DIANE SHAPIRO

FOR Circuit Court Clerk of Cook Count

News

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Action plan

I will implement as soon, as soon as can be arranged, a website equivalent to the one currently used by Du Page County in which one can access via the internet the ability to file motions, get continuance dates, generate documents, pay any and all court-related costs (via credit cards and/or Pay Pal), search for the history of all court cases and so forth to bring the entire Clerk’s computerized system into the Modern Era. I will also introduce “day of file imaging”, by which all files can be generated on a screen in court by the judge, and allow the immediate online filing of all motions in court at terminals as is currently done in Federal Court. No documents will ever again be lost or misfiled. Also, I will work towards instituting the Pacer System, I2file.net ; which is essentially “E-file for Dummies”. Imagine how wonderful it would be for attorneys to have contact with the courts without having to leave their office. It saves time and effort and reduces the cost of doing business. During tough economic times it is imperative to reduce spending and be fiscally responsible.

I will establish an Office of Compliance which will be dedicated to collecting all outstanding court fines. This is not being done effectively at the present time. There are millions of dollars in outstanding judgments on bond forfeiture and other court fees and fines, judicial and non-judicial, which should be collected but are not. This office will work in conjunction with the State’s Attorney’s Office. Du Page County, which is much smaller than Cook County, collected approximately $5,000,000.00 over a two year period. We will not need to raise taxes if monies owed are collected!

I will make sure that court filing fees are assessed fairly and properly, and accountability for all monies will be guaranteed. No fees outside of statutory fees will be collected. It will not be necessary for lawsuits to be filed to make sure this is done.

I will establish an Illinois Circuit Court Clerk Information System (I.C.C.I.C), which is web based, and when fully connected and operational will afford one the ability to search court databases in all 102 Illinois Counties. If an individual is facing charges in Cook County, for example, one can check to see if they have any past or present court matters in any other county. This technology is available now, and has been for at least three years. One would also be able to check driver’s licenses and drivers’ abstracts, which would also assist Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies when they deal with the citizens. Driver’s licenses would no longer need to be posted in lieu of bond! People with pending Traffic Court matters would still have what is often their only piece of photo ID, instead of a piece of paper. It will also ease determining whether or not someone is driving on an expired, suspended or revoked license.

I will meet with all of the Deputy Clerks and other Clerk’s Office subordinates to introduce myself and discuss what changes they feel would benefit the office. I will meet with the Chief Judge, Presiding Judges and other Judges and court personnel to find out what they think will improve the functioning of the office of the Circuit Court Clerk. I will also make certain that there is an Office of Public Information, with a listed phone number that is manned during court hours (or longer, if necessary) to assist the public with all inquiries about pending court cases. The people working in that office will be polite and professional at all times.

I will totally reorganize the filing system currently in place and make sure that all documents that are supposed to be in them are there. Files will be stored properly, alphabetized correctly and maintained in proper order according to the law. When files are sent to the Appellate Court they will be complete when signed off on by the Deputy Clerks. A quality assurance inspection of all files will be conducted, and a review of all documentation of events recorded in the computerized system will be conducted. Verification of sentencing done concurrently and consecutively will be done. Spelling will be checked and all dispositions will be recorded accurately for future reference.

I will be fully accountable to the people of Cook County as an elected public servant, to serve Cook County honorably and ethically and perform the job I was elected to do with integrity. I will negotiate in good faith with the unions who represent the employees and promise to honor all of my commitments in full faith.