DuPage clerk candidate wants opponent's petitions investigated

Paul Hinds' opponent in the DuPage County clerk's race is calling for an investigation into whether the longtime county employee violated any laws or ethics rules by having co-workers notarize his petitions and other nominating papers.

Hinds, a Republican, will face Democrat Jean Kaczmarek on Nov. 4 to decide who will replace county Clerk Gary King, who is retiring. The clerk's office is responsible for sending out property tax bills and handles other documents such as birth certificates, marriage licenses and death certificates.

On Tuesday, Kaczmarek filed a complaint with the DuPage County state's attorney's office claiming Hinds - who is DuPage's chief deputy clerk - requested employees with the county clerk's and recorder's offices to notarize his petitions.

"The chief deputy county clerk appears to have crossed the line between political campaigning and performing his duties as a county employee by using government staff and resources to complete his petitions for running for DuPage County clerk," the 56-year-old Glen Ellyn resident wrote in the complaint.

Hinds hadn't yet seen the complaint on Tuesday afternoon. Still, he said he complied with all legal and ethical guidelines while getting his petitions notarized.

The petitions were required to get Hinds' name on the ballot.

According to Hinds, the employees who notarized his petitions did so on their own time.

"It was always done after work and at other places - not at the county building," the 53-year-old Villa Park resident said.

While the individuals work for the county, Hinds said they notarized his petitions because they're his personal friends.

Kaczmarek said she wants an investigation done to determine whether the petitions were completed during work hours on government property. She said the petitions were notarized on work days.

Despite filing the complaint with the state's attorney, Kaczmarek said she doesn't want that office to conduct the probe.

"Due to conflicts of interest, I request that your office recuse itself from processing and opening the investigation of this complaint," Kaczmarek wrote in a letter to DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin.

Kaczmarek is asking that the complaint be transferred to an appropriate authority. "This complaint must be taken out of the county immediately for objective handling," she said.

Whether that happens remains to be seen.

Paul Darrah, a spokesman for Berlin, said the state's attorney's office has received the correspondence from Kaczmarek. "We're reviewing it at this time but have no further comment," he said.

King, who has been the county clerk since 1986, is retiring when his term ends in December. He's supporting Hinds' election bid.