Cook

Formed January 15, 1831 (57^th county)

Cook County (5,275,522), Chicago (2,746,352)

The Daley building is also considered the county courthouse housing county court functions and city offices.  It is located on Washington at La Salle streets.  The red brick Modern Commissioners’ courthouse is located on Harrison, Jefferson, Vernon Park, and Clinton streets in downtown Chicago.  Interstate Highway 290 is one block north of the location.  The construction year and architect are unknown.  1853 and 1911 buildings preceded this courthouse.  The 1911 building continues to provide Administrative Center functions.  The county clerk and county commissioners are in the Harrison Street structure.  Cook County was created on January 15, 1831 from Putnam County as the 57^th county with Chicago as the only county seat.  Du Page County was later taken out of Cook County.  The county is named for United States Congressman Daniel Pope Cook.  Chicago is a Native American word meaning “wild leek.”  Cook County was the birthplace of 6 Illinois Governors, Henry Horner, Otto Kerner, Jr., James R. Thompson, Jr., Rod Blagojevich, Patrick J. Quinn, Jr., and Bruce V. Rauner. 

Cook County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 16 Board Members (legislative.)  One hundred sixty-two Circuit Court Judges and a court clerk serve Cook County (judicial.)  The county is in the northeast corner of the state on Lake Michigan.  It borders Indiana to its southeast and Michigan across Lake Michigan.  The county center is 11.1 miles West-Southwest of Chicago in North Riverside.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lake County and Michigan and Indiana and Will, Du Page, Kane, and McHenry counties.  The county shape is the number 7 with two extra feet on the southwest corner.  Chicago dominates the eastern part of the county. 

The area of the county is 944 square miles.  It is 6 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 1 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 5588.5 persons per square mile making it 1 out of 102 in the state.  Cook County has 98.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 55 originates in the county and travels southwest into Du Page County.  Interstate Highway 57 originates in the county and travels south into Will County.  Interstate Highway 80 comes in from Indiana to the east and goes west into Will County.  Interstate Highway 90 enters from Indiana and exits to the northwest into Kane County.  Interstate Highway 94 is joined with Interstate Highway 80 from Indiana, split and goes north into Lake County.  United States Highway 6 is joined with Interstate Highways 80/94 from Indiana, splits and parallels Interstate Highway 80 into Will County.  United States Highway 12 enters from Indiana and goes northwest into Lake County.  United States Highway 14 originates in the county and travels northwest into Lake County.  United States Highway 20 comes in from Indiana joined with United States Highway 12, splits and goes west into Du Page County and again enters the northwest corner of the county to exits into Kane County.  United States Highway 30 goes across the southern part of the county east to west from Indiana to Will County.  United States Highway 34 originates in the county and travels west into Du Page County.  United States Highway 41 parallels Interstate Highway 94 from Indiana to Lake County.  United States Highway 45 crosses north to south through the county from Lake County to Will County.  Chicago is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 52.1% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced SHI-KA-GOE.  This county is in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Metropolitan Statistical Area.