Erin Cartwright Weinstein: 2024 candidate for Lake County Circuit Court Clerk

Bio

Party: Democrat

Office Sought: Lake County Circuit Court Clerk

City: Gurnee

Age: 51

Occupation: Circuit Court Clerk & Attorney

Previous offices held: Lake County Circuit Court Clerk

Why are you running for this office, whether for reelection or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?

I truly enjoy working in the court system. I have the opportunity to make the office more accessible to the public, and do my best to help the public maneuver through the court system. Technology is an important component to creating an accessible courthouse.

Even though I have made substantial improvements in technology, there is always more that can be done. Additionally, I enjoy my staff, and working with them on a daily basis. They are phenomenal at their jobs, and creating an environment for them to work where they feel comfortable is important. My office works with both the Judiciary and the County Board. I enjoy these relationships, and working to make the County a better place to live for all of the residents. The training program for all staff, new and experienced, to learn and keep up to date on legislative and supreme court rule changes is an ongoing project.

If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?

First, I entered into the first union contract and brought my employees to a fair/living wage. Second, I digitized almost all of the documents in the office. The microfilm is being digitized now, and there are a only a couple of remaining categories to finish the project. I moved the office away from an e-filing system my predecessor tried to build unsuccessfully.

I implemented the state-wide e-filing system sponsored by the Illinois Supreme Court. They system works well and does not cost Lake County. I put in a new state of the art case management system that allows our office to become solely electronic record. I have added Artificial Intelligence bots to help with e-filing between the State. I added pocket language boxes to assist the staff and customers with language barriers. Re-designed the training program for staff and continuing working on education.

Describe your position regarding the allocation of resources in the clerk of the circuit court's office. Are personnel allocated as they should be? Are there capital expense or other budgetary items that the office must address, and, if so, how do you propose to address them?

Personnel is allocated reasonably, but a compensation study has just been completed which will make adjustments based on post-covid inflation. The budget is mostly the cost of personnel. The Circuit Clerk's Office has three special revenue funds that are funded by the users of the court system. The amounts are set via statute. These funds are used to offset the costs of court automation, document storage and electronic citations. The special revenue funds are bearing the brunt of most of the expenses for the office, excluding personnel. Resource sharing is a constant in our office. The office shares with any other office when we have a resource that can assist another. For example, the use of our vehicle by another office, the use of our space by another office, the ability for our office to assist the county with electronic citation costs for the Sheriff's Department. There are upcoming technology expenses for the office, and I save the money in special revenue funds.

Name one concrete program you’ll create or personnel move you’ll make to improve efficiency in the office or make it more successful. Explain how it will be funded and how you will overcome any obstacles to initiating it.

I am increasing the use of artificial intelligence to review electronically filed documents and electronically filed citations. I am also adding staff to assist the public with electronic filing. The office will begin electronically filing criminal cases in the next few months and the public will need additional assistance. We will not need additional funding, with the improved technology we are able to repurpose current staff. I am adding a program called e-certify to allow people to obtain certified copies of their documents from home, no longer driving into Waukegan. Also, as previously mentioned, I am adding addition artificial intelligence.

Describe your position on transparency in the office and the ease of access to records by the public. If you believe improvements are needed, what are they and how would you go about achieving them?

I believe in full transparency. The budget is online, and all of our documents are public record (unless otherwise ordered by the court or via statute). The Circuit Clerk's Office follow the rules of the legislature and the court, if there are changes then we follow through with them. If a change was necessary, there would have to be a change in legislation or court order. Therefore, a change would be a request for the change through the appropriate channels.