Two seek Democratic nomination for Kane County recorder
A two-time nominee and a political newcomer are seeking the Democratic nomination to run against Kane County’s longtime recorder of deeds.
It is the third time Brenda Rodgers, 60, of Elgin, has run for the office. She ran unopposed in previous primaries and lost twice in the general election to incumbent Sandy Wegman, a Republican who has held the office for 24 years.
Rodgers is opposed by Marisela Villegas, 31, of Aurora. Villegas began working for the recorder’s office as a recording assistant in May 2022. It is the first time she has run for elected office.
“It is time for a fresh face in the recorder’s office,” Villegas said. She cited her on-the-job experience as a benefit. She said before working for the recorder, she worked in stores, including some supervisory roles.
“I would be ready to go from Day One,” Villegas said.
“Just because a flight attendant works on a plane doesn’t mean they can actually fly it,” countered Rodgers.
She said her life and educational experiences make her the better candidate. Rodgers served one term on the Elgin City Council, has been a Realtor for more than 30 years and has her own firm, Reality Realty of Elgin.
Asked how she would improve the recorder’s office, Rodgers said she would have the office accept payments by debit and credit cards. Kane is the only county in the Chicago area that does not accept them, instead requiring users to pay their fees with cash or a check.
“Being able to pay (with credit or debit cards) would be a convenience for them (users),” she said. “Because a lot of people don’t carry cash now.”
Villegas said state law governing recorders does not address credit card processing fees, and so they could not be passed on to users. The county would have to absorb the fees, she said.
The counties that do accept credit cards charge the users a convenience fee.
Rodgers also said she would do community outreach to let people know about services the recorder offers, such as free recordings of military discharge papers and the ability to sign up for Property Watch, a free service that notifies a property owner any time something is recorded against their property. It aims to prevent fraud, and Kane County has had it for eight years, but Rodgers said people don’t know about it.
Villegas said she wants to move images of older documents onto the recorder’s website so people could view them without having to come into the office. She said the website only shows land records going back to the 1960s.
When asked if the recorder’s office should be merged with another county office to improve efficiency, Villegas said she did not think it would be beneficial.
Villegas said clerk employees would have to be taught recording duties. “Our office has a really good momentum going,” she said.
Rodgers said she would leave it up to residents to decide whether merging would be a good idea. She noted that at least 82 counties in Illinois have combined the duties of the recorder with the county clerk. She said some have kept recording as a separate department or division of the clerk’s office.
The winner of the March 19 primary will face Wegman, 80.
The recorder’s job is to maintain a permanent archive of records, particularly property transactions such as mortgages and deeds. They also record liens, court judgments, plats of subdivision, ordinances and annexation agreements, articles of incorporation, records related to dissolution of corporations and Uniform Commercial Code filings, and more.
The 2024 budget for the office anticipates spending $704,578 and receiving $2.76 million.