Cook County Democratic Party

Cook County Democratic Party
Chairperson	Toni Preckwinkle
Headquarters	134 N LaSalle, Chicago, Ill.
Ideology	Liberalism Progressivism Social liberalism
National affiliation	Democratic Party
Regional affiliation	Democratic Party of Illinois
Chicago City Council	47 / 50
Cook County Board of Commissioners	16 / 17
Website
cookcountydems.com

The Cook County Democratic Party is an American county-level political party organization which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. The organization has dominated Chicago politics (and consequently, Illinois politics) since the 1930s. It relies on an organizational structure of a ward or township committeeperson (until 2018 legal name change, "committeeman") to elect candidates.^[1] At the height of its influence under Richard J. Daley in the 1960s when political patronage in employment was endemic in American cities, it was one of the most powerful political machines in American history. By the beginning of the 21st century the party had largely ceased to function as a machine due to the legal dismantling of the patronage system under the Shakman Decrees issued by the federal court in Chicago. The current Chair is Toni Preckwinkle, who is also the elected Cook County Board president.