Elgin city clerk retiring as gatekeeper of records

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

ELGIN — In his valedictory speech last week, outgoing Elgin Mayor Ed Schock complimented the unsung employees who keep the city running.

One of those people is City Clerk Diane Robertson, who will be retiring at the end of April.

“I’ve enjoyed my time interacting with the council and with the public,” Robertson said this week.

Robertson has worked for Elgin for 11½ years and came to the city from Westfalia Separator, an industrial equipment manufacturer with a site in Elgin, where she was office manager. She spent 2½ years as an assistant to the police chief and five years as assistant to the city manager before taking the role of city clerk, an appointed position.

“My brother and my first husband both worked in law enforcement, so I thought the job with the city would be interesting,” Robertson said of how she came to work for Elgin.

Robertson, along with Deputy City Clerk Jennifer Quinton, are the keepers of all the city’s records, contracts and agreements. The office also handles Freedom of Information Act requests from the public and from businesses, funneling the requests to the right departments, gathering the data, then sending a response to the requester — all within five working days.

With changes in Illinois law that went into effect more than a year ago, “We get more requests than before. The public has been educated about the process. At the same time, we have made it easier, especially for those with Internet access,” Robertson said.

With the system fully computerized last year, Elgin filled 2,700 FOIA records requests, up from 1,800 in 2009. Thus far this year, the clerk’s office has handled about 850 FOIA requests, Robertson said.

Records management will be the biggest challenge for her successor. Robertson noted that the city currently has hard copies of pretty much everything and is working toward storing that information electronically. As such, documents are being kept in a room at the clerk’s second-floor office at city hall, in the city hall basement and in a building on South Grove Avenue, she said.

Robertson’s office also takes in petitions from those running for city offices. And she takes the official notes at city council and liquor commission meetings. She noted that the meetings have been well-run during her time as clerk, when Schock was mayor and Femi Folarin and later Sean Stegall have been city manager.

“And there are so many good things going on in the city,” Robertson said.

Upon retirement, she intends to continue living in the area. Her plans include getting more involved with groups where she already volunteers, including the League of Women Voters and the auxiliary board at Provena Saint Joseph Hospital, and finding a program involving reading to and helping children build reading skills.

“My grandmother was a librarian, and my parents taught my brother and I the value of reading,” Robertson said.

Contacted Monday morning, when snow covered the spring ground, Robertson mentioned some sunnier plans beyond Elgin.

“Next winter, I’m spending some time where it’s warmer,” she said.

As for her post, the city is in the process of selecting a replacement. About 140 people have applied for the job.

The city also still is in the midst of choosing a communications director, a position for which it started advertising late last fall. The former public information officer, Sue Olafson, now oversees information for Elgin’s police and fire departments. A consulting firm, Vorhees Associates of Deerfield, is assisting with the hunt, and officials said more than 200 people have applied for the new title.