Linda Rae Murray |
Chief |
Bureau of Health Services |
Lydia Murray |
Chief Information Officer |
Bureau of Technology |
Maureen Murtaugh |
Secretary |
Zoning Board of Appeals |
A. Emily Napierlaski |
Commissioner |
Civil Service Commission |
Elaine Nemoto |
Director |
Public Health Nursing Service, Department of Public Health |
Jessey Neves |
Special Assistant to President |
Office of the President |
Anna E. Nicholes |
Commissioner |
Civil Service Commission |
Karin Norrignton-Reaves |
Director |
Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership |
Anna Nowak |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Marjorie O'Dea |
Chief of Police |
Sheriff |
Maureen O'Donnell |
Chief |
Bureau of Human Resources |
Lucy Palermo |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Maria Pappas |
Treasurer |
Treasurer of Cook County |
Violet Park |
Director |
Social Case Work Service, Office of the Chief Judge |
Toni Preckwinkle |
President |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Kellie Peterson |
Zoning Administrator |
Building and Zoning |
Lillian Piotrowski |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Mrs. Glenn E. Plumb |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Chelsea Pollock |
Director |
Social Case Work Service, Office of the Chief Judge |
Frances Powell |
Director |
School of Nursing |
Aurelia Pucniski |
Clerk of the Circuit Court |
Clerk of the Circuit Court |
June Purcell Guild |
Superintendent |
Home for Delinquent and Dependent Children |
Blanche Pyne |
Acting Superintendent |
Home for Delinquent and Dependent Children |
Jeanne Quinn |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Beatrice Rieckhoff |
Commissioner |
Civil Service Commission |
Shellie Riedle |
Director |
Budget and Management Services |
Simona Rollinson |
Chief Information Officer |
Bureau of Technology |
Ruth M. Rothstein |
Chief |
Bureau of Health Services |
Patricia Rush |
Chief Operating Officer |
Oak Forest Hospital |
Jill Ruzevick |
Director |
Enterprise Resource Planning |
Ruby Ryan |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Maria Saldana |
Chief |
Bureau of Economic Development |
Dorothy E. Schroeder |
Recorder of Deeds (Acting) |
Recorder of Deeds |
Karen L. Scott, MD |
Chief Medical Officer |
Public Health |
Amelia Sears |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Patricia Shymanski |
Chief of Staff |
Office of the President |
Deborah Sims |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Anna L. Smith |
County Agent |
County Agent |
Josephine B. Sneed |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Reshma Soni |
Comptroller |
Comptroller's Office |
Bobbie L. Steele |
President |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Deborah Stone |
Director |
Environment and Sustainability |
Juliana Stratton |
Director |
Justice Advisory Council |
Rebecca Strisko |
Chief |
Bureau of Human Resources |
Marie H. Suthers |
Commissioner |
Board of Elections |
Nneka Jones Tapia |
Executive Director |
Department of Corrections |
Michele Thompson |
Chief Operating Officer |
Provident Hospital |
Carmen Triche-Colvin |
Purchasing Agent |
Procurement |
B. Fain Tucker |
Chief Judge |
Circuit Court (Criminal Court pre-unification) |
Jenny Vidis |
Director |
Human Rights and Ethics |
Lisa Walik |
Director |
Risk Management |
Zelda Whittler |
Undersheriff |
Sheriff |
Jaye Williams |
Chief Financial Officer |
Bureau of Finance |
Shellie Williams |
Director |
Real Estate |
Sandra Williams |
Secretary to the Board |
Secretary to the Board of Commissioners |
Darlena Williams-Burnett |
Cook County Commissioner |
Cook County Board of Commissioners |
Stephanie Wright-Griggs |
Chief Operating Officer |
Provident Hospital |
Karen Yarbrough |
County Clerk |
Cook County Clerk |
Deanna Zalas |
Director |
Risk Management |
Below: In 2018, ten women were elected to serve in Cook County Government. Top, from left to right: President Toni Preckwinkle, County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, Commissioner Deborah Sims, Commissioner Bridget Gainer. Bottom, from left to right: County Treasurer Maria Pappas, Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown, State's Attorney Kim Foxx, Commissioner Alma E. Anaya, Commissioner Bridget Degnen, Commissioner Donna Miller.
