Cook County Medical Examiner

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Cook County Medical Examiner - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cook County Medical Examiner is the coroner of Cook County, Illinois. Occupants are credential medical examiners, appointed by president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, subject to confirmation by the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The office was created in 1976, replacing the previous office of Cook County Coroner.

The office of Cook County Coroner existed from 1831 to 1976, and from 1836 was an elected position. County voters, in 1972, elected to replace the office of coroner with the current office of medical examiner.

Former position of Cook County Coroner

Cook County Coroner
Inaugural holder	John Kinzie Clark
Formation	April 1831
Final holder	Andrew J. Toman
Abolished	December 6, 1976

The Cook County Coroner was the coroner of Cook County, Illinois until the position was abolished in 1976. The office of existed as an elected position from the early history of Cook County's government until its abolition in 1976.

The first Coroner of Cook County was John Kinzie Clark, who was appointed in April 1831.^[1] The first elected coroner, Orsemus Morrison,^[2] assumed office in 1836.^[3]

From the inception, the coroner's office was a department riddled with patronage and corruption. Ernst Schmidt, elected in 1862, resigned due to protest of interference with his job in January 1864.^[4] In its later years, occupants of the office and their inquest jurors often acted a rubber-stamp to the findings of the police and prosecutors.^[3]

In 1972, Cook County voters strongly voted by referendum in favor of eliminating the elected position of county coroner, replacing it with an appointed medical examiner.^[5]^[6] Several notable incidents which took place in the 1960s spurred this ^[3] This was the last time that voters in Cook County would vote on whether to eliminate an office until 2016, when they voted to eliminate the office of Cook County Recorder of Deeds and merge its duties into the Cook County Clerk's office.^[5] The office was eliminated on December 6, 1976.^[6] It was replaced by the appointed position of Cook County Medical Examiner.^[6]

List of Cook County Coroners

	Term in office	Party	Notes	Cite
John Kinzie Clark	1831–1832			^[1]
Elijah Wentworth	1832–1834			^[1]
Ashbel Steele	1836–1838			^[1]
Orsemus Morrison	1836–1838	Democratic	First elected Coroner	^[2]^[3]^[1]
John K. Boyer	1838–1840			^[1]
Edward Murphy	1840–1844		Elected in 1840 and 1842	^[1]
Orson Smith	1844–1846			^[1]
Patrick Kelley	1846–1848			^[1]
Nicholas Burdell	1848–1852		Elected in 1848 and 1850	^[1]
Austin Hines	1852–1854			^[1]
James S. Beach	1854–1856		Simultaneously ex officio Sheriff of Cook County, April 1855 – November 1856	^[1]
George P. Hansen	1856–1858			^[1]
William James	1858–1862		Elected in 1858 and 1860	^[1]
Ernst Schmidt	1862–1864		Resigned in January 1864	^[1]
William Wagner	1864–1869	Republican	Elected in 1864 and 1865	^[7]
Benjamin L. Cleaves	1869–1870		Simultaneously ex officio Sheriff of Cook County, April 1870 – November 1870	^[8]
John Stephens	1870–1874	Republican	Elected in 1870 and 1872	^[1]
Emil Dietzsch	1874–1878	Republican	Elected in 1874 and 1876	^[1]
Orrin L. Mann	1878–1880	Republican	Elected in 1878	^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]
Canute R. Matson	1880–1882	Republican	Elected in 1880	^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]
N.B. Boyden	1882–1885	Democratic
Henry L. Hertz	1885–1892	Republican	Elected in 1884, 1886, 1888, 1890	^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]
James McHale	1892−1896	Democratic (switched to People's Party while in office)	Elected in 1892; defeated for reelection in 1896	^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]
George Berz	1896–1900	Republican	Elected in 1896; defeated for reelection in 1900	^[24]^[25]
John E. Traeger	1900–1904	Democratic	Elected in 1904; defeated for reelection in 1904	^[25]^[26]^[27]
Peter M. Hoffman	1904–1922	Republican	Elected in 1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, and 1920; resigned to assume office as Cook County sheriff	^[26]^[28]^[29]^[30]^[31]^[32]
Oscar Wolff	December 4, 1922–December 1928	Republican	Appointed by Cook County Board of Commissioners on December 4, 1922; elected in 1923 and 1924	^[32]^[33]
Herman Bundesen	December 1928–November 18, 1931	Democratic	Elected in 1928; resigned to become Chicago City Health Commissioner	^[34]^[35]^[36]
Frank J. Walsh	November 18, 1931 – February 12, 1940	Democratic	Appointed by Cook County Board of Commissioners on November 18, 1931; elected in 1932 and 1938; died in office	^[36]^[37]^[38]^[39]
A. L. Brodie	February 14, 1940–December 1952	Democratic	Appointed by Cook County Board of Commissioners on February 14, 1940; elected in 1940, 1944, and 1948	^[37]^[40]^[41]^[42]
Walter McCarron	December 1952–December 1960	Republican	Elected in 1952 and 1958; defeated for reelection in 1960	^[43]^[44]
Andrew J. Toman	December 1960–December 1, 1976	Democratic		^[43]^[45]^[46]^[47]

