Note: This story is the third in a three-part series featuring women leaders in Cook County government.
It’s only been two short months since Monica Gordon began her tenure as Cook County clerk, but she’d been preparing for this position for years.
With a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northern Illinois University and experience in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry, Gordon transitioned into her first government role as executive director of the Legislative Black Caucus Foundation in Springfield.
“I was exposed to policy,” she said. “It’s just something that snuck into my heart. My love of policy is based on my love of community. And the way you change your community is through policy. I’m not saying you have to be an elected official to do that because all the stakeholders take part in change.”
Along the way, Gordon got a master’s degree from Governors State University and set up residence in the South Suburbs. She was one of a dozen women selected for the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership Training Academy. The academy’s aim is preparing women like Gordon to fill elected and appointed positions that allowed them to push for Democratic ideals.
Her first try at elected office was an Illinois Senate seat. She lost in the primary to Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Kankakee.
“It was extremely hard, especially when you’re not the favored candidate. Not too much longer I realized that opportunity wasn’t for me, but I was so grateful for the experience. I’m so glad I did it because I learned so much,” she said. “You have to prepare yourself; you have to build that resilience.”
Gordon ran for and won a seat on the Prairie State College Board and was elected the Democratic Committeeman for Bloom Township. She served on the PSC board until 2022 when she was elected to a seat on the Cook County Board for the 5th District. Deborah Sims had represented the district for 28 years and recommended Gordon for the spot.
“That was a great experience running for that seat. I loved being a commissioner. It was a great opportunity especially under the leadership of Madam President Toni Preckwinkle,” Gordon said. “She’s so innovative in her approach to bring equity to communities and what I mean by that, she initiated a policy roadmap that’s a five-year plan that assures that every piece of legislation, every resolution, every budget allocation is to bring about equity throughout the communities of Cook County.
“Even initiatives and programs funded through federal funds like ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) and the infrastructure law, she made sure that under-resourced areas received those dollars or those program dollars first.
“I learned so much from her leadership and I was able to bring change to my community and I will be forever grateful for that experience.”
Gordon’s 5th District benefited from the county’s Build Up Cook program that helped underwrite work on decaying and leaking water pipes in the Dixmoor/Robbins communities. Gordon said with a $1 billion cost, “Programs such as Build Up Cook basically put a dent in that price tag. I’m so grateful for that.”
Gordon may hold a countywide office, but that doesn’t mean she won’t stop supporting ways to strengthen the South Suburbs.
“I’m so proud to be from such an amazing community. It’s amazing because it’s inclusive, it’s fair, it’s just and we want the best for each other,” she said.
One of her ongoing initiatives is getting a Level 2 Trauma Center for the area.
“I will never stop screaming about that. I think that’s incredibly unfair. It goes back to ZIP code disparities,” she said.
In her new position as Cook County clerk, Gordon wants to raise the stature of her office. Too many people are unaware of what her 350-person staff is accomplishing for them.
Gordon won the job in the November 2024 general election and was sworn in to her office on Dec. 2. The clerk’s job was left vacant after then Clerk Karen Yarbrough died in April 2024. Under Yarbrough’s leadership, the Cook County Clerk Office and the Recorder of Deeds Office merged.
Gordon is overseeing the nation’s third largest clerk’s office behind Los Angeles County, California, and Harris County serving the Houston, Texas, area.
The Cook County Clerk’s Office handles vital records, processes court-ordered child support, court costs, fees and fines, property deeds and land records, and the property tax process. Every taxing body files its annual levy with the clerk’s office.
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas collects the tax revenue, but it’s the clerk’s office that’s “setting the final levy, approving the final levy. It is a lot of steps to the process with the (county) assessor, (county) board of review, the treasurer and then the clerk’s office,” Gordon said.
The clerk’s office also serves as the chief election officer for suburban Cook County with its estimated 1.4 million registered voters living in more than 120 towns and villages in suburban Cook County.
The clerk’s office handles registration, judge recruitment and training, and polling place identification, mapping and management. Gordon said her office budget increased by $20 million when it was responsible for the November 2024 general election. The office has an election security component, including cybersecurity.
“Cook County remains a leader across the country to highlight voting rights and voter suppression,” Gordon said.
