Mariyana Spyropoulos drops bid for circuit court clerk

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Mariyana Spyropoulos has dropped out of the race to replace Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, citing a family health commitment.

Spyropoulos, who is serving her second term on the water reclamation board, said a run would make it difficult for her to balance family responsibilities, specifically caring for her mother.

“Running for office is a huge time commitment, and I thought I could balance it all,” Spyropoulos said. “Now my mom has had some setbacks with regards to her health, and I can’t balance everything. We only have one set of parents.”

Brown on Aug. 14 announced she would not seek reelection, saying the decision had nothing to do with a growing field of challengers or a federal investigation of alleged job- and promotion-selling in her office.

With Spyropoulos out, those vying for the post or exploring runs include Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Michael Cabonargi; former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin; state Sen. Iris Martinez, D-Chicago; former county Board President Todd Stroger; 26th Ward aldermanic candidate Theresa Siaw; and lawyer Jacob Meister.

Carbonargi was endorsed last month by the Cook County Democratic Party.

Spyropoulos said candidates have reached out to her, but she’s not yet ready to endorse anyone.

“I want to see how far every candidate will get into the weeds and come up with a plan to really modernize the office,” Spyropoulos said. “It’s very archaic and it’s a mess. It needs a lot of work and I hope everyone is in it for the right reasons, to bring us into the 21st century.”