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Veteran incumbent Toni Preckwinkle fends off rival in Democratic primary

WBEZ Chicago - WBEZ Chicago [Unofficial] March 18, 2026

Longtime Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle defeated veteran Chicago Ald. Brendan Reilly in the Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Preckwinkle had 68 percent of the vote, with around 98 percent of precincts reporting, as of publication time. Tuesday was her 79th birthday.

“I love this job, and tonight I’m deeply grateful for the chance to keep doing it,” Preckwinkle told a crowd at Little Black Pearl, a venue in the Kenwood neighborhood on the South Side, as they chanted “Four more years!”

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Democratic primary candidate for Cook County Board president, receives a hug Tuesday at Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen.

Victor Hilitski for the Chicago Sun-Times

Together, we've built something special in Cook County,” she said.

A short time later, her supporters delivered her a surprise birthday cake and sang “Happy Birthday.” She laughed, then waved out the candles to loud cheers.

“It's been a hard campaign, and I'm looking forward to putting my feet up a little bit,” Preckwinkle told WBEZ afterward.

Meanwhile, Reilly conceded the race in a call to Preckwinkle.

“While tonight did not bring the result we worked so fiercely for, I am incredibly grateful to stand before you,” Reilly told supporters on stage at the Wellsley, an event space in River North. “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the folks on the campaign trail, and I hope those interactions encouraged people to come out today.”

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), Democratic primary candidate for Cook County Board president, speaks to former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White at Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen Tuesday.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

He thanked his mother, sister and father, Dr. Brendan M. Reilly, whose long tenure as the chair of the Department of Medicine at Cook County Hospital taught Reilly “what genuine, hands-on public service looks like. I carry those lessons with me every single day,” he said.

Reilly also extended his congratulations to Preckwinkle on her successful night and noted her long-term commitment to public service.

“Taking on an incumbent who is also chair of the party takes courage, and please know that your unwavering support means everything to me,” he said. “We may not have won the primary tonight, but we succeeded in bringing critical, undeniable issues to the forefront.”

“The fight for a better government will continue tomorrow,” Reilly said as he concluded his speech, reassuring supporters that his commitment “to this city and this county is completely unbroken.”

Reilly, 54, has represented Downtown's 42nd ward for 19 years.

Campaign manager Scott Kastrup presents a birthday cake to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle at Little Black Pearl, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Supporters celebrated Preckwinkle’s birthday alongside her win in the Democratic primary election.

Victor Hilitski for the Chicago Sun-Times

Preckwinkle heads to the general election in November, where she’s likely to win her fifth, four-year term. There is no Republican candidate for Cook County Board president. Michael Murphy is running as a Libertarian.

The campaign between Preckwinkle and Reilly was intense, with both candidates trying to woo voters through attack ads and heated debates.

Reilly repeatedly criticized Preckwinkle about a long delayed upgrade to the county’s property tax system. Property tax bills went out late. School districts that rely on that tax revenue had to take out loans with interest.

Meanwhile, Preckwinkle criticized Reilly for muscling through a city budget with a host of tax hikes. And she took issue with his alleged silence about the Trump administration’s _heavy-handed immigration enforcement_in the Chicago area, while Preckwinkle banned federal agents from using county-owned properties like courthouses and parking lots.

“Trump’s declared war on us,” Preckwinkle told WBEZ. “We need somebody who’s going to stand up to him and stand for our residents and the rule of law. He’s not that man,” she said of Reilly.

Preckwinkle doubles as the powerful head of the Cook County Democratic Party and has helped mentor many into higher office. As county board president, she oversees one of the biggest counties in the U.S., including the county’s jail, vast court system and large public health system that has a mission to treat patients no matter if they can pay.

The county employs more than 20,000 people and has a roughly $10 billion annual budget that must be approved by a 17-member board of separately elected commissioners. Preckwinkle also oversees the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

She’s a former history teacher and Chicago alderperson who represented the South Side’s 4th Ward for 19 years before she was elected County Board president in 2010.

Should she win in November, Preckwinkle said it would be her last term as County Board president. She said she also plans to run for just one more two-year term this spring to lead the Democratic Party.

WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel contributed.

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