Karen Yarbrough: 2022 candidate for Cook County clerk
Bio
Party: Democrat
Office sought: Cook County clerk
City: Maywood
Age: 72
Occupation: county clerk
Previous offices held: State Representative, Cook County Recorder
Q&A
Q: Why are you running for this office and is there a particular issue or experience that motivates you?
A: I am running to continue the progress we have made in all areas of the Clerk's Office, namely elections and to finish the work started in assumption of the duties in recording operations. Additionally, since the pandemic, we have had to rethink operations totally, namely how to provide service in spite of a calamity.
Q: If you're the incumbent, what successes have you had in office that makes you deserving of another term? If you're the challenger, what experiences and successes in your background make you qualified for this position?
A: Update the website for better constituent access
Expanded the languages on voting ballots to twelve
Employed new poll books that ease the process of voting in person
Opened a voting precinct in the county jail for pre-trial detainees
Helped to write a new law that allows LGBTQ+ couples to update the gender-identifying language on their marriage certificate
Established a portal to start the marriage license process to save time
Advocate for property owners as it relates to fighting property fraud to unsuspecting homeowners by conducting a ramped up outreach program
Established a Fraud department in Recording Operations with investigators to authenticate fraud and help go after these bad actors
Established a Help Desk with Pro-Bono attorney's to help customers with legal questions Developed a mission statement for the office to follow Accuracy-Efficiency-Advocacy, Cyber-Security
Q: How will you ensure fairness in elections and how will you expand voter participation?
A: See the above answer.
Q: How do you assess the ease of which the public can access records held and maintained by the clerk's office and what, if anything, do you suggest to improve it?
A: In light of the continuing pandemic, which causes a considerable amount of angst, we are consistently updating our technology to provide improved access in every area of the Clerk's office. We constantly seek to employ best practices in providing access in every way.
Q: How do you assess the office's use of technology to be more transparent and accessible to the public, and what, if anything, more can be done?
A: We've made significant progress in updating antiquated paper-based processes throughout the office using technology. As we change processes though, we are mindful that in some cases our publics are not as tech savvy, or are reluctant to use technology and need to be educated on these much needed efficiencies. Case in point, during the pandemic, some funeral homes wanted to continue to use an old, antiquated system of retrieving their documents in person, when we have a process in place to access these same documents online. Since the office was not opened, they were forced to use the new system. I continue to update my knowledge base with my counterparts in the US on best practices.