Josina Morita, the Democratic incumbent on the Cook County Board of Commissioners representing District 13, is seeking reelection in the Nov. 3 general election.
She faces Republican Aasi Siddique.
Morita has served as District 13 commissioner since 2022. She has said she is the first Asian American woman to serve on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, according to her campaign website.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Office sought: Cook County Commission, District 13
- Education: Bachelor's degree in sociology and international race relations, Pitzer College (2002); master's degree in urban planning and public policy, University of Illinois at Chicago (2010)
Experience and public service
Morita holds several leadership roles on the Cook County Board. She serves as vice-chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, vice-chair of the Veterans Committee and chair of METRA Commissioner Appointments for Zone 2, according to the county's website. She also serves as vice-chair of the Botanic Garden Committee at the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.
She is the founding chair of the Asian American Caucus, according to BallotReady profile data.
Before joining the county board, Morita served as a commissioner at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago from 2016 to 2024. Earlier, she worked as a senior research associate at the Applied Research Center from 2002 to 2008. She then served as director at the United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations from 2008 to 2014. She was deputy campaign manager at Raise Illinois from 2014 to 2015 and has been principal at JM Consulting since 2015, according to BallotReady.
On the issues
Criminal justice and public safety: Morita has said she supports reforming the county's jail and bond system, according to her campaign issues page.
No additional policy positions were available from the candidate's responses at the time of publication.
Endorsements
The following organizations have endorsed Morita, according to BallotReady profile data:
- IUOE Local 150
- Illinois Sierra Club
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134
- Chicago Federation of Labour
- Personal PAC
Candidate information was drawn from BallotReady profile data, the Cook County website and the candidate's own campaign website. Policy positions reflect the candidate's stated responses. Evanston Wire did not interview the candidate for this profile.
