2008 Cook County State's Attorney election

2008 Cook County State's Attorney election presidential no 2004 Cook County State's Attorney election 2004 2012 Cook County State's Attorney election 2012 November 4, 2008 Anita Alvarez 150x150px Democratic Party (United States) 1,378,452 69.90% Tony Peraica 150x150px Republican Party (United States) 494,611 25.08% Thomas O'Brien 150x150px Green Party (United States) 99,101 5.03% State's Attorney Richard A. Devine Democratic Party (United States) Anita Alvarez Democratic Party (United States) 73.71% (ballots cast)share of registered voters casting a ballot in Cook CountyOfficial General Election 11/4/2008 Summary Report Cook County Unofficial Results https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/Nov08Election_0.pdf 20 March 202467.23% (votes cast)share of registered voters casting a vote for State's Attorney; this statistic excludes ballots which undervoted by leaving a "blank vote" for State's AttorneyTABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008 A.D. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/proclamations/Proc-2008-11-04.pdf Chicago Board of Elections 16 March 2020 In the 2008 Cook County State's Attorney election, held on November 4, 2008, Democratic nominee Anita Alvarez defeated Republican nominee Tony Peraica and Green nominee Thomas O'Brien. Alvarez became the first Hispanic/Latina woman elected to the office. The general election was preceded by primary elections held on February 5. After third-term Democratic incumbent Richard A. Devine opted to forgo seeking an additional term, Alvarez (a prosecutor in the State's Attorney's Office) narrowly won a crowded six-candidate Democratic primary with 25.73% of the vote. She won 9,562 (1.01%) more votes than runner-up Thomas R. Allen (a member of the Chicago City Council), who won 24.72% of the vote. In the primary, Larry Suffredin (a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners) received 22.14% of the vote, Howard Brookins (a member of the Chicago City Council) received 18.18% of the vote, Robert J. Milan (an Assistant State's Attorney) received 5.82% of the vote, and Tommy H. Brewer received 3.41% of the vote. In the crowded contest, Alvarez benefited from the an endorsement by Chicago's police union, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7. In contrast to the crowded Democrati primary, the Republican primary saw Peraica run unopposed, and the Green Party nominated O'Brien without a primary contest. Democratic primary Incumbent third-term State's Attorney Richard A. Devine, a Democrat, did not seek reelection. The Democratic primary was won by Anita Alvarez, who was at the time the third-highest ranked prosecutor in the State's Attorneys office.Demirjian Karoun Garcia Moique Alvarez Calls It An Election Win https://www.chicagotribune.com/2008/02/06/alvarez-calls-it-an-election-win Chicago Tribune August 20, 2025 February 6, 2008 She was the first Hispanic/Latina woman to have ever won the party's nomination for Cook County State's Attorney.http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=129487&src=1 Alvarez get Democrat nod for Cook County state's attorney Dailyherald.com 2008-02-06 2015-04-24https://web.archive.org/web/20080207042838/http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/alvarez.states.attorney.2.646855.html February 7, 2008 The Democratic primary had six candidates, among whom the leading contenders were Alvarez (Assistant State's Attorney), Thomas R. Allen (a member of the Chicago City Council), Larry Suffredin (a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners), and Howard Brookins (a member of the Chicago City Council). Candidates in the Democratic primary Ran Thomas R. Allen, Chicago City Council alderman from the 38th ward since 1993 and former Cook County public defender Anita Alvarez, Assistant State's Attorney Tommy H. Brewer Howard Brookins, Chicago City Council alderman from the 21st ward since 2003 Robert J. Milan, Assistant State's Attorney Larry Suffredin, member the Cook County Board of Commissioners from the 13th district since 2002 Declined Richard A. Devine, incumbent State's Attorney since 1996 Campaigning in the Democratic primary No front-runner emerged from the crowded field, resulting in a tense campaign in which each of the candidates critiqued the rest of the field. The rest of the candidates criticized both Alvarez and Milan, who had worked as deputies under incumbent State's Attorney Divine, for wrongful convictions by the State's Attorney office and for the office's failure to bring criminal charges against Jon Burge (a Chicago Police Department commander who tortured criminal suspects into making confessions. Allen characterized Alvarez's candidacy as promising to continue the status quo