2008 General Election: Kane County recorder

Sandy Wegman, 64, a Republican, is a two-term incumbent. Frank Craig, 49, a Democrat, is her challenger.

Sandy Wegman
Why are you running for this office?
Under my leadership, the office is fiscally responsible, technologically advanced and customer friendly. I would like to continue providing the quality services and innovative thinking that the public has come to expect.

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
As the incumbent, I have led the following initiatives:
-- Free online access to documents as well as free printing of one's documents on line (we are the only county to allow this)

--Recording documents electronically using three vendors (other counties work only with one at this time

--Instantaneous return of many recorded documents when presented at the window (we are the only county to do this)

--After recognizing the onset of the economic downturn, helped to design and implement new recording software which is web-based, non-proprietary and the Recorder's Office owns the source code. This was done after a complete workflow analysis was done. This has postured the office for many years into the future without the added burden of licensing and support fees unless we implement special projects. This new software can be maintained by a technician who can make modifications, etc. and focuses solely on the Recorder's Office.

--Implemented a notice to property owners when a transaction occurs on their property in an attempt to prevent mortgage fraud.

--Implemented a notice to property owners when a foreclosure document was filed.

--Alerted the public to unnecessary services of the company offering to provide certified copies of deeds at inflated prices.

--Began the scanning and indexing of backfiles. We currently have 20+ years computerized.

--Decreased headcount from 31 to 19; decreased office space from 7500 square feet to 5000 square feet, giving back much needed space to the county.

--Began the redaction of Social Security Numbers from documents.

Upon taking office, I realized that the previous Recorder had in stock approximately 10,000 envelopes with her name on them. Rather than discarding them, we spent about two years using them and then went on to use envelopes that were being discarded by the Clerk's Office. Waste is not a word that is associated with the Recorder's Office.
Saved the County a potential lawsuit by taking corrective measures in the public area (removing the chairs from the workstations so that people could not linger or loiter there)

Additionally, the office is consistently under budget. The revised 2009 budget which has been submitted is approximately $934,000, $900,000 is for personnel or personnel-related items. The balance of $34,000 is allocated for the annual operation of the office. Once again, waste is not a word associated with the Recorder's Office.

What are the most pressing issues facing the office you seek?
Budgetary and technology. Both of which are already being addressed.

If elected, will you take your pay raise?
When the County Board approved the pay raise for this cycle, the pay raise automatically became part of the salary for these offices and as such you cannot just reject it. The officeholder becomes not only responsible for all of the taxes but also IMRF contributions. Therefore, I would be donating the pay raise to charity.

Frank Craig
Why are you running for this office?
I am running for Kane County recorder because I believe that the taxpayers of the county will be better served with new leadership that can cast a fresh and critical eye on the mission of the office, initiate a thorough and unbiased "top to bottom" review of the current operations and correct past mistakes as well as eliminating unnecessary spending while increasing overall efficiency and improving the current level of customer service, which I believe to be unacceptably low.

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?
I have extensive experience in the private sector as a business development manager for multinational firms providing internet based solutions for global customers. With this experience in providing "Best of Class" IT technology and customer service to the private sector, I believe I am uniquely qualified to lead the office during the critical years ahead.

Also, as a small business owner who understands working with tight budgets in a down economy, my experience in the private sector will allow me to efficiently tighten the Recorder's budget without sacrificing quality customer service and office morale.

I believe the current Recorder has become a bit complacent in the discharge of
her duties. This is an inevitable byproduct of being in office for so long. There is a tendency to rely on outdated methods and to fall back on the position that "we've always done it that way." There is also a tendency to coast through the day, showing up late and leaving early, as has been reported by some observers of the Recorder.

I believe that someone with the right experience and a fresh perspective will be able to uncover creative ways to save the taxpayers money while increasing productivity, morale, and performance. I will start with a short term goal of integrating the currently outsourced IT functionality from IT Stability (a campaign contributor of the current Recorder) into the County's award winning IT department. According to many county board members, this initiative is long overdue.

What are the most pressing issues facing the office you seek?
Eliminating wasteful spending by integrating the office's currently outsourced IT functionality under the County's award winning IT department. I will also lead by example by rejecting the recent pay increase for the office of Recorder. Eliminating headcount while accepting a pay raise sends the worst kind of message not only to taxpayers in the county, but to your own staff.

Improving customer service. The current Recorder's idea of providing quality customer service apparently included removing all seating from customer work stations and then calling the Sheriff's office to physically remove a customer who brought in his own chair for medical reasons. One County Board member called the actions "absurd." I agree.

I will also make it a priority to improve online accessibility to archived recorded data. The current Recorder has only gone back as far as the mid-1980's and has indicated that she does not think going back much further is warranted. I respectfully disagree. By making it a priority to move records online, we can help drive adoption of the online tools available to the public and increase efficiency of the office as well as improve customer service and lower the cost to serve the public.

In my first term as Recorder, I will make it a goal to make records as far back as 1970 available to the public online, thereby increasing the searchable database by an additional decade and a half.

If elected, will you take your pay raise?
I am on record as stating that I will not accept any pay raise during my first term as Recorder. To accept a pay raise while the taxpayers of Kane County are struggling and the current Recorder is reducing staff sends the wrong message to both the taxpayers of the County as well as the hard-working staff in the Recorder's Office.