At a meeting of the Cook County Republican Party last night, Republicans unanimously slated three highly-qualified candidates for Cook County elected office. The choice of candidates will lead to a showdown of female candidates in the fall with three Republican women taking on three Democratic women.
For Cook County State’s Attorney, Republicans chose Lori Yokoyama, a 56 year old attorney from Hyde Park. Lori has a wide variety of experience in civil and commercial litigation, including corporate, employment, administrative law/government relations and real estate. She is also an entrepreneur, serving as President of DAC Imaging and Chief Operating Officer for Affiliated Radiologies, S.C.
Lori is a strong advocate for the rights of women and minorities. A founding director of the Asian American Bar Association of Chicago, Lori provides volunteer legal services to immigrant wives that find themselves protected under the Violence Against Women Act, and provides legal representation to inmates who have been subjected to a violation of their civil rights.
Lori is challenging incumbent Anita Alvarez. Alvarez has come under fire for refusing to investigate political scandals, including the apparent misconduct in the Vanecko/Koschman case.
For Clerk of the Circuit Court, Republicans chose Diane Shapiro, a 55 year old investigator in the Cook County Sheriff’s office. Diane has worked for Cook County for 36 years. From 1976 through 1979 she worked in the Recorder of Deeds Office. From 1979 through 1984 she worked in the Sheriff’s Office, and since 1984 she has worked in the Adult Probation Department where she now works in the Investigations Unit. She is President of the International Police Association for the Chicago region, and is an active member of ABATE, an advocacy group for motorcyclists.
This is Diane’s second run for the office of Circuit Court Clerk. She is challenging incumbent Dorothy Brown, whose scandal-wracked tenure has made her a prime target for removal.
For Cook County Recorder of Deeds, Republicans chose Sherri Griffith, 48, a sales and marketing consultant. Sherri is a community organizer for Republicans throughout Cook County.
Sherri strongly believes that the office of Recorder of Deeds should be eliminated altogether. In the age where computers can perform the majority of tasks in the Recorder’s office, there is no longer a need for the patronage army that the Recorder’s office employs.
Sherri will take on Democrat Karen Yarbrough, who has resisted the elimination of the Recorder’s office.
