had endorsed. Acting Mayor of Chicago (1987) When Mayor Washington died of a heart attack on November 25, 1987, Orr, as Vice Mayor, became acting mayor. He took office on November 25 and served for a week until the Council elected a permanent replacement mayor. Orr was suggested as the obvious choice, but as a reformer, he was vehemently opposed by the remaining Machine aldermen, and many black Chicagoans wanted a black replacement for Washington. Alderman Eugene Sawyer, who was black, and before 1983 had been a Machine loyalist, was chosen instead on December 2, 1987. Orr chaired Council meetings as mayor on December 1, a memorial meeting for Washington, and on December 2, when Sawyer was selected as his replacement. County Clerk (1990-2018) In 1990, the office of Cook County clerk was vacated by Stanley T. Kusper, Jr. who ran unsuccessfully for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Orr ran for the office, and won the Democratic primary handily with 56% of the vote against two opponents. He also won easily in the general election, receiving more votes than any other candidate for county office. He was re-elected in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. In 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010, he was unopposed for renomination, and faced only token opposition in the general election. In 1994, Orr was considered a potential frontrunner for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, but he ultimately decided to run for reelection as clerk instead of seeking the position. On June 21, 2017, he announced that he would not run for reelection to an eighth term. Karen Yarbrough, the then-Cook County Recorder of Deeds, succeeded Orr as the Clerk. Subsequent career and activity In 2013, Orr was appointed as a Senior Fellow at the Harris School of Public Policy Studies in the University of Chicago. In June 2018, Orr founded a political action committee called Good Government Illinois, with the goal of supporting election reform, campaign finance reform, and candidates with shared goals. He supported several candidates in the 2019 Chicago aldermanic election, including Maria Hadden (who ran for his old 49th ward seat), Michael Rodriguez, Andre Vasquez, Matt Martin, Susan Sadlowski Garza, David Moore, and Scott Waguespack. Orr considered running for mayor of Chicago in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election after incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel declared in early September 2018 that he would no longer be seeking