Pamela McGuire: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: JolietWebsite: http://pamelajmcguire.comOffice sought: Will Clerk of the Circuit CourtAge: 57Family: Married, 5 children, two grandchildrenOccupation: Will County Circuit Clerk of Court Twelfth Judicial Circuit CourtEducation: High School Graduate 40 years of on-the-job experience in: legal process, strategic planning, consulting, program evaluation, customer service, supervising, computer programming/networking and 160 continuing education hours through Illinois Courts.Civic involvement: Illinois Supreme Court E-Access Committee Illinois Association of Circuit Clerks Illinois Association of Northeast Circuit Clerks Illinois Integrated Justice Committee, Treasurer of Tri-Rivers Police Training Board Joliet Exchange Club Numerous Local Will County Chambers of Commerce Strong advocate for prevention of domestic violence ? Take Back the Night American Cancer SocietyElected offices held: Circuit Clerk of Court - 16 yearsHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Continue to Streamline Operations for Greater Efficiencies My main goal as Circuit Clerk now and in the past is to continue to streamline the office to accomplish the goal of more services for less cost. This saves the taxpayers money. Technology allows for remote access, for my staff to have quicker and more accurate access to information which makes the experience of visiting the Circuit Clerk?s office more enjoyable and rewarding for the public. It cannot be forgotten the Circuit Clerk?s office is there to serve the taxpayers of Will County in a friendly, efficient and effective manner. That has always been one of my main objectives.Key Issue 2 Keeping up with Technology In line with our Justice Partner?s strategy, the Chief Judge and I will purchase and implement a new court computer system in accordance with national justice standards. This will allow data exchanges between the court and our Justice Agency Partners as well as state and national law enforcement agencies. This new technology will be funded completely by user fees ? not taxpayer dollars ? and will increase efficiency - benefiting judges and staff in managing ever-increasing caseloads as the population of Will County continues to grow. Technology changes rapidly; we are ready to embrace those changes and offer our customers and the public the tools they need and desire to conduct their business remotely through e-filing initiatives, access to the case record of action, documents or schedule.Key Issue 3 Doing More with Less Sharing data among the Justice Agency Partners will increase efficiencies. The Circuit Clerk?s Office currently provides various justice agencies access to electronically imaged documents, saving them valuable time and resources. With a new computer system, we will implement the ability for an individual receiving a traffic ticket to electronically plead guilty if they should choose that option. This will eliminate their need to mail verification of their guilty plea. This will automatically transfer the information into our computer system, reduce data entry by our staff, and allowing them to perform other essential functions. We are finalizing a process where data is sent from the Court?s computer system to the Sheriff?s computer system when an arrest warrant is issued or voided. Our office is also collaborating with the Sheriff regarding the process for service of civil documents on an individual. Being a strong advocate for the prevention of domestic violence, my office will continue development of the electronic Order of Protection process that is currently in place. This process has been beneficial to victims, advocates and the court. Our goal is to further develop the transfer of data directly into our court computer system and send that data electronically to the Sheriff?s Office creating a more efficient and timely process. Sharing specific data electronically, as funding becomes available, will create an opportunity to work more efficiently, reduce the amount of paper passed from one justice agency to another and obtain timelier information while promoting public safety while saving taxpayers money. My office has implemented an electronic citation solution which has reduced redundant data entry between the police agency and the court while producing a more legible ticket. This solution also allows police officers a more time-efficient manner of transferring data from traffic stops to their offices, the courts and the Illinois Department of Transportation. By decreasing officer?s paperwork, they will be able to increase their time on the street and maximize public safety. As we expand this program to other municipalities, the redundant entry of data will be eliminated, saving tax dollars and increasing efficiencies.Questions Answers Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?I want to finish the many projects I have started as the Circuit Clerk. As the Circuit Clerk, I was instrumental in forming the Will County Justice Agency Partners, which includes the Chief Judge, Will County Sheriff, State?s Attorney, Probation Department, Public Defender, Emergency 9-1-1, Will County Police Chiefs? Association, Will County Executive and the Circuit Clerk?s office. The goal of the Justice Agency Partners is to share specific data electronically, utilizing technology and complying with national justice data sharing standards to make the judicial system more efficient. I have pushed for remote electronic access to files. