Eugene Moore (politician)

Eugene M. "Gene" Moore (July 19, 1942 – June 14, 2016) was a politician who served both as Cook County recorder of deeds and as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives.

Eugene Moore
Cook County Recorder of Deeds
In office
January 1999  December 2012
Preceded byJesse White
Succeeded byKaren Yarbrough
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 7th district
In office
January 1993  January 1999
Preceded byAnn Stepan
Succeeded byWanda Sharp
Personal details
BornJuly 19, 1942
Baltzer, Mississippi
DiedJune 14, 2016 (age 73)
Maywood, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic

Early life

Moore was born July 19, 1942, in Baltzer, Mississippi, the son of Sara Ella Burrell and Joseph Moore.[1]

When Moore was a young child, his family moved to Maywood, Illinois.[1] Moore would from then on be a lifelong resident of Maywood.[2]

Moore attended Maywood's Washington Elementary School.[1] Moore graduated from Proviso East High School.[1][2]

Moore earned a football scholarship to Otero Junior College.[1] However, an injury ended his football career at Otero, and he returned to Maywood.[1] A family member, after Moore's death, would share their belief that Moore had left Otero Junior College mostly due to feeling homesick and desiring to return to his high school sweetheart, who he would eventually marry.[1]

Moore worked for some time with the American Can Company in Maywood.[1] He then began what would be a long career as an account manager at Metropolitan Life Insurance.[1][2]

Early political career

In the 1980s, Moore became active in Democratic Party politics.[1][2] He first ran unsuccessfully be a Maywood trustee.[1] In 1988, Moore was elected a Proviso Township trustee.[1][3]

State representative

Elected in 1992, Moore became the first African American to represent the 7th district in the Illinois House of Representatives.[1][3][4] Moore had successfully run in a district that had been redistricted in such a way as to make it feasible for the Proviso area to elect a black representative.[1] His candidacy received support from individuals such as then-Cook County commissioner Danny K. Davis.[1]

In 1998, Moore fended off a serious primary challenge by Karen Yarbrough.[5] Also in 1998, he was elected Proviso Township Democratic committeeman, unseating Gary G. Marinaro.[2][6] He would hold this party post in addition to his other offices until 2006, when he would be unseated from this party post.

Cook County Recorder of Deeds

In January 1999, Moore was appointed Cook County recorder of deeds, filling the vacancy left when Jesse White resigned to become Illinois Secretary of State.[2] His appointment to replace White as recorder of deeds had been backed by county political heavyweights such as John Stroger and John P. Daley.[1] Moore would be elected outright to his first full term in 2000, and subsequently reelected again to additional terms in 2004 and 2008.

Moore worked to overhaul the office's efforts to fight property fraud and theft.[1] He also worked to modernize the data-collecting and processing capabilities of the office.[1]

In 2006, Karen Yarbrough defeated Moore to become the Democratic committeeman for Proviso Township.[1][3][7] Yarbrough had previously unsuccessfully challenged Moore for the post of Proviso Township Democratic committeeman in 2002.[8]

Moore retired in 2012,[2] with fellow Democrat Karen Yarbrough being elected to succeed him as Cook County recorder of deeds in that year's election.[9]

Nonprofit work

Moore was active in local charities and organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club of West Cook County and John C. Vaughn Scholarship Fund.[2]

Personal life

Moore was divorced from his former wife.[2] Moore had three children, daughters Dowanna and Natalie and son Eric.[3][2] At the time of his death, he had six grandchildren.[1]

Moore's primary nicknames were "Gene" and "Geno".[1]

Moore's chief hobby was said to have been dancing.[1]

Death

Moore died on June 14, 2016, in Maywood, Illinois, of prostate cancer, which he had been fighting for a long time, and which had recently metastasized to his bones.[3][2][10] His funeral, held June 17 at Maywood's Second Baptist Church, of which Moore had been a longtime member and had been baptized as a kid, was attended by more than 1,400 mourners.[1]

