Kevin Morrison, the first openly gay person elected to the Cook County Board, has spent the past six years as commissioner focused on mental health, civil rights policy and bipartisan collaboration. Now, with the country at what he calls a “crucial” turning point, Morrison is launching a run for Congress in Illinois’ Eighth Congressional District.
Morrison announced his campaign on May 12, aiming to succeed U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. The Eighth District Morrison is running for includes west and northwest suburban areas, such as Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg, Itasca, Bloomingdale, Roselle, Streamwood, Carpentersville and Elgin. It also encompasses a small part of Chicago near O’Hare International Airport.
In an interview with Windy City times, Morrison said he’s entering the race to fight back against rising threats to democracy, health care access and vulnerable communities across the country.
“Right now is a moment where the American public wants to see leaders who actually care, who speak from their hearts [and] from empathy—not just talking points and polls,” Morrison said. “And I have only ever been in this fight because I care about giving back and making people’s lives better.”
Cook County accomplishments and federal priorities
Morrison’s congressional platform builds directly on the work he has done as Cook County commissioner since he was first elected in 2018, with the candidate focusing on health care access, mental health services and LGBTQ+ rights among his top priorities. Morrison said he is also looking forward to ensuring public schools are funded equitably across the country.
As commissioner, Morrison also led the creation of Cook County’s first dedicated Department of Mental and Behavioral Health in 2022. The office, housed within the Cook County Department of Public Health, offers services promoting mental well-being, early intervention and prevention or treatment of mental health and substance use conditions.
“Once fully operational, [the department] will do something that’s never been done before: fill every gap in the mental and behavioral health space,” Morrison said. “That’s something I want to bring nationally.”
Morrison’s experiences growing up gay helped him realize the importance of mental health services, he said. The commissioner experienced bullying in school but found support through therapy.
“I was very fortunate to have access to therapy when I needed it the most,” Morrison said. “I am alive today and a county commissioner today because I always had access to mental health resources, and that should be a right for everyone.”
As a member of congress, Morrison would also work to expand access to other health care services, he said.
“Health care costs are way too expensive, and what is going to bring health care costs down is more access to health care to every resident in this nation,” Morrison said. “We need to find a path to get there, because if everyone had health insurance and got regular health care checkups, things would get caught earlier and cost substantially less at the end of the day.”
Morrison is also passionate about public education, he said.
“Growing up, I’d be at my grandparents’ condo in Florida and see how kids in public school in the South were clearly not receiving the same resources I was as a public school student,” Morrison said. “And I think it compelled in me an urge and a want to be a changemaker.”
Defending transgender rights and other LGBTQ+ issues
Morrison made history in 2018 as the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the Cook County Board, and was reelected in 2022.
The commissioner, who grew up in Elk Grove Village, said he never realized an openly gay person could be electable for office until marriage equality passed in Illinois in 2013.
“I never thought I could be a viable candidate,” Morrison said. “Fortunately things really changed, and now we have Pride events in almost every village in my county board district.”
Morrison’s pro-LGBTQ+ efforts as commissioner included spearheading bipartisan work to update Cook County’s human rights ordinance to include gender identity and reproductive health decisions. He also passed an ordinance requiring all county forms to ask for a person’s gender identity instead of sex assigned at birth.
Other accomplishments of Morrison’s include six years serving on the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund Board and chairing the LGBTQ+ affinity group for the National Association of Counties.
In Congress, Morrison said he would continue to advance LGBTQ+ protections, especially for the transgender community, which has faced an onslaught of attacks from the Trump administration, Morrison said.
“I will not be denying our sole transgender member of Congress, [U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Delaware)], access to a restroom in the halls of Congress, and I surely won’t be banning books or denying trans members the ability to serve their country with dignity,” Morrison said.
Current LGBTQ+ protections need to not just be retained but also expanded, Morrison said.
“I am not afraid to say that I support diversity, equity and allowing everyone who’s a resident of the United States to have the opportunities my grandparents had, which is to work hard and create a better future,” Morrison said.
Morrison’s background
Morrison’s grandparents are Italian immigrants who came to the United States with almost nothing after his great-grandfather was killed at the end of World War II, he said. His grandfather sold vegetables out of a truck in Chicago, using the money to open a snack shop that eventually grew into a restaurant in Norwood Park.
Morrison grew up working in the family restaurant, where his mother and aunt managed daily operations—a business they still own today. It was there, sitting at a front booth as a child, that he first noticed the subtle but persistent ways power and respect were withheld from women.
“Every time a customer would ask to speak to the owner, she would get met with the same response: ‘Excuse me, I asked to speak to the owner,’” Morrison said. “My mom couldn’t fully explain it to me at the time, but what was occurring was misogyny and sexism.”
Morrison’s mother is one of his biggest inspirations and supporters as a public servant, he said.
Another mentor of Morrison’s is State Sen. Rob Martwick (10th District), he said. Morrison worked on his first campaign when Martwick was running for—and won—state representative in 2012.
“He took all his volunteers and staff and mentored us to help us on our own career paths,” Morrison said. “Having advisors like him around me really helped me be able to run for commissioner in 2018.”
Morrison graduated from DePaul University in 2013 with a degree in political science and minors in environmental science and LGBTQ+ studies.
As commissioner, Morrison returned to school in Fall 2019, when he started at John Marshall, which later became UIC Law School, he said. Morrison graduated in December 2024 with honors cum laude.
Morrison passed the Illinois Bar Exam on his first try in April and was sworn in as an attorney on May 7, he said.
“Instead of going and getting an attorney gig and making millions of dollars, I’m running for Congress because I want to fight for everyday people,” Morrison said.
Morrison said the stakes of this election couldn’t be higher, pointing to what he views as coordinated attacks on democracy, the judiciary, and due process. He’s also alarmed by proposed cuts to federal grants and public programs that fund essential institutions—from schools and libraries to veteran services and local jobs.
“Now is not a time for any of us to be complacent, and I want to use my voice to show that I care deeply about our residents,” Morrison said.