Austin Resident Stands Alone at Cook County Board President Forum

Austin resident and Libertarian candidate Michael Murphy, 32, was the sole participant at a candidate forum for Cook County Board President on Feb. 5 at Collins Academy High School, 1313 S. Sacramento Dr. in North Lawndale, after his two Democratic opponents were absent. The Culture co-sponsored the forum alongside the West Side Branch NAACP and other neighborhood organizations. 

Murphy, a systems engineer and technologist running under the Libertarian banner, addressed a modest audience about county government reform, civil liberties, and fiscal accountability. He also stressed transparency in county operations. Murphy, who previously ran for Cook County Circuit Court Clerk, cited inefficiencies and bureaucracy that he says hinder service delivery in county departments.

Incumbent Toni Preckwinkle, a Democrat who has led the Cook County Board of Commissioners since 2010 and also chairs the Cook County Democratic Party, and Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), a Democrat contesting her in the March 17 primary, were both invited but did not appear. 

Preckwinkle, 78, and Reilly, 54, have been campaigning across the county in the competitive Democratic primary, which pits Preckwinkle’s long record in county government against Reilly’s call for reform and fiscal restraint. 

The Cook County Board President oversees one of the nation’s largest county governments, with responsibility for a roughly $10 billion budget, public health system, jail, and court operations. 

You can watch parts of the forum on the Westside Branch NAACP’s Facebook page here.