Presidents of the Cook County Board of Commissioners

Toni Lynn Preckwinkle (née Reed; born March 17, 1947) is an American politician and the current Cook County Board President in Cook County, Illinois, United States. She was first elected as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the executive branch of Cook County government, in November 2010 and became the first woman elected to this position. She was previously a five-term alderman in the Chicago City Council, representing Chicago's 4th ward. Preckwinkle was a candidate for Mayor of Chicago in the 2019 election, and advanced to the runoff election, which she lost to Lori Lightfoot.

Anton Joseph Cermak (Czech: Antonín Josef Čermák, May 9, 1873 – March 6, 1933) was an American politician who served as the 44th mayor of Chicago, Illinois from April 7, 1931 until his death on March 6, 1933.

James Franklin Aldrich (April 6, 1853 – March 8, 1933) was a United States Representative from Illinois.

George W. Dunne (February 20, 1913 – May 28, 2006) was an American Democratic Party politician from Chicago, Illinois. He was President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from 1969 to 1991; the longest service of anyone holding that office.

Daniel B. Ryan Jr. (1894 – April 8, 1961) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician who served as a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from 1923 to 1926 and again from 1930 until his death in 1961. He was a Democrat. The Dan Ryan Expressway is named in his honor.

Todd H. Stroger (born January 14, 1963) is the former president of the Cook County, Illinois Board and a former alderman for the 8th Ward in Chicago. Stroger is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2001, he was appointed to the Chicago City Council by Richard M. Daley. He is the son of John Stroger who served as Cook County Board president for 12 years until his death.

John H. Stroger, Jr. (May 19, 1929 – January 18, 2008) was an American politician who served from 1994 until 2006 as the first African-American president of the Cook County, Illinois Board of Commissioners. Stroger was a member of the Democratic Party. He was also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and from 1992 to 1993 served as president of the National Association of Counties. Cook County's Stroger Hospital was renamed in his honor.

Charles C. P. Holden was an American politician who served as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and served as the president of the Chicago Common Council. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Chicago in the 1871 election.

Edward Jackson Brundage (May 13, 1869 – January 20, 1934) was an American lawyer and politician.

Richard John Phelan (March 29, 1937 – March 26, 2024) was an American politician from the state of Illinois. He was special counsel to the House Ethics Committee investigating Speaker Jim Wright in the late 1980s. Phelan was then elected as Cook County Board President from 1990 to 1994. His campaign was Chicago's and Illinois' top 1990 election in terms of coverage and importance, as Phelan brought a reform agenda, beating out the candidates of the Regular Cook County Democratic Party. His campaign included campaign manager Eric Adelstein, media consultant David Axelrod, field director Pete Giangreco, Rahm Emanuel, who did opposition research, issues director Don Wiener, fundraiser Mary Beth Sova, and field assistant Troy Deckert.