Riverside resident Miranda Hernandez has apparently won a tightly contested three-way Democratic primary race for a seat on the Cook County board. Since no Republican or Libertarian has filed to run in the 16th District the 34-year-old Hernandez appears set to join the county board after the November general election. The 16th District includes Riverside and Brookfield and runs from Cicero to Franklin Park and includes a very small slice of the city of Chicago.
Hernandez, who moved to Riverside in 2024, narrowly defeated Berwyn City Clerk Leticia “Letty” Garcia and incumbent Frank Aguilar. With all precincts reporting Hernandez is leading Garica by just 648 votes. As of March 18 Hernandez led with 9,043 votes (35 percent), Garcia had 8,395 votes (33 percent) while Aguilar had 8,226 (32 percent). All three candidates finished within 817 votes of each other.
The margins in Riverside and Brookfield were also close and largely mirrored the results district wide. Hernandez carried both Riverside and Brookfield by a narrow margin. In Riverside Hernadez won 36 percent of the vote compared to 34 percent for Garcia and 29 percent for Aguilar. In Brookfield Hernandez received almost 37 percent of the vote compared to just over 33 percent for Aguilar and 30 percent for Garcia.
“Very proud to be elected as the first Latina commissioner for this district,” Hernandez said in a telephone interview with the Landmark on Wednesday. “It’s a really, really great feeling.”
Hernandez said she was grateful for all the volunteers who worked on her campaign and the voters who voted for her. She said she is excited to get to work once she is seated on the county board. Until then she will continue her current job doing appellate work for the Cook County State’s Attorney.
Hernandez is the daughter of state Rep. Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez who is the chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. That connection helped Miranda Hernandez in the race as Hernandez raised more money, slightly more than $100,000, than her opponents. Hernandez said she was running, in part, to offer a new generation of leadership for Hispanics.
After earning a law degree and an MBA from Northern Illinois University Hernandez worked as a congressional staffer working for Senators Cory Booker and Mark Udall. Booker (D-New Jersey) made an endorsement video for Hernandez. Hernandez also worked as political appointee at the United States Department of Justice during the end of the Biden administration.
Hernandez was also backed by influential local politicians such as Bridgeview mayor and Lyons Township Democratic Committeeman Steve Landek, Cicero Village President and Cicero Townhsip Democratic Committeeman Larry Dominick, Riverside Township Democratic Committeeman Mike Zalewski and Melrose Park Mayor Ron Seprico.
Garcia, 42, said she was sad about losing but was proud that her campaign came so close to winning despite being badly outspent by both of her opponents. She said her campaign did not send out a single piece of direct mail and did not do much social media. She depended on door-to-door campaigning by herself and her volunteers.
“It’s unfortunate that I didn’t make it,” Garcia said. “I’m obviously not too surprised Miranda won considering that she did have a lot, lot more money than I did and a lot more support from different people already in office that helped her.”
Aguliar, 65, was appointed to the county board in 2020 after the late Jeffrey Tobolski resigned shortly before being charged with extortion. Tobolski died last year. Aguilar was elected to a four-year term in 2022 after defeating Garcia in the Democratic primary.
Aguilar blamed his defeat on a falling out with Dominick. The two had been close allies until, according to Aguilar, Aguilar criticized Dominick for remarks Dominick made about Venezuelan migrants.
“I had a fallout with Larry Dominick because of his rhetoric against immigrants, his racist comments on Latinos, his hatred,” Aguilar said blaming Dominick for working to find an opponent to unseat him. “I was denied doing any workshops, know your rights in Cicero.”
On March 11, six days before Election Day, Aguilar said he was escorted out of the Cicero Community Center where he was trying to meet with senior citizens.
Dominick responded to Aguilar’s allegations and comments with a statement emailed to the Landmark from a spokesman.
“I’m excited to work with Miranda Hernandez — the first Latina to represent Cook County’s 16th District — as are the numerous other mayors and elected officials from across the district who endorsed her,” Dominick said. “It’s unfortunate that Frank Aguilar wants to blame others for his failure. But we have all experienced how he has failed our communities, which is why most Latino voters, most Cicero voters and most voters across the district made a clear choice on Tuesday.”
Despite his harsh words about Dominick, Aguilar was philosophical about his defeat.
“Democracy, the people have the final word, I mean that’s the basis of it,” Aguilar said. “I’ve got a good record, I’ve worked hard.”
Aguilar said that he was particularly proud of his work to combat flooding and to obtain a helicopter for the Cook County Sherriff’s office.
He said that he hopes that Hernandez will represent the entire district.
“I wish her luck,” Aguilar said.