SPIN V TRUTH: DuPAGE COUNTY CLERK EDITION
DUPAGE COUNTY CLER OFFICE STILL NOT RUNNING ELECTIONS AS PROMISED BY BOARD
By Jean Kaczmarek, Democratic Candidate, DuPage County Clerk
Despite the spin,
elections have NOT yet moved to the DuPage County Clerk's office. The move
won't take place until 2019. A County Board vote will take place on the
consolidation after Jan. 1st. The actual move will *likely* not happen until
after the 2019 municipal/consolidated election is certified. The current County
Clerk will have zero election administration experience prior to the midterms.
Despite the spin, the
current County Clerk is NOT looking forward to moving duties from the Election
Commission to the Clerk's office. He has demonstrated no interest in
administering elections. He could have been serving as the Chair of the DuPage
County Election Commission the past four years, according to the ordinance, but
chose not to. In fact, he never attends Election Commission board meetings and
was completely unaware of the Election Commission's budget when he presented
the 2019 budget before the County Board in August.
Despite the spin, the
current county clerk is NOT the beacon of transparency, inclusiveness,
democracy and participation. The Republican is ignoring invitations to public
forums with me, including the League of Women Voters and Progressives for
Change. This was his pattern in 2014, as well.
Despite the spin, it
is NOT Dan Cronin who should be credited with the plan to consolidate the
Recorder's office with the County Clerk's office. This was the cornerstone of
Moon Khan's candidacy for DuPage County Recorder in 2016. This year, I have
carried the baton in my campaign for County Clerk. Over 90% of the counties in
Illinois have already merged the duties of Recorder with County Clerk's
offices. Cronin had the opportunity for years to make this move; instead the
power structure was waiting for when the current politically-entrenched
Recorder was closer to retirement. Just having opposition in a race
pushes our elected officials to do the right thing!
Despite the spin,
former DuPage County Election Commission Exec. Dir. Joe Sobecki did NOT
want to resign. He was given an ultimatum, a reliable source confirmed. The
media reported that "there was no previous indication he was planning
to step down." Immediately following the "resignation," an interim
executive director was installed without a vote by the
Commissioners. Sobecki left a well-paying position with excellent benefits, two
years shy of pension eligibility. He is currently job hunting via LinkedIn as
"a performance-oriented
government Administrator, with expertise in over 30+ elections."
P.S. The Democratic
Party has been extremely helpful in recruiting new election judges. Word on the
street, we're doing a better job than Republicans. The Democratic Party is
taking their civic duties seriously. We still need more judges. Keep up the
good work!
