By winning the election, Yarbrough became the first woman to ever hold the office of Cook County Clerk.
Anticipating a potential wave election year for Democrats, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and Cook County Democratic Party Chairwoman Toni Preckwinkle made a focused effort to increase the Democrats' majority on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, focusing these efforts on three of the Board's four Republican-held seats.
[11] Preckwinkle did not target the Republican-held 9th district seat, as the incumbent Republican, Peter N. Silvestri, was both popular and a political centrist and had a reputation for being a peacemaker on the Board at times when conflict arose between its members.
Both incumbents won reelection, running unopposed in both their primary and general election races.
Since three six-year seats were up for election, voters could vote for up to three candidates,[15] and the top-three finishers would win.
Three of the incumbents for the three seats were seeking reelection, Kari Steele, Debra Shore, and Martin Durkan, all three Democrats.
Steele and Shore won reelection to two of the seats, while Darkan lost renomination in the Democratic primary.
[16] A special election was held to fill the seat vacated by Cynthia Santos following her 2016 appointment to the Illinois Pollution Control Board.
[2] Three days before the candidate filing deadline, incumbent Water Reclamation District Board member Timothy Bradford's died, leaving his seat vacant.
[16] No candidates filed in time to be included on the primary ballots, but Cam Davis won the Democratic Party nomination and Geoffrey Cubbage won the Green Party nomination, each as write-in candidates.
[2] 10 judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County were up for partisan elections due to vacancies.
For the first time in three decades, a Circuit Court of Cook County judge (Matthew Coghlan) lost retention.
The question asked, Shall the State of Illinois legalize the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products for recreational use by adults 21 and older subject to state regulation, taxation and local ordinance?
[18]A ballot question was created by a successful initiative petition which asked Cook County voters whether to empower each city in Cook County to establish a law that allows workers to earn up to 40 hours a year of sick time.
The ballot measure asked the question, Shall your municipality match the Cook County earned sick time law which allows for workers to earn up to 40 hours (5 days) of sick time a year to take care of their own health or a family member’s health?
[19]A ballot question was created by a successful initiative petition which asked Cook County voters whether they believed that Illinois should strengthen penalties for the illegal trafficking of firearms and require all gun dealers to be certified by the State.
The ballot measure asked the question, Shall the minimum wage in your municipality match the $13 per hour Cook County minimum wage law for adults over the age of 18 by July 1, 2020, and be indexed to the consumer price index after that?