Prepare dinner County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, a trailblazing Maywood Democrat who served in public workplace for greater than twenty years, has died. She was 73. Ms. Yarbrough handed away Sunday afternoon surrounded by her household and husband, former Maywood Mayor Henderson Yarbrough, stated Sally Daly, deputy clerk of communications for the county clerk's workplace. “We have lost one of the brightest lights in the public service arena in Cook County and the State of Illinois and we will never be quite the same,” stated Chief Deputy Clerk Cedric Giles in an announcement.Ms. Yarbrough had been hospitalized and was present process remedy for a medical situation Daly described final week as being critical with out disclosing particulars.U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-In poor health.), who was very shut with Ms. Yarbrough, stated he'd bear in mind her as a superb chief who helmed the second-largest county within the nation with nice aplomb."The county clerk is a big job, it plays a central role in county governance, and county services that people need," Davis stated. "We applaud and commend her for her outstanding service, she was a real asset to the Democratic Party of Cook County, and played a key role in it. We are going to miss her, we already miss her." Ms. Yarbrough was the primary Black individual and first girl to function Prepare dinner County clerk. She served in elected workplace for greater than twenty years, together with because the Prepare dinner County recorder of deeds and as a state consultant.
She was additionally energetic in Democratic Occasion politics, working for each the Prepare dinner County Democratic Occasion and Democratic Occasion of Illinois. She was a Democratic committeeperson representing west suburban Proviso Township for the Prepare dinner County get together, the place she was additionally the treasurer. She’s a member of the state central committee for the Illinois get together.Ms. Yarbrough was sworn in as a state consultant in 2001, elected Prepare dinner County recorder of deeds in 2012 and clerk in 2018. When the recorder’s workplace was eradicated, she assumed all duties of that workplace as county clerk in 2020.Ms. Yarbrough stated that serving to individuals is what she discovered most fun about elective workplace and her get together positions.“I think people get energy from other people,” she advised the Solar-Occasions in a 2020 interview.
Ms. Yarbrough was born Aug. 22, 1950. She earned an undergraduate diploma in enterprise administration from Chicago State College and a grasp’s in inside metropolis research from Northeastern Illinois College.She wasn’t only a politician. Ms. Yarbrough was a licensed actual property dealer and founding father of Hathaway Insurance coverage Company.Condolences poured in from Illinois elected officers, a lot of whom remembered Ms. Yarbrough as a trailblazer.Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton stated Yarbrough was a devoted public servant who was “always encouraging” and paved the best way for a lot of. “Above all, she was a wonderful human being loved by so many, including her family and friends who mourn her loss,” Stratton stated in an announcement. “We are praying for them and her colleagues in the Cook County Clerk’s Office as they grieve and send them strength for the journey.”Prepare dinner County Assessor Fritz Kaegi remembered Ms. Yarbrough as a pioneer who impressed others by way of her public service work.”I was proud to work alongside Karen within Cook County’s property tax system and applaud her efforts to assist veterans across the region,” Kaegi stated in an announcement.Ms. Yarbrough’s tenure wasn’t with out scrutiny, nevertheless.She confronted a number of allegations of patronage hiring in numerous positions she held, the primary of which began in 2012 when her niece was employed as an govt assistant in her workplace with a $114,000 annual wage, together with others alleged to have political ties to her.A federal hiring monitor blasted her hiring selections, discovering “a range of issues from consistently deficient hiring paperwork to suspicious interviews and [employee] selection meetings.” Then-Prepare dinner County Inspector Common Pat Blanchard advisable some new hires and high-ranking staffers be fired, although Ms. Yarbrough refused.In 2018, Ms Yarbrough was sued by legal professional Michael L. Shakman — who filed a go well with to finish political patronage greater than 50 years in the past — for related hiring points. A court-appointed monitor was tasked with watching the workplace’s hiring practices in 2020, although it ended its oversight of the company when the go well with was closed in 2023 having value taxpayers $3 million for compliance efforts and authorized charges.Mayor Brandon Johnson stated Ms. Yarbrough “forged a path for officials like myself and others” as each a pioneer and tireless legislator.”Her passion for ensuring that communities experience the full support of their governing bodies and benefit from the fruits of our democracy will truly be missed, as will her radiant smile,” Johnson stated.Contributing: Lynn Candy
#Prepare dinner #County #Clerk #Karen #Yarbrough #dies