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will soon give permission for that process to begin. I want to see the program come to fruition to be able to see how the public reacts to the program. My 16 years as an administrator in this office along with my experience and knowledge of our complex court system is a benefit to the judiciary, legal community, staff and courthouse customers. My prior business, administrative and computer background has given me the tools to make tremendous improvements in the office. I am dedicated to providing friendly and helpful support to courthouse customers and feel this is something that is too often lacking in government. I have been a great administrator, run an efficient office and continually look at better ways to provide service to all courthouse customers within our financial, court rules and statutory restrictions. Should a problem arise, I meet it head on and find a quick resolution.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?In 2007, we began our collection program; to date over $13,000,000 in court ordered fines and costs once ignored by those that owed them has been collected. These dollars have been distributed to local municipalities, our county and the state, hopefully helping these governmental bodies reduce the burden on taxpayers. Under my administration, my office has reviewed unclaimed funds, located individuals that had unclaimed child support and, so far, have returned over $400,000 to those families. There were unsuccessful attempts to install a criminal court system prior to my administration. I was able to implement not only for criminal, but combine four (4) separate systems (civil, traffic, child support and financial) into one, allowing the Clerk?s office to keep timely court records and cross train staff. Our user friendly website, created in early 2000, offers a variety of services and information. Court forms can be found and completed, entries on a court case can be accessed, court ordered costs can be paid, documents can be requested and sent electronically, and documents on Supreme Court authorized cases can be filed with the court from the convenience of one?s computer without having to make a trip to the courthouse. Imaging millions of court documents has been a beneficial time saver for our justice agency partners and staff. Now, they have the ability to retrieve those documents from the convenience of their computer without having to visit our office to obtain a paper file.What changes would you propose to improve the operation of the office of the clerk of the circuit court? Why?Continuing Integration efforts with the Will County Justice Agency Partners will allow us to reduce redundant data entry, receive more accurate and timely information while increasing public safety and realize the cost benefits of doing business in this manner. Implementing paper-on-demand courtrooms, where appropriate, will allow us to take advantage of the billions of available imaged documents. The paper-on-demand approach will complement our electronic civil case filing project. Will county is one of the few Circuit Clerk?s offices in the State of Illinois working on an e-filing project and will be expanding this process upon approval of the Supreme Court. Our participation in a pilot program with the Appellate Court will expedite cases and allow all parties to view, access and work from the record simultaneously, reducing the need for the Clerk?s office to retain a required security copy, saving time and money. Additionally, working toward a paper-on-demand system will help the Clerk?s office ?go green,? reducing our waste and lessening our environmental impact. Implementing a new court computer system will be beneficial to both legal professionals, outside agencies and the courthouse customers. Attorneys, parties to a case and judges will have the ability to view their schedule and documents from their mobile device or computer.How do you propose to improve access to records by the public and transparency of office management?Most court records, unless otherwise restricted by law, court order or rule, are public information and can be viewed or inspected at our office either by utilizing our public access terminals located at one of our courthouse locations or by obtaining the physical paper file. Currently basic court case information is available on our website. I presently serve on the Illinois Supreme Court E-Access Committee, charged with the duty to make recommendations to the Supreme Court on the best approach to provide remote electronic access of court documents while protecting individual privacy, proprietary business interests and restricted records. These recommendations are currently under review by the Supreme Court. Once the Supreme Court allows the public to electronically view remotely unrestricted court documents, we will be in an excellent position to implement this ruling. We will be able to take advantage of the court documents that we have been imaging over the many years and make these records accessible through our website.This field intentionally left blank.Candidate did not respond.