Maria Pappas, who has served as Cook County treasurer since 1998, is running for reelection in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, general election as a Democrat.
She is certified for the ballot. The Cook County treasurer collects and distributes property taxes for more than 2,000 taxing districts across the county, manages the investment of county funds and maintains tax payment records. Evanston residents vote in this countywide race because their property tax bills flow through the treasurer's office.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Office sought: Cook County treasurer
- Birthplace: Warwood, West Virginia (born June 7, 1949), according to her campaign website
- Education: Bachelor's degree in sociology, West Liberty State University; master's degree in guidance and counseling, West Virginia University (1972); doctorate in counseling and psychology, Loyola University; juris doctor, Illinois Institute of Technology
Experience and public service
Pappas served as a Cook County commissioner from 1990 to 1998 before becoming treasurer, according to BallotReady profile data.
Before entering county government, Pappas said on her campaign website that she worked as manager of the Day One Drug Abuse Center at Altgeld Gardens and as a professor at Governors State University. BallotReady also lists her as an attorney.
Pappas described herself on her campaign website as the granddaughter of Cretan immigrants, raised in Warwood, a town of 2,000 near the coal-mining city of Wheeling, West Virginia.
On the issues
Taxes and budget transparency
Pappas said on her campaign website that taxpayers have a right to know about spending and debt incurred by those who tax them. She said she was the chief proponent of the Cook County Debt Disclosure Ordinance, passed in 2009, which requires taxing districts to publicly report their finances, including pension debt.
Government efficiency
Pappas said on her campaign website that she reduced the treasurer's office budget for 15 consecutive years and reduced staff from 250 employees to 89 while expanding services. She described her work as remaking the office into a service-oriented operation that uses technological tools for greater efficiency.
The available evidence does not include specific implementation plans, funding details or timelines for future policy proposals.
Endorsements
BallotReady lists the following endorsements, claimed by the endorsers:
- IUOE Local 150
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134
- International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399
- Chicago Federation of Labour
- Cook County Democrats
- United Hellenic Voters of America
- Personal PAC
Candidate information is drawn from BallotReady and the candidate's own campaign website. Education details come from both sources. Policy positions attributed to Pappas reflect her stated responses and have not been independently verified.