Cook County Medical Examiner (since 1976)

The medical examiner and medical examiner's office took over the duties of the coroner and coroner's duty in 1976.^[3] The occupant of the office is a credentialed medical examiner.^[3] The office is appointed, rather than elected, with the president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners nominating appointees, and the Cook County Board of Commissioners confirming them.^[48]

By the turn of the 21st century, the medical examiner's office was tasked with investigating roughly 5,000 deaths annually.^[3]

The medical examiner's office is located on the West Side of Chicago.^[3]

List of Cook County Medical Examiners

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	Term in office	Appointed by
Robert J. Stein	1976–1993	George Dunne
Edmund Donoghue	1993–2006	Richard Phelan
Nancy Jones	2007–2012	Todd Stroger
Stephen Cina	2012–2016	Toni Preckwinkle
Ponni Arunkumar	2016–	Toni Preckwinkle

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q History of Cook County, Illinois: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. A.T. Andreas. 1884. p. 352.
^ ^a ^b "A History of the City of Chicago: Its Men and Institutions. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens". Inter ocean. 1900. pp. 440–441. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Tassava, Christopher James (2005). "Cook County Morgue". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago History Museum and the Newberry Library. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
^ Bonner, Thomas Neville (1991). Medicine in Chicago, 1850-1950: A Chapter in the Social and Scientific Development of a City. University of Illinois Press. p. 178. ISBN 0252017609.
^ ^a ^b Dardick, Hal (November 4, 2016). "Cook County voters to decide fate of recorder of deeds office". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Medical Examiner | CookCountyIL.gov". www.cookcountyil.gov. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
^ History of Medicine and Surgery, and Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago. Biographical Publishing Corporation. 1922. p. 69.
^ Fergus' Historical Series, Issues 1-10. Fergus Printing Company. 1876. p. 598.
^ "The KNETCH MURDER". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 9, 1878. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "THE CITY". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. December 11, 1878. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "GENERAL O. L. MANN". Newspapers.com. The Inter Ocean (Chicago). November 1, 1880. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "LOCAL POLITICS". Newspapers.com. The Inter Ocean (Chicago). October 16, 1878. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ Students of Milton College. "Canute R. Matson". The Milton College Review, 1902, Volumes 4-5, page 17. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^ "Canute R. Matson". Political Graveyard. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
^ "LOCAL POLITICS". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. October 6, 1880. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "THE CITY". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. December 28, 1882. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "THE CITY". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. December 9, 1884. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "FIFER's VICTORY". Newspapers.com. The Inter Ocean (Chicago). April 29, 1892. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "Both Reports Laid Over". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. December 21, 1892. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "HARD ON HERTZ". Newspapers.com. The Appeal (Saint Paul, Minnesota). October 20, 1888. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "WANTS HERTZ'S JOB". Newspapers.com. The Inter Ocean (Chicago). November 7, 1892. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "COUNTING THE VOTES". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 19, 1892. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "CHICAGO IS IN LINE". Newspapers.com. The Chicago Chronicle. November 4, 1896. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "FIND ERRORS IN COUNT". Newspapers.com. 15 Nov 1896. November 15, 1896. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "COOK M'KINLEY'S BY 17,835 VOTES". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 8, 1900. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "OFFICIAL FIGURES ON GENERAL ELECTION IN COOK COUNTY: TOTAL VOTE OF STATE ON PRESIDENT AND OTHER OFFICERS". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 27, 1904. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "FIGHT ON COUNTY TICKETS". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 6, 1904.