Electoral history

Illinois House of Representatives

1992
1992 Illinois House of Representatives 7th district Democratic primary[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene Moore 5,427 36.75
Democratic Chuck Baxter 3,012 20.39
Democratic Kristine K. Mackey 2,869 19.43
Democratic William (Jay Jay) Turner 1,483 10.04
Democratic LaCoulton Walls 784 5.30
Democratic Bill Thompson 733 4.96
Democratic Robert "Bobby" Reid 457 3.09
1992 Illinois House of Representatives 7th district election[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene Moore 28,265 74.96
Republican Lorenzo S. Littles 5,765 15.29
Harold Washington Loretta A. Ragsdell 3,670 9.73
1994
1994 Illinois House of Representatives 7th district Democratic primary[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 8,239 85.08
Democratic Chuck Baxter 1,444 14.91
1994 Illinois House of Representatives 7th district election[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 16,102 79.07
Republican Joann Tate 4,261 20.92
1996
1996 Illinois House of Representatives 7th district Democratic primary[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 9,324 100
1996 Illinois House of Representatives 18th district election[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 26,498 84.52
Republican June Edvenson 4,851 15.47
1998
1998 Illinois House of Representatives 7th district Democratic primary[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene Moore (incumbent) 6,087 48.93
Democratic Karen A. Yarbrough 5,543 44.55
Democratic Tommie R. Jones 454 3.65
Democratic Sylvester Hartigan 357 2.87
Total votes 12,441 100
1998 Illinois House of Representatives 18th district election[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene Moore (incumbent) 23,701 100
Total votes 23,701 100

Proviso Township Democratic committeeman

1998 Proviso Township Democratic committeeman election[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene M. "Gene" Moore 6,883 53.14
Democratic Gary G. Marinaro (incumbent) 3,935 30.38
Democratic Chuck Baxter 2,135 16.48
2002 Proviso Township Democratic committeeman election[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 9,073 53.14
Democratic Karen A. Yarbrough 7,911 41.04
Democratic Paul "Paulie" Esperaza 2,293 11.90
2006 Proviso Township Democratic committeeman election[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Karen A. Yarbrough 9,746 58.04
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 7,045 41.96
Total votes 16,791 100

Cook County Recorder of Deeds

2000
2000 Cook County Recorder of Deeds Democratic primary[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 353,823 100
Total votes 353,823 100
2000 Cook County Recorder of Deeds election[17][18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 1,167,630 73.01
Republican Arthur D. Sutton 431,717 26.99
Total votes 1,599,347 100
2004
2004 Cook County Recorder of Deeds Democratic primary[19][20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 325,906 100
Total votes 325,906 100
2004 Cook County Recorder of Deeds election[21][22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 1,283,762 70.74
Republican John H. Cox 530,945 29.26
Total votes 1,814,707 100
2008
2008 Cook County Recorder of Deeds Democratic primary[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 521,162 61.12
Democratic Ed H. Smith 331,511 38.88
Total votes 852,674 100
2008 Cook County Recorder of Deeds election[24][25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eugene "Gene" Moore (incumbent) 1,324,426 70.49
Republican Gregory Goldstein 451,452 24.03
Green Terrence A. Gilhooly 102,968 5.48
Total votes 1,878,846 100

References

  1. Romain, Michael (18 June 2016). "Hundreds Mourn Proviso's Political 'Prince,' Former Recorder and First Black State Rep Eugene Moore | Village Free Press". www.vfpress.news. Village Free Press. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  2. Eltagouri, Marwa (16 June 2016). "Eugene Moore, former Cook County recorder of deeds, dies at 73". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  3. Romain, Michael (15 June 2016). "Eugene Moore, first black state rep in 7th District, dies". www.oakpark.com. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  4. "STATE OF ILLINOIS OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 3, 1992" (PDF). Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  5. "Election Vote Totals Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  6. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS PRIMARY ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 1998" (PDF). www.cookcountyclerkil.com. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  7. "2006 Primary Election March 21, 2006 Summary Report Suburban Cook County" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  8. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS PRIMARY ELECTION TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2002 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY" (PDF). Cook County, Illinois. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  9. "Cook County and the City of Chicago Combined Summary Report General Election November 6, 2012" (PDF). Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  10. "Eugene Moore, former Cook Co. recorder of deeds, dead at 73". ABC7 Chicago. WLS-TV. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  11. "STATE OF ILLINOIS OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY MARCH 17, 1992" (PDF). Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  12. "STATE OF ILLINOIS OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY MARCH 15, 1994" (PDF). Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  13. "STATE OF ILLINOIS OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 8, 1994" (PDF). Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  14. "STATE OF ILLINOIS OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY MARCH 19, 1996" (PDF). Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  15. "STATE OF ILLINOIS OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 5, 1996" (PDF). Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  16. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS PRIMARY ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2000" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  17. "SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY RESULTS". voterinfonet.com. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original on 1 March 2005.
  18. "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER , 2000 A.D." (PDF). Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  19. "OFFICIAL SUMMARY REPORT COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS PRIMARY ELECTION TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2004 STATISTICS" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  20. "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ON TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2004 A.D." (PDF). Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  21. "FINAL RESULTS SUMMARY REPORT COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS GENERAL ELECTION TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2004" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  22. "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2004 A.D." (PDF). Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  23. "Cook County and Chicago February 5th 2008 Primary Election Combined Summary Report" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  24. "Official General Election 11/4/2008 Summary Report Cook County Unofficial Results" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  25. "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008 A.D." (PDF). Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
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