2008 General Election: Kane County circuit court clerk

Deborah Seyller, 56, a Rebublican, is a three-term incumbent. Her challenger is Ed Nendick, 60, a Democrat.

Deborah Seyller
Why are you running for this office?
My main priority for the Circuit Clerk's Office has been and will remain focused on customer service and process improvement. Providing accessibility to the office and to the processes within the courts is one of the office's most important functions. In order to keep the reliance on tax dollars down, the services must be provided in a cost effective manner. I am seeking re-election to continue problem solving within the court system, thereby contributing to the people of Kane County. My vision of using technology to reduce costs, increase productivity, and make the court system more user friendly has proven to be the correct direction.

What makes you the most qualified candidate in this race? For incumbents, discuss your accomplishments. For challengers, what about the incumbent's time in office suggests there's a need for change?
My 19 years direct experience in the duties of the office, 7 years as the Customer Service/Quality Assurance Manager and 12 years as the Circuit Clerk, and the knowledge gained working with over 1200 statutes that govern the clerk's involvement and/or responsibilities make me the most qualified.

In my current term, there have been several advancements made under my leadership. The most well known initiate that I've led is the electronic Order of Protection process for victims of domestic violence, a first in Illinois and in many states. We garnered Kane County international recognition by winning the CIO 100 Award in 2007; the award is sought by billion dollar corporations as a measurement of their business and technology success. Development of the first electronic court room check-in system brought order to a chaotic process,resulting in better customer service. Customers now have the ability to make court payments on-line for convenience, saving time off from work and the costs of travel. I collaborated with a multi-national payment services provider in the development of a revolutionary program that includes a funds guarantee on approved credit card transactions and eliminates the normal equipment costs; the general public benefits from reduced costs associated with holding a defendant in a local cell, the need to provide meals, and transportation to the county jail. In looking to make less work for our own employees, we introduced the first electronic payroll processing system in county government; the same system is being implemented in other large offices, reducing manual entry for the County. Office hours are now extended on Wednesday nights for improved customer access and was accomplished without increasing paid staff hours; this provides customers improved access to the office that is more convenient to their availability and doesn't require time off from work. To also improve customer access to staff, we restructured the way that employees work within the office to make as many as possible available to answer the telephones. With the call centers, a telephone software application that we utilize for every court related team, customer time on hold is documented in seconds; I would hold that record up to many corporations where waiting on hold for several minutes is commonplace. An additional night court for criminal cases was added by the judiciary and my office was able to staff it without increasing paid staff hours. These solutions have: provided timely access to data, reduced manual data entry, improved access to records, improved data quality, reduced paper handling, increased productivity for multiple agencies, improved services, enhanced officer safety, and enhanced public safety - all with little to no reliance on tax dollars.

Good leaders plan beyond four-year terms and, therefore, I have other initiatives in various stages of development that will impact the future. Having a vision and knowing where you want the office to go is only part of the picture. Because of the limited funds available, one needs the ability to architect a multi-year strategy for progress. There has always been a purpose for my progressive solutions, not just technology for the sake of technology or change for the sake of change, but progress with a purpose.

What are the most pressing issues facing the office you seek?
County growth, increasing workloads, and budget constraints are the biggest challenge my office faces. The challenges of today will continue into the next four years. The standard for the level of each service provided becomes a focus as budgets are reduced. The number of people needing services increases with the population growth. My record shows that I implement solutions that handle the increased demand in services with the least possible impact on funding. While the evolution of technology has expanded the public's expectations for the delivery of services, many people still prefer human interaction as part of their service experience. Services need to be made available through current and emerging technologies with the caveat of remaining within the legal constraints of the Illinois Statutes and the Supreme Court Rules. Limited funding affects progress in both technology and one-on-one service; I have the proven expertise in balancing the budget to move technology forward while maintaining a great level of service within the circuit court clerk's office.

If elected, will you take your pay raise?
The county is welcome to take the raise.

Ed Nendick
Why are you running for this office?
To bring Integrity and a fresh set of ideas to the office currently held by a 20 year incumbent. I've talked to many of the 102 Clerks of the Circuit Courts in the State of IL. Ninety Six of them have developed their own computer system to record the transactions of the court and to dispurse the fees and fines collected according to the Law. Six of them including our Clerk in Kane County have outsourced the computer program to Jano Justice Systems of MO. Our Clerk has spent over 5 million dollars of the Kane County Tax Payers money with Jano. I thought Kane county had a few good computer companies? I thought Kane County had a high unemployment rate? Couldn't our Clerk find a local company to do the programming? In addition Jano is having some trouble. This has forced the Finance committee to see if there is several million dollars available to replace the Jano System in case the company can not service the system in the future. I'll get the system replaced with a local company and hire programmers to maintain our system not relay on a company from MO.. Also I'll not sell your information on line thur eMagnus Multi court. Those records are the right of the tax payer not another outsourced company from MO.

Also I would not outsource the credit and collections of overdue fines and fees to an out of state company like our current Clerk has done! We do have a lot of credit and collections companies in Kane County and a high unemployment rate!

What makes you the most qualified candidate in this race? For incumbents, discuss your accomplishments. For challengers, what about the incumbent's time in office suggests there's a need for change?
A strong educational background including a B.A. from Lewis University in Lockport, IL., and the equal to two Masters Degrees from the Air Force in Air War College and Air Command and Staff college. Also twenty one years as a logistics Officer in the Air Force Reserves has given me the background in Government work. As a Logistics Officier I prepared a lot of clerks and technicians for war. Also my thirty eight years in management and ownership of manufacturing companies with unions has given me the necessary experience to manage the office of Clerk of the Circuit Court.

As for the second question, the current Clerk has outsourced a bunch of critical programs to out of state companies who may not be able to maintain the programs.That could shut the Office down.

What are the most pressing issues facing the office you seek?
Replacing the computer system
Implementing Night Court

If elected, will you take your pay raise?
No