Illinois Compiled Statutes
55 ILCS 5/3-7002 (2026)
Cook County Sheriff's Merit Board
✓ current as of May 2026
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(55 ILCS 5/3-7002)
(from Ch. 34, par. 3-7002)
Sec. 3-7002. Cook County Sheriff's Merit Board. There is created the
Cook County Sheriff's Merit Board, hereinafter called the Board, consisting
of not less than 3 and not more than 7 members appointed by the Sheriff with the advice and consent of
three-fifths of the county
board, except that the Sheriff may appoint 2 additional members, with the advice and
consent of three-fifths of the county board, at his or her discretion. Of the members first
appointed, one shall serve until the third Monday in March, 1965 one until the
third Monday in March, 1967, and one until the third Monday in March, 1969. Of
the 2 additional members first appointed under authority of this amendatory Act
of 1991, one shall serve until the third Monday in March, 1995, and one until
the third Monday in March, 1997.
Of the 2 additional members first appointed under the authority of this
amendatory Act of
the 91st General Assembly, one shall serve until the third Monday in March,
2005 and
one shall serve until the third Monday in March, 2006.
Upon the expiration of the terms of office of those first appointed
(including the 2 additional members first appointed under authority of
this amendatory Act of 1991 and under the authority of this amendatory Act of
the
91st General Assembly), their respective successors shall be
appointed to hold office from the third Monday in March of the year of
their respective appointments for a term of 6 years and until their
successors are appointed and qualified for a like term. As additional
members are appointed under authority of this amendatory Act of 1997, their
terms shall be set to be staggered consistently with the terms of the existing
Board members. Notwithstanding any provision in this Section to the contrary, the term of office of each member of the Board is abolished on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly. Of the 7 members first appointed after the effective date of this Act of the 100th General Assembly, 2 shall serve until the third Monday in March 2019, 2 shall serve until the third Monday in March 2021, and 3 members shall serve until the third Monday in March 2023. The terms of the 2 additional members first appointed after the effective date of this Act of the 100th General Assembly shall be staggered consistently with the terms of the other Board members. Successors or reappointments shall be appointed to hold office for a term ending on the third Monday in March 6 years following the preceding term expiration. Each member of the Board shall hold office until his or her successor is appointed and qualified or the member is reappointed. In all appointments, the county board has the power to approve terms to ensure the Board fulfills its mandate. In the case of a vacancy in the office of a member prior to the conclusion of the member's term, the Sheriff shall, with the advice and consent of three-fifths of the county board, appoint a person to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. No more than one-half plus one of the
members of the Board shall be affiliated with the same political party. Political affiliation is determined, for purposes of this Section, as the political affiliation an appointed member has or does not have at the time the appointment is approved by the county board and shall continue to be so determined until the member discontinues serving on the Board. No member shall have held or have
been a candidate for an elective public office within one year preceding his or
her appointment.
The Sheriff may deputize members of the Board.
(Source: P.A. 100-562, eff. 12-8-17; 100-912, eff. 8-17-18.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 28
cases (7 in the last 5 years), 2014–2025 · leading case: Goral v. Dart, 2020 IL 125085 (Ill. 2020).
Goral v. Dart, 2020 IL 125085 (Ill. 2020). “Dart, 2016 IL App (1st) 143684 , ¶¶ 7-8, which held that Taylor’s termination as a Sheriff’s employee was void because the Merit Board’s composition was illegal on -2- the ground that a Merit Board member (Rosales) had been appointed on an interim basis in violation of section…”
Lopez v. Dart, 2018 IL App (1st) 170733 (Ill. App. Ct. 2018). “55 ILCS 5/3-7002 (West 2012). ¶ 6 The Sheriff's complaint alleged that between December 29, 2012, and April 13, 2013, without authorization, the plaintiff failed to appear at scheduled work shifts for a total of 96 hours.”
Cruz v. Dart, 2019 IL App (1st) 170915 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). “¶ 29 At the time Officer Cruz's termination was being considered by the Merit Board, section 3-7002 of the Counties Code provided: "There is created the Cook County Sheriff's Merit Board, hereinafter called the Board, consisting of * * * 7 members appointed by the Sheriff with…”
Taylor v. Dart, 2017 IL App (1st) 143684-B (Ill. App. Ct. 2017). “Rosales to the Merit Board was invalid because he was not appointed to a six-year term as required by section 3-7002 of the Code (55 ILCS 5/3-7002 (West 2012)). ¶ 11 The circuit court granted the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration, finding that the appointment of…”
Taylor v. Dart, 2016 IL App (1st) 143684 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016). “” 55 ILCS 5/3-7002 (West 2012). ¶5 II. Facts ¶6 On May 5, 2011, Sheriff Dart requested approval from the Cook County Board to appoint John R.”
Taylor v. Dart, 2016 IL App (1st) 143684 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016). “Rosales to the Merit Board was invalid because he was not appointed to a six-year term as required by section 3-7002 of the Code (55 ILCS 5/3-7002 (West 2012)). ¶9 The circuit court granted the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration, finding that the appointment of Commissioner…”
Roman v. Cook Cnty. Sheriff's Merit Bd., 2014 IL App (1st) 123308 (Ill. App. Ct. 2014). “Instead, it was created by section 3-7002 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/3-7002 (West 2008)). ¶ 78 Second, the Board is not a “body politic and corporate of the State,” a legislatively created “administrative unit or corporate outgrowth of the State government” created pursuant…”
Yvonne Averhart v. Cook Cnty. Sheriff, 752 F.3d 1104 (7th Cir. 2014). “The Merit Board, whose members are appointed by the Sheriff with the approval of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, see 55 ILCS 5/3-7002, approved Aver-hart’s discharge in mid-2003, effective as of May 2001.”
Pietryla v. Dart, 2019 IL App (1st) 182143 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). “In Taylor, the plaintiff, a police officer who had been terminated by the Board, challenged his termination on the grounds that Board member John Rosales was appointed for less than a six-year term, contrary to section 3-7002 of the Counties Code (Code) (55 ILCS 5/3-7002 (West…”
Roman v. Cook Cnty. Sheriff's Merit Bd., 2014 IL App (1st) 123308 (Ill. App. Ct. 2014). “Instead, it was created by section 3-7002 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/3-7002 (West 2008)). 39 1-12-3308) 12-3309) 12-3310) 12-3311) 12-3312) ¶ 78 Second, the Board is not a "body politic and corporate of the State," a legislatively created "administrative unit or corporate…”
Goral v. Dart, 2019 IL App (1st) 181646 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). “8, 2017) (amending 55 ILCS 5/3-7002). The amendment worked three changes: (1) it permitted the Sheriff to make interim appointments to the Board, (2) it abolished all existing terms of each member of the Board, and (3) it created a new schedule for staggering terms.”
Griffin v. Cook Cnty., 2023 IL App (1st) 221376 (Ill. App. Ct. 2023). “Taylor moved for reconsideration, arguing that the appointment of Rosales was invalid because he was not appointed to a six-year term, as required by section 3-7002 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/3-7002 (West 2012)). Taylor, 2016 IL App (1st) 143684, ¶ 8 .”
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