Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness and is in critical condition, the Clerk’s Office reported Tuesday.
Sally Daly, deputy clerk of communications at the Cook County Clerk’s Office, released the following statement: “Cook County Clerk Karen A. Yarbrough has been hospitalized with a serious medical condition and is currently undergoing medical treatment.”
Yarbrough, 73, is nearly halfway through her four-year term as clerk. She was elected in 2018 as the first woman and African American to hold the position and re-elected in 2022.
As clerk, she oversees all election processes in Cook County, from voter registration to reporting results. She takes on similar roles as Proviso Township committeeperson, an unpaid position that manages voter registration and community forums, plus helps elect county board commissioners. The Cook County Clerk is also responsible for administering Cook County Vital Records, including marriages, births and deaths, plus maintaining tax maps and TIF District information, preparing board agendas and reports.
Before serving as clerk, Yarbrough was elected Illinois State Representative for the 7th District from 2001 and served for 12 years. She was also an assistant majority leader in 2011 and 2012. Yarbrough was Cook County’s Recorder of Deeds from 2012 to 2018. The Recorder of Deeds office ceased to exist in 2020, when it merged with the clerk’s office.
Yarbrough has a B.A. in business management from Chicago State University and an M.A. in inner city studies from Northeastern Illinois University. She and her husband, Henderson, have six children.
In Yarbrough’s absence as Cook County Clerk, while she is in an undisclosed hospital, Chief Deputy Clerk Cedric Giles is carrying out daily operations.
Daly said in a statement, “her family is requesting privacy, and we ask for prayers for the Clerk and her family at this difficult time.”