Karen Yarbrough: 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: MaywoodWebsite: karenforrecorder.com and cookrecorder.com (gov't)Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Cook County Recorder of Deeds Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Karen and her husband, Henderson, have a blended family of six and share twelve grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.Occupation: Recorder of DeedsEducation: Karen has a B.A. in Business Management from Chicago State University, an M.A. in Inner City Studies from Northeastern Illinois University, and advanced leadership studies at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: State RepresentativeState Central Committeewoman7th CD Democratic CommittemanProviso Township Democratic CommitteemanQuestions Answers How well has the Recorder of Deeds performed, and what qualifications would you bring to the office?http://karenforrecorder.com/karens-record/If you expect to ask for an increase in appropriations during the next four years, what areas would you want to put more money into?I have cut our budget each year, but if I asked for increase, would be to increase community outreach and update our 14 year old computer system.List any of your relatives (including those related to you by marriage, and nieces/nephews) who are on the public payroll in Illinois, their jobs and who they work for.Daughter, Clerk of Circuit CourtDescribe 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 have been the most transparent Cook County Recorder to date, releasing all reports on our website and Annual Reports each year.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?No appointment to unexpired term.State Rep (lost then won)Democratic Committeeman (lost then won)State Central Committeee (won)What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Property FraudVeterans HousingE-RecordingBlockchain Public RecordsPlease name one current leader who most inspires you.Barack ObamaWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Hard work pays off; if you do something, give it everything; sow good seeds reap a good harvestIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Wouldn't change a thing.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Reading. Gave you a curiosity about the world that led to questions being answered.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?There are no shortcuts in life; do it right the first time and improve if you can.