Q&A with Meek

1. Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what is that? What will be your main priority in office?

I am running for County office for the first time because I:

a) believe the people of DuPage deserve better - a true democracy and not one party county dominance.

b) have strong family and emotional ties to Illinois; my ancestors homesteaded our family farm in Greene County on Sept. 21, 1828, and

c) am tired of the opposition running unopposed

My main priority if elected will be to

1) review all contracts and systems

2) take the 'pay to play' mentality out of this office, and

3) adjust (if possible) the office's head count to match the 34% decrease in 7 months YTD revenues (budget to actual-$5.6 mil vs.$3.7 mil). It should be noted that DuPage's housing units sold during the first 6 months of 2008 dropped approx. 54% to 3,500 units from 7,650 units (est. in 2007). With 80% of the office's recording work effort coming in the mortgage and title area, this drop in revenue should have been anticipated with the condition of the national, state and local housing markets.

2. If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of important initiatives you've led. If you are not an incumbent, tell us what contributions you would make.

The contributions I would like to make to the DuPage Recorder's office are:

a) continue the safeguards that were recently started regarding identity theft and mortgage fraud that has become a major problem in Cook County over the last several years

b) increase the Internet documents offered to the public and at the same time investigate the effectiveness of their 32 year old mainframe IBM that has been adapted for this function

c) work with the other DuPage departments in document storage-Assessors Office and the Clerk of Courts with the relatively new OCE system hardware and software, and

d) stress that customer service is the cornerstone of any entities' success and it is through service that one justifies and continues their existence.

3. What are your goals in terms of delivery of services and management of the DuPage County Recorder's office?

My goals for service and for management of the DuPage Recorder's office are:

a) the taxpayer comes first with respect shown to all people

b) the environment should encourage cooperation, teamwork and be an enjoyable place to work

c) the office should be as technically advanced as is possible, and

d) the office should institute a system of MBO's-Management by Objectives which involves quarterly goals and objectives for each individual and will be reviewed and revised quarterly

4. What would your priorities be in budget requests for this office?

As I learned while with the General Motors Corporate Office Financial Staff, 'a budget should be easy to attain, but difficult to exceed'. Given this premise, my priorities in budget requests will be to:

a) run a very tight budget with no frills due to the uncertainty of state funding and other sources of DuPage County income, as well as the current state of our national economy.

b) request monies for capital improvements in technology that would place DuPage as one of the innovators and not one of the followers. DuPage County ranks as one of the top 1% counties in the U.S. (3,142 total counties) in per capital income, household income and medium personal income. With these rankings, DuPage County should be one of the best County offices in the United States.

5. Do you favor any changes in the training and/or deployment of the office staff? If so, what?

Currently, I believe the office staff in the Recorder's Office is overstuffed due to the reduced volume in mortgage and title work. The head count (temporary and part-time employees) needs to be adjusted for this decrease in mortgage recording volume (see above answer to Q #1). Also, some of the full-time people could be moved to help upgrade the documentation effort with the Clerk of Courts Office, the Assessors Office and in the new area of GIS (Geographical Information Systems) which includes the DuPage Water Reclamation office, the Road & Highway department, and perhaps other applications. In my own personal experience, I visited the Recorder's Office the week of June 2nd. Last summer had a sunroom attached to my townhouse and enlarged my patio area with additional cement.

The Assessors Office took measurements of both shortly after completion in August, 2007. I had my original Plat of Survey in hand when I inquired with a Recorder's Office clerk. I wanted to know if the office had an updated Plat of Survey given the 9 month time lag. I know the Recorder's Office has over 40,000 on file in their new OCE system which go back to 1839. I was told I would have to get a surveyor to make a new plat which would cost $200 and that they did not have my new updated Plat. Something is wrong here! Why isn't the Assessors Office sharing their data with the Recorder's Office?

6. What specific steps, if any, can be taken to make this office operate more efficiently?

Since I am not the incumbent, it is difficult to know what is happening within this office regarding the internal dynamics, the systems and software, the customer service/complaints and the relationship with other offices. If elected, whatever these elements turn out to be, I strongly believe:

a) my corporate experience in 4 Fortune 500 Companies for 20 years

b) my 15 years as a business consultant in numerous small and large companies, and

c) my training as a Six Sigma Green Belt will prove to be invaluable.

It takes a person with vision, strong commitment and anticipation to lead effectively. With DuPage County's preeminent position in the U. S. and the unwritten budget goal of doing more with less in these lean times, the County Recorder should be open to all options and ideas. I am that person-a Democrat candidate that means business and thinks business. I want to apply My Corporate Experience to County Government.