Thomas J. Dart, the Cook County sheriff since 2006, is running for reelection as a Democrat in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Brad Sandefur is also on the ballot as a Libertarian.
Dart oversees Cook County Jail.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Residence: Chicago's South Side, according to his campaign website
- Education: Bachelor's degree in history, Providence College; law degree, Loyola University
- Family: Dart and his wife, Patricia, have five children, according to his campaign website
Experience and public service
Dart served as a state representative in the Illinois House beginning in 1992, according to his Cook County profile. He chaired the House Judiciary Committee and co-chaired the House Prison Oversight Committee.
He also worked as a staff member for the Illinois Senate Committee on the Judiciary and as a staffer in the office of U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, according to his Wikipedia entry. He served in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
Dart was the Democratic nominee for Illinois state treasurer in 2002. He became chief of staff at the Cook County Sheriff's Office in 2003 before winning election as sheriff in 2006.
On the issues
Public safety and criminal justice: While in the Illinois legislature, Dart said he wrote the state's Sexually Violent Predators Commitment Act, which requires sex offenders deemed likely to reoffend to remain in a supervised setting, according to his campaign website. He also said he chaired a House task force on protecting the rights of abused and neglected children.
As sheriff, Dart created the Sheriff's Anti-Violence Effort, a program that provides therapy and life-skills training for incarcerated men ages 18 to 24 from high-violence Chicago neighborhoods, according to a City Club of Chicago profile. The office's Chicago Initiatives program uses a community policing model focused on removing guns from streets.
Dart also said he committed to assigning a staff attorney to investigate potential mortgage fraud cases and a social worker to accompany eviction teams, in hopes of connecting those families with social services, according to his campaign.
Mental health and substance abuse: Dart created the Sheriff's Office Community Resource Center, which connects Cook County residents to mental health treatment, housing, job opportunities and medical care, according to the City Club of Chicago profile. He also formed the Treatment Response Team to provide around-the-clock support for people struggling with substance abuse. The City Club profile states that offering treatment to those with mental illness has reduced the jail's population and recidivism rates.
Human trafficking: In March 2009, Dart filed a federal lawsuit against Craigslist to close its "erotic services" section, according to his campaign website. He also said he established a prostitution intervention team made up of former prostitutes and licensed supervisors who accompany vice officers on stings, according to his campaign website.
Under Dart's leadership, Cook County Jail was released from almost 40 years of oversight under a U.S. Department of Justice federal consent decree, making it the only large jail to complete such a task, according to the City Club of Chicago profile. Governing Magazine named him Public Official of the Year, according to the same profile.
Dart was named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2009 for his stands during the nationwide foreclosure crisis and his efforts to combat online prostitution and human trafficking, according to his campaign website.
Endorsements: Cook County Democrats, IUOE Local 150, Personal PAC, United Hellenic Voters of America and the Gazette Chicago Editorial Board have endorsed Dart, according to BallotReady.
Candidate responses labeled as such reflect statements from the candidate's own campaign materials. Voters can learn more at sherifftomdart.com.
The general election is Nov. 3, 2026.