^ "STEVENSON'S County PLURALITY IS 1,397". Newspapers.com. The Inter Ocean (Chicago). November 5, 1908. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "BARTZEN BEATED; M'CORMICK WINS BY 12,940 VOTES". Newspapers.com. The Inter Ocean (Chicago). November 7, 1912. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "EIGHT COUNTY OFFICIALS GO ON THE JOB TODAY". Newspapers.com. The Day Book (Chicago). December 4, 1916. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "COUNTY G.O.P. SLATE ROMPS IN 200,000 VICTOR". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 3, 1920. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Brown, Parke (December 5, 1922). "RAISE PROTEST AGAINST WOLFF AS NEW CORONER". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "MARY BARTELME ONE OF WINNERS; PARTIES DIVIDE POSITIONS". Newspapers.com. Forest Park Review (Forest Park, Illinois). November 10, 1923. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ Biles, Roger (2000). "Bundesen, Herman Niels (1882-1960), physician, author, and politician". American National Biography. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0600075. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
^ "Independent Voters Score Big Victory". DuPage County Register. November 9, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved December 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Chicago Daily Illini, Nov 18, 1931, p. 1". NewspaperArchive.com. Chicago Daily Illini. November 18, 1931.
^ ^a ^b "COL. A. L. BRODIE, PARK SECRETARY, NAMED CORONER". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. February 15, 1940. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "DEMOCRATS GAINERS BY 'REVOLUTION'". Newspapers.com. Palatine Enterprise. November 11, 1932. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "COURTNEY LEADS DEMOCRATS TO A COUNTY VICTORY". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 9, 1932. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "Leaders in County Contests". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 6, 1940. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "All Democrats Far Ahead in County Races". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. November 8, 1944. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ Howard, Robert (November 4, 1948). "BOYLE PLEDGES TO START HIS WAR ON CRIME". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Dr. Toman Wins Coroner Job". Newspapers.com. Berwyn Life (Berwyn, Illinois). November 11, 1960. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "Walter McCarron, 85, former county coroner". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. September 27, 1985. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ Unger, Rudolph (November 3, 1976). "Coroner office 'dies' on Dec. 5". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "County morgue changes name, system focus". Newspapers.com. Arlington Heights Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). December 7, 1976. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "Here Are Contenders for Top State, County Offices". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. October 29, 1960. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ Ford, Quinn (July 10, 2012). "Preckwinkle appoints new medical examiner". WBEZ Chicago. Retrieved April 28, 2022.

v t e Government of Cook County, Illinois
Elected executive offices	Assessor Clerk Coroner (defunct) Recorder of Deeds (defunct) Sheriff State's Attorney Treasurer
Board of Commissioners	President 1st district 2nd district 3rd district 4th district 5th district 6th district 7th district 8th district 9th district 10th district 11th district 12th district 13th district 14th district 15th district 16th district 17th district
Board of Review	1st district 2nd district 3rd district
Other	Circuit Court (Clerk) Committeepeople Forest Preserves Public Defender Public Guardian
Elections	1946 1980 (State's Attorney) 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Buildings and facilities	City Hall-County Building Cook County Administration Building Cook County Jail Provident Hospital John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County

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