DuPage County Clerk Kaczmarek: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: Glen EllynWebsite: http://www.jean4dupagecountyclerk.netOffice sought: DuPage County Clerk Age: 56Family: Married 31 years Two college-age children - a daughter and a sonOccupation: Citizen Government Watchdog; CommunicationsEducation: Western Illinois University B.A. General StudiesCivic involvement: Citizen DuPage County Government Watchdog 2005-Present; Co-Chair Illinois Ballot Integrity Project/DuPage Chapter 2005-2012; Resident Member, Downtown Advisory Committee, Glen Ellyn 2008-2009; Den Mother for BSA Pack 52, Glen Ellyn 2000-2005; Volunteer for BSA Troop 46, Glen Ellyn 2005-2012; Eagle Scout Mother; Volunteer in my children's schools and their outside activities 1995-2012.Elected offices held: NoneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoQuestions 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?As an unpaid DuPage government watchdog for a decade, Iâ#128;™ve closely monitored the Election Commission. Iâ#128;™ve uncovered egregious problems there; County oversight could have limited them. DuPage is the only county in Illinois with an independent county-wide electoral process. In all other 101 counties, elections are administered by county clerk offices. Iâ#128;™ve been advocating for election administration to be returned where it belongs â#128;#147; the Office of DuPage County Clerk. While we wait, Iâ#128;™ll be busy removing double-dipping pensions and practices violating the Ethics Ordinance and Personnel Policy. The disgraceful, excessive executive salaries and stodgy website must also be addressed.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?Iâ#128;™ve never run for political office. I probably know more about current DuPage government than any outsider. I attend many board and committee meetings. I do homework. I rock the establishment with facts, figures and common sense. I challenge improper procedures and unethical practices. I speak truth to power. Iâ#128;™ve impacted positive change. My priority will continue to be good government â#128;#147; standing up for accountability, consolidation and transparency. My opponent is a government worker and a patronage hire â#128;#147; promoted and rewarded for his political favors. Iâ#128;™m not just running against a person. Iâ#128;™m running against a corrupt system.Describe your position regarding the allocation of resources in the clerk'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?The executive salaries at our clerkâ#128;™s office are outrageous. DuPage pays its clerk 43 percent more than the other 10 most-populated Illinois counties. If you ask any county clerk outside of DuPage what his or her number one responsibility is, the reply will be: administering elections. Our clerk in DuPage County gets paid the MOST for doing the LEAST amount of work. I believe that if our clerk is doing half the job, cut the salary in half. The two deputy clerks arenâ#128;™t doing any election work either, yet theyâ#128;™re paid the same as many elected county clerks outside DuPage.Name one concrete program youâ#128;™ll create or personnel move youâ#128;™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.Our County Clerkâ#128;™s website is stuck in the 1990s. As clerk, I would immediately initiate on-line transparency. Specifically, I would include: lobbying activities, filed statements of economic interest, municipal tax rates, and TIF-district inter-active mapping. Most of this information is already public record â#128;#147; itâ#128;™s just not easy, free and anonymous to access. Cook County has already offered DuPage free software to place filed statements of economic interest online; our clerk said no thanks. Technical support and software could be afforded by eliminating the unnecessary Election Commission lobbyist. Funding isnâ#128;™t the issue here. Itâ#128;™s the willingness to just do it.Should the clerk's office oversee elections in the county? Why or why not?Yes. Elections are administered by clerk offices in Illinois with one exception â#128;#147; DuPage. In every other county, citizens vote on who administers elections. Here, one person appoints and reappoints his personal choices without County Board approval. Itâ#128;™s not bi-partisan. There are two Republicans and one Democrat; political parties do not choose them. Do Commissioners serve the people, or that person who reappoints them for $27,500 annually? ($1,000 per meeting) Commission problems and excessive spending could have been avoided under County oversight. That well-publicized â#128;œworking groupâ#128;ť to study consolidation of the Commission and the Clerkâ#128;™s office never met. Why not?What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?As clerk, Iâ#128;™ll stop double- and triple-dipping pensions at this office. The clerk should never receive pension-eligible stipends close to $20,000 from additional government boards including the Forest Preserve. I will end patronage hiring and promotions. An employee will not be my campaign treasurer. Staff will no longer be permitted to gather, sign and notarize political petitions, campaign and contribute for the boss. Never again will the clerkâ#128;™s office approve a leave of absence for an employee to conduct his own political campaign. Staff will never prepare Forest Preserve Board minutes for my personal financial benefit. My courage is proven.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.I neednâ#128;™t look far from home â#128;#147; DuPage County Board Member Liz Chaplin. Sheâ#128;™s passionate about good government, smart, hard-working, courageous, respected and genuinely compassionate.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?I learned to listen, observe and read.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I approach the future as a fresh canvas.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?English. Words, in the right combination, can change the world.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Iâ#128;™ve told my two children to be true to themselves and to stand up for what they believe.