Evanston, Illinois sample ballot 2026

Preckwinkle has served as Cook County Board President since 2010, the first African American woman elected to lead the county, per the campaign site. Preckwinkle's role has included oversight of the county's public health and hospital systems, criminal justice system, and forest preserve district, per the campaign site.

Michael Murphy is an IT professional and Chicago resident running for Cook County Board President, per the campaign site. He describes himself as a grassroots candidate rather than a career politician, per the campaign site.

Pat Hynes is the Lyons Township Assessor with more than 30 years of property tax experience; he won the Democratic nomination by defeating the sitting assessor in the March 17, 2026 primary, per WTTW's voter guide and Chicago election coverage.

Tsatsoulis has worked in finance, retail, wholesale, and real estate, and holds an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago, per the campaign site. Tsatsoulis currently manages a residential building in Chicago, per the campaign site.

Sandefur has served in the Cook County Sheriff's Office since 1990, more than 30 years, in roles including correctional officer, police officer, tactical officer, investigator, academy instructor, and shift commander, per the campaign site. Sandefur is a former U.S. Marine and holds a master's degree in criminal justice with a forensic psychology focus, per the campaign site.

Cardenas currently serves as District 1 Commissioner and Chairman of the Cook County Board of Review, per the campaign site.

Michael Scott, Jr. serves as Cook County Commissioner for the 2nd District, per his campaign site. He served 12 years with the Chicago Park District, including as Park Supervisor and Area Manager, and served two terms as Alderman of the 24th Ward, where he worked on economic growth and job training programs. He was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Education and Child Welfare in 2019 and served on the Chicago Board of Education from August 2022 to August 2023. He is a graduate of Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and Morehouse College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Bill Lowry serves as Cook County Commissioner for the 3rd District, per his campaign site. He is president of the law firm Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie & Lowry, where he has practiced law for more than 30 years, and serves on boards at Lake Forest College and Loyola University School of Law. After the 2013 death of Hadiya Pendleton, he founded The It's Time Organization, a non-violence initiative supporting youth. As Commissioner, he sponsored the Good Faith Effort Transparency Report and the Cook County Cannabis Commission.

Dr. Kisha E. McCaskill serves as Cook County Commissioner for the 5th District, having been appointed to the seat in January 2025, per her campaign site. She has sponsored or co-sponsored more than 100 resolutions covering public health and human services, public safety, transportation and infrastructure, and economic development.

Patricia Joan "Trish" Murphy appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Cook County Commissioner District 6, per the county elections office's certified candidate list.

Vasquez is the appointed 8th District Cook County Commissioner, having previously served as chief of staff to a Chicago alderman, per the campaign site. Raised in Chicago's Belmont Cragin neighborhood by parents who immigrated from Colombia, she holds a bachelor's degree in political science from DePaul University and a master's in social sciences from the University of Chicago, per the campaign site. She has also worked in nonprofit partnerships and immigrant rights advocacy, per the campaign site.

Maggie Trevor serves as Cook County Commissioner for the 9th District, per her campaign site. She has passed legislation limiting the use of coal tar sealants on driveways in Cook County and has worked to bring transportation infrastructure funding to the district.

Drake Warren is an industrial engineer with a decade of experience organizing around healthcare access, environmental restoration, and housing, running for Cook County Commissioner in District 10, per the campaign site. He is a renter and transit user who would be the district's first openly LGBTQ+ commissioner, per the campaign site.

Granato serves as Bureau Chief of the Cook County Bureau of Asset Management and has fifteen years of experience in leadership roles spanning infrastructure, operations, and community development, per the campaign site.

Xiaoli "Alice" Hu appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Cook County Commissioner District 12, per the county elections office's certified candidate list.

Josina Wing Morita serves as Cook County Commissioner for District 13, having been elected in 2022, per her campaign site. She was previously elected to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board in 2016. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and International Race Relations from Pitzer College and a Master's degree in Urban Planning and Public Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and is the Founding Chair of the Asian American Caucus and the Mamas Caucus.

Mason has spent about 15 years in public service, beginning in then State Senator Toi Hutchinson's office before serving as director of outreach for a member of Congress, per the campaign site. Since 2018 he has been chief of staff to Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, and he has served as Elk Grove Township Democratic Committeeperson since 2014, per the campaign site. He graduated from Conant High School and holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in political science and government from Illinois State University, per the campaign site.

Lee is a small business owner and 30 year Cook County resident who serves as a commissioner on the Village of Hoffman Estates' Economic Development Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission, per the campaign site. He describes his approach as bringing common sense and fiscal responsibility to government, drawing on his experience running a business, per the campaign site. He is active in his church, Scout Troop leadership, the Lions Club and the Jaycees, per the campaign site.

Miranda E. Hernandez works in the Criminal Appeals Division of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, per the campaign site. She has served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, a political appointee at the U.S. Department of Justice, and deputy director of legislative affairs for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, and holds a J.D. and M.B.A. from Northern Illinois University, per the campaign site.

