Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Democratic challenger Richard Boykin trade barbs as June primary election takes shape
The Democratic primary race for Cook County’s top elected office has intensified, with incumbent County Board President Toni Preckwinkle trying to paint a newly filed opponent as an ally to Republicans and the challenger denouncing what he said was her support of the “defund the police” movement.
Richard Boykin, a former county commissioner for the 1st District, filed his nominating papers for the June 28 primary a couple hours shy of Monday’s deadline. His bid came a week after Preckwinkle submitted her own signatures for a fourth term as the county’s top executive.
Last-day filers for other county offices included Kari Steele, the Democratic aiming to unseat first-term assessor Fritz Kaegi in the Democratic primary and new challengers to Sheriff Tom Dart.
Following Boykin’s Monday signature submission, the Oak Park resident swiftly labeled Preckwinkle as a “defund the police” backer. It was an attempt to tie Preckwinkle to the movement that targeted police department budgets following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
“I wouldn’t vote to defund the police,” Boykin said. “When you vote to defund the police, you send a message to them that you don’t care about them. That’s what the county board did last year. And (Preckwinkle) allowed that to happen.”
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Boykin was referencing a symbolic resolution passed by Cook County commissioners with Preckwinkle’s approval in July 2020 that called for the county to “redirect funds from policing and incarceration to public services not administered by law enforcement.”
After the vote, Preckwinkle had reaffirmed to reporters: “I’m for reducing and redirecting our investment in law enforcement. … We’re overpoliced, and there’s a disproportionate number of Black deaths at the hands of the police.”
Preckwinkle’s campaign spokesman Hannah Fierle said Boykin makes a “misleading claim” in criticizing the resolution as a “defund the police” measure.
“The resolution proposed several ways for the County to commit to increasing funding for programs and policies to support residents and address the root causes of violence,” Fierle said. “The resolution is not, and was never about, cutting services or laying people off, but better envisioning how the County can allocate funding to support residents in areas like healthcare, housing, economic development, and housing and rental assistance.”
Fierle added, “It also is important to note that this legislation came from a moment in time when the disparities for the Black community were on display more than almost any other time in recent history.”
Ultimately, the sheriff’s office, which runs the county jail and a police force of about 500 officers, saw its budget shrink by about 4% the following year, but it more than recouped that in the 2022 budget.
Preckwinkle’s campaign also went on the attack against Boykin, contrasting her attention to community investment during the COVID-19 crisis with what Fierle said was Boykin’s affinity toward reducing government services.
“Mr. Boykin has a history of aligning himself with Republicans … and during his time on the Board, consistently advocated for cuts, closures, and layoffs,” Fierle wrote. “This is a time when our communities need real investments and resources.”
While representing the West Side and western suburbs from 2014 to 2018, Boykin led opposition against Preckwinkle’s repealed soda tax and her reinstated sales tax hike.
Boykin lost his 2018 primary to now-Commissioner Brandon Johnson and placed third in the 2020 Democratic primary for circuit court clerk.
Boykin is a Democrat but has supported Republicans in the past, including former U.S. Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk in his 2010 election, campaign contribution records show.
Preckwinkle was most recently trounced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the 2019 mayoral election, but Preckwinkle had easily beat former Ald. Bob Fioretti, her most recent primary opponent in a county race, the prior year.
Also filing to run in primaries for county board president are Democrat Zerlina Smith-Members, whose website describes her as an activist based in the Austin neighborhood, and River Forest resident Thea Tsatsos, who registered as a Libertarian.
Steele, the Democratic challenger for the assessor’s office, released a campaign statement attacking Kaegi’s record.
“I’m running for Assessor to finally lift the Assessor’s office out of chaos, and bring my decade of experience as a public servant to bear fixing a broken office so that tax bills are simplified, predictable and fair,” Steele said.
The current assessor made waves four years ago when he ousted incumbent Joseph Berrios in the Democratic primary and promised a new era of transparency. This time around, Kaegi has the backing of the Cook County Democrats. But Steele, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District president, has more support from trade unions and real estate developers who say the current administration is driving small businesses out.
Keagi’s campaign hit back by characterizing his critics as wealthy or politically connected.
“While it may make some uncomfortable, large commercial properties are paying their fair share for the first time in a long time, because Assessor Kaegi is following the law,” Alicia Webb, campaign spokeswoman, said. “When the very wealthy, big corporations, and political insiders were let off the hook for so many years, working and middle class families and small business owners had to pick up the tab. Under Fritz, that’s come to an end.”
Chicago resident Nico Tsatsoulis is also running for the assessor’s office, as a Libertarian.
On the Cook County Board, several incumbents are facing primary challengers, with crowded primaries in the the 9th District, where GOP Commissioner Peter Silvestri is retiring.
By the filing deadline, five Democrats, three Republicans and one Libertarian had turned in signatures for his seat.
Lastly, seven candidates have thrown their hats in the ring for the sheriff’s office. Tom Dart, the four-term Democratic incumbent who received the Cook County Democratic Party endorsement, has four filed primary opponents: Carmen Navarro Gercone, an official with the circuit court clerk’s office and a former director at the sheriff’s office; Noland Rivera, a veteran Chicago Police Department sergeant; Kirk Ortiz, a deputy sheriff; and LaTonya Ruffin, a former police officer with several south suburbs.
Brad Sandefur, a sergeant with the sheriff’s office, is running as a Libertarian.
