Three vying for Kane circuit clerk
By Denise Linke For The Beacon-News February 5, 2012 6:54PM
Karin Herwick
candidates
Catherine Hurlbut
Party: Republican
Age: 51
Town: Elgin
Job: Partner at Hurlbut & Hurlbut law firm with her husband
Political offices held: Kane County Board member, 19th District, 1994-present
Family: married, three children
Karin
Herwick
Party: Republican
Age: 43
Town: North Aurora
Job: Kane County deputy circuit court clerk
Political offices held: none
Family: married, one son
Children: one son
Thomas Hartwell
Party: Republican
Age: 52
Town: Elgin
Job: attorney
Political offices held: Kane County Board 16th District, 1996-2000
Family: divorced, two sons
Article Extras
Updated: March 24, 2012 11:25PM
Voters will decide next month whether they think Kane County’s deputy circuit court clerk, who has worked in the office for 20 years, will run it better than either of the two attorneys — both with experience on the County Board — who also have worked with the office for years.
“I’ve dedicated 20 years of my life to this job. I see things from the inside,” said Deputy Clerk Karin Herwick, one of three candidates seeking the GOP nomination for circuit clerk in the March 20 primary election.
“This is a very complex office, and I’m the only candidate who understands the day-in, day out operations and the people who work here.”
“The last eight years I’ve felt that the circuit court clerk’s office has not been run well,” countered Catherine Hurlbut, who is concluding an 18-year run representing the county’s 19th District in Elgin.
“It’s not sensitive to spending wisely. I want to rebuild its budgets from the ground up and look at its financing sources.”
The third GOP contender, Thomas Hartwell, said the office needs a fresh perspective.
“If I become the next clerk, I will not be committed to any prior decisions made about that office. Both of my opponents have been involved with that office for a very long time. They can’t necessarily say that,” said Hartwell, who represented the 16th District in the Elgin area from 1996 to 2000.
All three candidates agree that the office desperately needs a new online computer database system to operate efficiently and cost-effectively.
“The County Board has been working on replacing the circuit court clerk and judicial computer system for two years now,” said Hurlbut. “I’d like to reduce or eliminate the amount of (manual) data entry so that the staff can do other things to serve the public.”
Hartwell noted “the federal courts have electronic filing, and it’s very efficient.”
“We could save the county a lot of money by streamlining the filing process and eliminating all the duplicate entries we’re doing now,” he said.
Herwick said the office’s case management system needs to be replaced.
“I’m looking forward to it because it will create so many efficiencies. But a new case management system is not going to solve the problem by itself. You need someone in place who understands the process to make it work,” she said.
They also agree that a circuit court clerk needs to do more than supervise judicial record-keeping.
“The clerk’s primary task is to provide services to the public attorneys and judges,” Hartwell said. “That enables trials and other court actions to run smoothly. The clerk is a nonjudicial officer of the court.”
“Usually when people come into this office, they’re in an unfortunate situation and they need help,” Herwick said. “Our job is to be a neutral party and serve them without judging them.”
“People think the circuit court clerk is a county office because the clerk is elected and funded by county residents, but the clerk reports directly to the governor, so it’s really a state office,” Hurlbut said. “It’s a tricky situation because it’s jointly controlled by the state and the county.”
And while all three candidates pledge to restructure the office if they’re elected, they all emphasize that they aren’t anticipating laying off workers.
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