1. Maria Pappas is a Greek American attorney and politician who has served as the Cook County Treasurer since 1998.
12 Facts About Maria Pappas
1. 2.
Maria Pappas earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from West Liberty State College and a master's degree in counseling at West Virginia University.
3.
Maria Pappas then relocated to Chicago to work at the Adler Institute with Rudolf Dreikurs.
4.
Maria Pappas then taught at Governors State University until switching to the legal field; graduating from Chicago Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1982.
5.
Maria Pappas chose to run for one of ten positions elected at large from the City of Chicago.
6.
Maria Pappas received the first spot on the ballot and won.
7.
Maria Pappas ran for the Democratic nomination to succeed Phelan as Board President in 1994.
8.
Maria Pappas lost to fellow board member John Stroger in a three-way race that included County Clerk Aurelia Pucinski.
9.
Maria Pappas has been re-elected six times: 2002,2006,2010,2014,2018 and 2022.
10.
Maria Pappas ran for United States Senate in 2004, losing the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama.
11.
Maria Pappas explored a run for Mayor of Chicago in 2011, but chose not to run.
12.
Since 2020, Maria Pappas has hosted a live radio program on WVON, Black Houses Matter, to encourage taxpayers to claim overpaid property taxes.