Morrison, Britton sworn in to Cook County Board
There was a changing of the guard in the Cook County Board chambers Monday, as Elk Grove Village's Kevin Morrison was sworn in as county commissioner for the Northwest suburbs' 15th District, turning a longtime GOP-controlled seat Democratic blue.
In what many saw as an Election Day upset, Morrison, 28, defeated three-term incumbent Republican Tim Schneider of Bartlett for the post that represents Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Barrington, Elk Grove, Streamwood and portions of Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Bartlett and Hanover Park, among others.
Before Schneider won the 15th District seat in 2006, it was held for 32 years by fellow Republican Carl R. Hansen of Mount Prospect.
With his inauguration Monday, Morrison becomes the youngest member of the Cook County Board, as well as its first openly LGBTQ member.
Morrison wasn't the only Democrat to assume a long-held Republican seat Monday. Democrat Scott Britton of Glenview, who unseated five-term Republican incumbent Gregg Goslin for the 14th District seat, also took office. The 14th District encompasses North and Northwest suburbs including all or parts of Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Wheeling and Rolling Meadows.