<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0w5vNA_1H1llMl300" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0w5vNA_1H1llMl300" width="1057" height="936" ><figcaption>Democrat Elyse Hoffenberg leaves her polling place after voting. Hoffenberg won the County Board’s 17th District seat, the last Republican-held seat on the board. (Facebook photo)</figcaption></figure>When Sean Morrison leaves the Cook County Board next month, so will any Republican voice on the government bodyCook County Democrats flipped his 17th District seat, which has been Republican since it came into existence in 1994. Only three Republicans – Herb Schumann, Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman and Morrison – have served the district over its 22 years.That will change in December when Democrat Elyse Hoffenberg takes over the post. Hoffenberg beat Gorman, who was seeking to return to the board after an 11-year absence.Hoffenberg earned 58 percent of the suburban district’s vote to flip the seat.The La Grange resident said she is incredibly honored to be residents’ choice as commissioner.“Our campaign was built around a simple slogan – better, not bigger government – with the belief that government should work for working families,” she said in a statement.Hoffenberg said she will focus on delivering fair property taxes; safer, more resilient neighborhoods; and affordable living.“It’s clear our message resonated, helping us build the broad coalition we assembled to flip this traditionally Republican seat blue,” she said. “The support of labor unions, community organizations, Democratic Party leadership, and so many others helped make this resounding victory possible.“But now we move beyond campaign season and turn our focus to the important work ahead. Protecting our communities from flooding or providing mental health resources are not partisan issues; they’re commonsense solutions that remind people that government can, and should, work for them. As your commissioner, I vow to uplift the many voices of our district and deliver real results for constituents.”Cook County Democratic Party Chair Toni Preckwinkle said the party delivered from the top of the ballot to the bottom.“That includes a milestone we’ve worked toward for years: flipping the last Republican seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, giving Democrats every seat on the board,” Preckwinkle who is also president of the board, said in a statement.“Democrats across the county are fighting for the values we share and the future we believe in,” she added. “Cook County showed what’s possible when we come together, organize, and turn our shared values into action.“To our candidates, our committee persons, our volunteers, and our voters, thank you. This is your victory.”Morrison, the County Board’s 17th District representative, made the decision last year not to seek re-election.A believer in term limits, Morrison said he thought long and hard about running again after 10 years in office.“I never viewed public office as a career. I had no ambition to climb the political ladder to Springfield or Washington D.C.,” Morrison said in a statement. “My goal was always to serve our citizens with professionalism, respect, honor and integrity, make a difference where I could and then step aside. Term limits have long been a core belief of mine, and to be candid, I wrestled with this decision for several months.“The responsibility of the office and the trust placed in me made it difficult to step away, but in the end, staying true to my principles of term limits mattered most. I firmly believe that public service should be a season of contribution, not a lifetime occupation, and it is important that I lead by example.” Morrison said the stranglehold that Democrats have on government at various levels in Illinois is not ideal.“Cook County, the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois are now firmly governed by a one-party super-majority whose policy direction and ideological priorities diverge sharply from my own deeply held personal, ethical, and spiritual convictions,” he said. “I respect that many of my colleagues are goodhearted individuals who genuinely believe in their approach to governing, but those approaches often stand in conflict with the principles that brought me into public service. While I have worked vigorously to bring balance, transparency, and accountability, I also recognize the limits of what one voice can realistically achieve in a system so overwhelmingly weighted to one side.”County Board racesNo Democrat in a contested County Board race received less than 64 percent of the vote.Democrats, besides the 17th District’s Hoffenberg, who had contested County Board races and the percentage of the vote they received were:<ul><li>5th District: Kisha McCaskill – 90 percent</li><li>8th District: Jessica Vasquez – 88 percent</li><li>9th District: Maggie Trevor – 64 percent</li><li>11th District: John Daley – 75 percent</li><li>12th District: Elizabeth Granato – 85 percent</li><li>13th District: Josina Morita – 85 percent</li><li>15th District: Ted Mason – 67 percent</li></ul>Millionaire taxFormer Gov. Pat Quinn said he will be seeking to get a statewide referendum on increasing the tax on millionaire’s income after voters in Chicago and Cook County overwhelmingly supported the measure in the Nov. 3 election.“The referendum passed big time with city and suburban voters,” Quinn said. “I will really be working in the coming year to put this on the ballot as a binding referendum statewide.”An advisory referendum on the ballot in Chicago and suburban Cook County asked if voters support enacting a 3-percent income tax surcharge on millionaires with half of the additional funds going to property tax relief and the other half to fund public education.In Chicago, 80 percent of voters backed the measure. In the suburbs, 72 percent of voter supported the millionaire tax.Quinn said he will be breaking down the vote totals per state legislative and senate district and sharing those numbers with lawmakers.“I think this election, for me, stood for people telling politicians what to do rather than politicians telling people what to do,” the longtime political activist said. “We were hoping for big numbers. Countywide, we had 76 percent of voters support it. That’s a pretty good number. Politicians follow returns.”Quinn said the vote speaks volumes about the reform Illinois residents are seeking.“Some critics have said its piddly-diddly tax relief. Then lawmakers should do better in providing property tax relief,” he said.He said when Cook County, which is bigger population-wise than 28 states, speaks, lawmakers listen.“It is not good for Illinois to have the highest property taxes in the nation,” Quinn said. “The millionaire tax amendment has been done in Washington, Maine, Rhode Island, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and California.“There is a blueprint for getting the reform that is needed. It needs to be a priority. The tax bill is part of affordable housing. We don’t want the tax bill to discourage people from being homeowners.”Quinn said the fear that a surcharge would chase millionaires from Illinois doesn’t hold water.“That argument is refuted by the evidence,” he stated. “Massachusetts passed a millionaire amendment in 2022. Now, it has more millionaires than before.“Studies show that it is a myth that such as amendment causes millionaire flight.”The former governor said that Illinois has one of the lowest tax rates for millionaires at 4.9 percent.Chicago School BoardJessica Biggs won the four-person race for president of the Chicago School Board.Biggs, a School Board member, earned 49 percent of the more than 611,000 votes cast in the race. Her nearest competitor was Chicago Teachers Union-backed Hilario Dominguez, who got 31 percent of the vote.“So grateful for this incredible support and ready to move Chicago Public Schools forward,” Biggs said in a Facebook post. “The work starts now!”Biggs will deal with a CTU-leaning board as 10 of the 20 Board of Education members to be seated in January had CTU’s backing.“Elections are checkpoints, not finish lines,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said a post-election letter to union members. “The moratorium on school closures expires at the end of this year, and we will be in the room to protect our neighborhood schools. And whoever sits on the board, the money our students are owed has to come from state lawmakers.“Illinois has the funds – and the means to make the wealthy pay their fair share. The CPS budget counts on $150 million in state funding that hasn’t arrived yet.”kbeese@chronicleillinois.com</div></body>

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When Sean Morrison leaves the Cook County Board next month, so will any Republican voice on the government body. Cook County Democrats flipped his 17th District seat, which has been Republican since it came into existence in 1994. Only three Republicans – Herb Schumann, Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman and Morrison – have served the district over its 22 years.

Democrats flip final Cook County Board seat

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When Sean Morrison leaves the Cook County Board next month, so will any Republican voice on the government body. Cook County Democrats flipped his 17th Dis

Democrats flip final Cook County Board seat

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