Hoffenberg is a lawyer who has worked as both a criminal defense attorney and an assistant state's attorney, per the campaign site. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a law degree from DePaul University College of Law, and she founded a small biotech company providing affordable diagnostic services for children and families, per the campaign site. She currently serves as Clerk of Lyons Township, chairs the La Grange Police and Fire Commission, and previously served on the La Grange District 105 school board, per the campaign site.

Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Cook County Commissioner District 17, per the county elections office's certified candidate list.

Brady-Davis is a social justice advocate and communications professional who currently serves as a Commissioner at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and as Chief Strategy Officer at the Center on Halsted, per the campaign site. Brady-Davis previously spent nearly seven years with the Sierra Club and served as youth outreach coordinator managing HIV prevention and LGBT leadership programs at the Center on Halsted, per the campaign site.

Eira Lizeth Corral Sepulveda appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner (Six Year Term), per the county elections office's certified candidate list.

Kirkwood brings more than a decade of experience in municipal operations, education, and community leadership and was appointed to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board by Governor JB Pritzker in December 2024, per the campaign site.

Michelle Pennington appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner (Six Year Term), per the county elections office's certified candidate list. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.

Cameron "Cam" Davis appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner (Two Year Term), per the county elections office's certified candidate list.

Stratton is Illinois's Lieutenant Governor and a former state representative who was first elected after defeating a long-serving incumbent, per the campaign site. She says she was motivated to enter public service while caring for her mother through a battle with Alzheimer's and encountering gaps in the healthcare system, per the campaign site.

• Served as lieutenant governor during Democratic administrations focused on budgets, equity initiatives, reproductive rights, and state services. Supported

Don Tracy is Illinois's Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 2026, a lawyer, business executive, and former chair of the Illinois Republican Party. His campaign emphasizes taxes, public safety, economic competitiveness, government accountability, and offering a Republican alternative in an open Senate race.

Whitfield Harrington Jr of Schaumburg is on the State Board of Elections' certified candidate list for U.S. Senate on the American Center Party line.

Pritzker is Illinois's governor and was previously an entrepreneur and business leader who oversaw operations with 10,000 employees and helped launch a non-profit business incubator that supported the creation of more than 14,500 jobs, per the campaign site. He lost both parents at a young age, an experience he says motivated him toward public service, per the campaign site. He is running with Christian Mitchell as his candidate for lieutenant governor, per the Illinois State Board of Elections' certified 2026 general election candidate list.

Darren Bailey is the Republican nominee for Illinois governor, a former state senator, farmer, and the GOP's 2022 nominee for governor. His campaign emphasizes lower taxes, public safety, parental rights, agriculture, and a rematch against JB Pritzker. He is running with Aaron B. Del Mar as his candidate for lieutenant governor, per the Illinois State Board of Elections' certified 2026 general election candidate list.

Collin Corbett of Palatine is a certified independent candidate for governor with running mate Carolyn Schofield, a former McHenry County Board member; Corbett is a former Republican campaign consultant and founder of Cor Strategies, per Capitol News Illinois and NPR Illinois. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.

Kwame Raoul is Illinois's incumbent attorney general and the Democratic nominee for re-election. His office has emphasized consumer protection, civil rights, gun safety litigation, reproductive rights, workers' rights, and multistate legal actions.

Bob Fioretti is the Republican nominee for Illinois attorney general and a former Chicago alderman. His campaign emphasizes public safety, government accountability, litigation priorities, and a Republican alternative to Democratic control of statewide legal offices.

Alexi Giannoulias is Illinois's incumbent secretary of state and the Democratic nominee for re-election. His office manages driver services, libraries, business filings, state records, organ-donor registration, and technology modernization.

Diane Harris is the Republican nominee for Illinois secretary of state and a Joliet Junior College trustee. Her campaign emphasizes customer service, election-adjacent administrative services, business filings, and a Republican alternative for a large statewide office.

Frerichs is the incumbent Illinois State Treasurer, first sworn in in 2015, and previously served as an Illinois state senator, Champaign County Auditor and Champaign County Board member, per the campaign site. A Yale University graduate, he grew up in Gifford, Illinois, the son of a truck driver and a university secretary, per the campaign site.

Max Solomon is the Republican nominee listed for Illinois state treasurer. His candidacy gives Republican voters a statewide alternative in the office responsible for state investments, public cash management, and treasury services. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.

Margaret Croke is running for Illinois Comptroller. She has served five years in the Illinois House of Representatives, where she chairs the Financial Institutions committee, per her campaign site.

• Used her legislative role to participate in budget, economic-development, and state-service debates. Supported

Bryan Drew is the Republican nominee for Illinois comptroller and an attorney. His candidacy offers a Republican alternative for the office that manages state payments, fiscal reporting, and public financial transparency.