OCTOBER 29, 2026
PUBLIC STATEMENT REGARDING CANDIDATE LIZ GORMAN
I intended to stay out of this race. However, a social media post I made in February of 2018 was recently circulated in a manner suggesting I currently endorse or support Liz Gorman for Cook County Commissioner, I believe in an attempt to deceive republican voters once again.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
In 2018, when Liz Gorman received an appointment to another position, I believed she was leaving electoral politics. I offered her a courteous congratulations and wished her well. That was eight years ago.
My assessment of Liz Gorman today is profoundly different.
Having served nearly 11 1/2 years on the Cook County Board and previously as Chairman of the Cook County Republican Party, I have had extensive firsthand experience with the political conduct, internal disputes, and controversies involving Liz Gorman.
My concerns are not the product of one disagreement or one election. They reflect years of experience and observations.
REPUBLICAN PARTY CONDUCT
I have serious concerns about Liz Gorman’s history of very questionable activities involving Republican candidates and organizations.
These include the activities of an intentionally deceptive organization created by Gorman and others, using the same name as the actual duly sanctioned Orland Township Republican Organization currently headed by Committeeman Ken Duffy. Gorman created a similar committee called: the Republican Organization of Orland Township, known as ROOT, which put out Republican-branded sample ballots that included endorsements of nearly all Democratic candidates in order to sow chaos and confusion among unsuspecting republican voters.
I am particularly concerned about recent campaign materials attributing endorsements by Republican officials and local leaders who, according to information shared with me, had not authorized those endorsements.
Worth Mayor Mary Werner, former Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau, and others are among the officials whose support has been questioned. I understand that they requested the removal of their name from material suggesting they endorsed Gorman.
These matters warrant public scrutiny and a clear accounting of who authorized the materials.
OPPOSITION FROM REPUBLICAN LEADERS
My concerns are not unique.
Earlier this year, Keith Pekau publicly criticized Gorman’s past Republican Party leadership, accusing her of attacking Republican candidates, supporting Democrats, and undermining Republican party unity.
Orland Park Committeewomen Cindy Katsenes publicly supported Ken Duffy rather than Gorman in the March 2026 Republican Committeeperson election, and voters concurred.
Other local Republican officials, including Palos Township Supervisor Colleen Schumann, former Board of Review Commissioner Dan Patlak, have been identified to me as not supporting Gorman.
The positions of these officials should be represented accurately without attributing endorsements they have not authorized.
HER RECORD IN PUBLIC OFFICE
Liz Gorman’s voting record also deserves examination.
In July 2015, when Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle sought a major sales-tax increase, Gorman voted “present” rather than voting against the proposal. The increase passed.
I believe voters are entitled to consider that decision alongside her public claims of fiscal conservatism.
THE FEDERAL COURT CONTROVERSIES
Gorman’s history also includes serious litigation involving her family’s former automobile businesses and political campaign funds.
Published accounts of federal litigation report that Seventh Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook described the Gorman’s as having behaved like a “pack of weasels” whose account could not be believed.
Separate proceedings concerning the transfer of campaign funds resulted in a judicial recommendation that Gorman be held in contempt.
These are significant matters in the public record. The contempt recommendation should not be confused with a final contempt judgment.
Voters should also be reminded that Liz Gorman’s tenure as Cook County Commissioner ended abruptly in 2015 with her resignation while under investigation by the Office of Inspector General for misuse of county funds.
The full circumstances of these proceedings deserve examination, including the courts’ findings and the ultimate disposition of the cases.
MY POSITION
Throughout my years in public office, I have advocated for fiscal accountability, responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and integrity in government.
I believe those standards should apply consistently to every elected official, regardless of political affiliation.
My concerns about Liz Gorman are substantial and longstanding. They involve her political conduct, public voting record, and the controversies documented during her years in public life.
I have no interest in having a courteous statement from February 2018 misrepresented as an endorsement by me eight years later.
I do not endorse Liz Gorman. I do not support her candidacy for Cook County Commissioner.
That is my public position, and I want there to be absolutely no misunderstanding about it. LIZ GORMAN SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO HOLD PUBLIC OFFICE EVER AGAIN.
On Tuesday, November 3rd, I would ask you to vote for every Republican candidate down the ballot, except for Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman: Vote NO!
Sean M. Morrison
Cook County Commissioner, 17th District (R)
Former Cook County Republican Party Chairman
Former Palos Township Republican Committeeman