Voters Decide Fate of Cook County Recorder of Deeds Office: Election 2016 Results

CHICAGO, IL -- With 96 percent precincts reporting, voters appear to have decided the fate of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds office, voting yes to a binding referendum to merge the office with the Cook County Clerk’s office.

A measure to eliminate the office by transferring its duties and responsibilities to the Cook County Clerk’s office garnered 1,124,091 yes votes to 655,143 no votes, according to unofficial results from ABC 7 Chicago,.

Supporters of the measure said eliminating the Recording office could save Cook County taxpayers $1 million annually, according to a study by the Civic Federation.

The Cook County Clerk’s office will absorb the recorder’s office by Dec, 7, 2020 as spelled out in the referendum.

Cook County voters will decide on a binding referendum to merge the Cook County Recorder of Deeds office with the Cook County Clerk's office.

Yes -- 1,124,091

No -- 655,143

96.1 percent or precincts reporting.

This story was originally posted Oct. 18, 2016.

Cook County voters will have the rare opportunity to decide if an entire branch of county government should be eliminated in a move that supporters claim would save taxpayers millions of dollars over the next decade.

The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted in June to put a binding referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot that would eliminate the Cook County Recorder of Deeds office and transfer all duties and responsibilities to the Cook County Clerk.

Voters will be asked to vote yes or no to the following question:

“Shall the Office of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds be eliminated and all duties and responsibilities of the Office of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds be transferred to, and assumed by, the Office of the Cook County Clerk by December 7, 2020?”

If approved by a majority of voters, the elected office of Cook County Recorder of Deeds will no longer appear on the ballot and the functions of that office will be transferred to the Cook County Clerk’s office by 2020, when the Recorder’s term is set to expire.

The resolution has long been championed by Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey (12th District)), who for years has argued that the Recorder of Deeds’ duties and responsibilities duplicate and overlap with those performed by the Cook County Clerk’s office. Fritchey fell one vote short of getting the resolution on the ballot in 2012.

In 2010, the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan government research organization, also recommended the streamlining move in its Cook County Modernization Report, as a way to eliminate costly duplication and reduce citizen confusion in finding the services they need.

The Cook County Clerk and Recorder both perform similar administrative functions and include “public record keeper” in their respective mission statements. The Recorder’s office essentially records real estate transactions, while the Clerk’s office maintains vital records, such as births and marriages, in addition to administering elections in suburban Cook County.

According to the Civic Federation, consolidating the two offices could save Cook County taxpayers $1 million annually. Supporters of the referendum also argue that merging the two offices would better serve constituents by centralizing record keeping and increase ease of navigation, by eliminating visits to multiple offices as well as automating and updating records from one office.

The FY2016 appropriations for the Cook County Clerk's $8.2 million and $5.2 million for the Recorder of Deeds, totaling $13.4 million in General Fund expenditures for both offices.

Eight of the nation’s ten largest counties have combined their recorder and clerk offices, with Cook and Maricopa County, AZ, the only counties to keep separate offices. Other counties in Illinois, those with fewer than 60,000 inhabitants, have also combined the two offices, the Civic Federation reports.

“I think it makes sense,” said Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison (17th District), who voted in favor of putting the measure on the ballot. ”A lot of duplicate functions are being served, at the bare minimum the county can save $1 million a year. Once we synchronize software and cross-train employees, the savings will be in the millions on a recurring basis.”

The referendum is not without controversy. Some of Cook County Board’s black commissioners have alleged racism in the move to eliminate the Cook County Recorder of Deeds -- an office that has been held by an African-Americans since 1988, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Karen Yarborough, an African-American, is the elected Recorder, while David Orr, who is white, is the elected Clerk. Opponents of the referendum, including Yarborough, say consolidation would only save county taxpayers “pennies” and would do nothing to resolve the county’s projected $156 million deficit heading in FY 2017.

The referendum to eliminate the office of Cook County Recorder of Deeds has garnered the support of the Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune editorial boards. While the Tribune praised Yarbrough for the “fine job” she has done running the office since her election in 2012, the paper referred to the Recorder’s office as “a patronage dumping ground and is still subject to hiring oversight under the federal Shakman decree.”

Early voting in Cook County starts on Oct. 24.