Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and currently seeking a fifth term, has faced ongoing criticism regarding her claims of being a reformer. In a 2018 podcast hosted by Fran Spielman, a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, Spielman questioned Preckwinkle’s reform credentials by referencing her connections to Tony Rezko, Ed Burke, and Joe Berrios.
“All right. Now, you say you’re a reformer and you pride yourself on that. And yet, you once had Tony Rezko as your finance chairman. You’re a friend of Ed Burke; he holds fundraisers for you. You stand by Joe Berrios. Is that the record of a reformer?” Spielman asked.
Preckwinkle denied the implications, stating that Rezko was only a member of her 4th Ward campaign finance committee during her time as alderman. However, reporting from Tim Novak at the Chicago Sun-Times in 2007 indicated that Rezko served as Preckwinkle’s campaign finance chairman and that her political fund benefited from his contributions. Rezko is known for his role as a political fixer in former Governor Rod Blagojevich’s administration and was later convicted on corruption charges.
Ed Burke served as alderman for Chicago’s 14th Ward for over five decades before leaving office in 2023 amid corruption allegations. Joseph Berrios previously chaired the Cook County Democratic Party and held the position of county assessor.
In another incident from 2016, an abandoned Cook County Department of Homeland Security vehicle was found filled with campaign materials for Democratic candidates after Election Day. A dry-cleaning receipt inside linked the vehicle to Delwin Gadlen, Preckwinkle’s security chief at the time. Although Preckwinkle denied using government vehicles for political purposes, Gadlen was dismissed two years later ahead of her mayoral campaign.
“She fired me because it was expedient to get rid of me for her mayoral campaign,” Gadlen told Gregory Royal Pratt of the Chicago Tribune.
During the 2023 municipal election cycle, Ebony Lucas sued Lamont Robinson and Preckwinkle’s 4th Ward Regular Democratic Organization for defamation after losing an aldermanic race; Lucas was awarded $1.475 million by a jury.
Preckwinkle has been an advocate for criminal justice reforms such as the SAFE-T Act’s no-cash bail provision and supports electronic monitoring as an alternative to detention while awaiting trial. On the Tavis Smiley Show podcast in January, she said: “We’re talking about young people, we have to understand that second chances, third chances, and fourth chances are absolutely necessary to help them move on to productive adulthood because they’re going to make mistakes.”
Her stance has drawn criticism following incidents involving repeat offenders who committed violent crimes while under electronic monitoring.
Brendan Reilly is challenging Preckwinkle in the upcoming March primary election. Early voting is underway.
