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Andrea Chasteen: Candidate Profile

Will County Clerk of the Circuit Court (Democrat)

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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: FrankfortWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Will County Clerk of the Circuit Court Age: 40Family: I am married to my husband, Michael and we have two wonderful children together, Jacob and Allison.Occupation: Director of Operations in the Will County Circuit Clerk's OfficeEducation: I am a high school graduate. I started my career at the Will County Circuit Clerk's Office when I was 19 years of age. My education is the knowledge and experiences gained from the office.Civic involvement: I have a strong commitment to community involvement. I have been involved with many charitable organizations over the years. I chaired the Go Red Campaign and Take Back the Night Campaign for the Circuit Clerk's Office, where the Office have raised over $37,000. I continue to promote and participate in Relay for Life, United Way, and senior initiatives in Will County.Elected offices held: This is my first time running as the candidate for Will County Circuit Clerk. I have never held an elected position.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 am running to be the next Circuit Clerk because I have 21 years of service to the citizens of Will County, I have vested interest in their needs and customer service. I love being a part of the judicial process. I have personally implemented many electronic initiatives bringing technology to our customers. I want to continue my efforts to automate services and make it easier for our staff members and increase efficiency. I want to integrate systems, reduce the redundancy of data entry and share data among agencies. I will continue to focus on the fundamentals of court operations.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 job and what would your priority be?I am no the incumbent.Describe your position regarding the allocation of resources in the clerk of the circuit court'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?I think that our office is doing a good job of allocating resources. We have created 9 file-less courtrooms saving staff time and resources, we expanded electronic filings to all civil cases allowing individuals and attorneys to submit their pleading from the convenience of home or office, and we are moving forward with electronic citations with multiple municipalities. Just this year we implemented a tax offset program recovering over $500,000 of unpaid fines and costs reducing the burden on tax-payers. I will continue the efforts to balance budgets and look for ways to utilize resources to our advantage.Describe your position on transparency in the office and the ease of access to records by the public. If you believe improvements are needed, what are they and how would you go about achieving them?I believe our best accomplishment in the office this year is the new mobile-friendly website providing free on-line access to court data, schedules and allows individuals and attorneys to obtain and pay for copies and other payment needs. Unless there is a statute or ruling restricting a case or pleading the duty and oath of a deputy clerk is to ensure that the public can access the court record.Please list any elected office you've ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?I have never ran for office before, nor have I ever been appointed to fill a term.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?The building of a new courthouse. It is an exciting time for this office.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Amelia Earhart, I loved her I can do it spirit.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?You only get what you work hard to accomplish. Never give up!If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have not let my gym membership lapse.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Sience, I am really good at problem solving and seeing the big picture.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Always go after your goals.