of the department that had generated these and other scandals. Alvarez refuted the implication that she was connected to the scandals and status quo of the office, claiming, "despite being a 21-year prosecutor, I am not the status quo." Alvarez characterized her top opponents (Allen, Brookins, Sufferdin) as political insiders who were likely to be tempted to use the office of State's Attorney to punish political rivals and shield corrupt political allies. All three were far more integrated into local politics than Alvarez, holding elected offices. Alvarez characterized their candidacies as posing the, "true danger in handing [the office of State's Attorney] over to someone who will make charging decisions for political reasons". Sufferdin sought to position himself as a candidate aligned with reform efforts, and received the endorsement of several prominent local liberals (including Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and fellow County Board member Forrest Claypool). However, his opponents claimed that his alignment with reform was a hallow facade, noting that Sufferdin had previously worked as a lobbyist for the tobacco industry and casino industry. Alvarez benefited from the an endorsement by Chicago's police union, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7.Evans Emanuella Emmanuel Adeshina How Chicago’s Most Powerful Police Union Preserves Tradition of Problematic Leadership https://www.injusticewatch.org/archive/2021/analysis-heres-how-chicagos-most-powerful-police-union-maintains-tradition-of-problematic-leadership/ Injustice Watch 20 August 2025 September 14, 2021Anita Alvarez does the right thing, steps aside in Laquan McDonald case https://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/05/05/anita-alvarez-does-the-right-thing-steps-aside-in-laquan-mcdonald-case/ Chicago Tribune August 21, 2025 May 5, 2016 The Fraternal Order of Police criticized Sufferdin, seizing on his representation in the 1970s of a client that had been seeking early release from prison after being convicted of murdering a police officer. Brookins, himself African-American, centered his candidacy on the view that Cook County's criminal justice system had mistreated Black people. His candidacy received the endorsement of noted civil rights activist Jesse Jackson Sr. During the primary, a large portion of Alvarez's campaigns funds were from $640,000 in loans given to her committee by her husband (a gynecologist and obstetrician). Alvarez expressed her belief that the differentiator of her gender and hispanic ethnicity played a role in benefiting her campaign for the nomination, but also believed that her professional experience as a prosecutor was a major factor in her success. Results of the Democratic primary The primary utilized a first-past-the-post (single-round plurality) method. Alvarez narrowly won, with 25.73% of the vote –a percentage-point greater than the runner-up Cook County State’s Attorney Democratic primaryCook County and Chicago February 5th 2008 Primary Election Combined Summary Report https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/2008FebruaryCombinedSUMMARY.pdf Cook County Clerk's Office 20 March 2024 Democratic Party (United States) Anita Alvarez 244,538 25.73 Democratic Party (United States) Tom Allen 234,976 24.72 Democratic Party (United States) Larry Suffredin 210,381 22.14 Democratic Party (United States) Howard B. Brookins, Jr. 172,746 18.18 Democratic Party (United States) Robert J. Milan 55,350 5.82 Democratic Party (United States) Tommy H. Brewer 32,430 3.41 950,421 100 Republican primary Tony Peraica, a Republican member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Cook County State’s Attorney Republican primary Republican Party (United States) Tony Peraica 137,767 100 137,767 100 Green nomination While the Green Party of Illinois (a third party) had a publicly-run primary coinciding with those of the major party, there were no ballot-certified or formal write-in candidates in its primary seeking the office of State's Attorney. The Green Party ultimately nominated Thomas O'Brien. General election Alvarez won the general election, becoming the first Hispanic/Latina woman elected to the office.http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/anita-alvarez-cook-states-attorney.html Breaking News - Chicago Tribune ChicagoBreakingNews.com 2015-04-24 Cook County State’s Attorney election Democratic Party (United States) Anita Alvarez 1,378,452 69.90 -9.63 Republican Party (United States) Tony Peraica 494,611 25.08 +4.51 Green Party (United States) Thomas O'Brien 99,101 5.03 N/A 1,972,164 100 See also 2008 Cook County, Illinois, elections 2008 Illinois elections Notes References State's Attorney Category:Cook County, Illinois, state's attorney elections