Use of technology, customer service are goals for Lake County circuit court clerk candidates

Customer service and using technology to improve access to information are among the goals for Lake County circuit court Clerk candidates.

Democratic incumbent Erin Cartwright-Weinstein was elected in 2016 and is seeking a third, 4-year term. She is challenged by Republican Carla Wyckoff, who served as Lake County clerk from 2014 to 2018.

The circuit clerk is the official keeper of records for all matters, such as court cases, brought to the 19th Judicial Circuit Court. The post is one of three countrywide positions up for election Nov. 5.

Cartwright-Weinstein is an attorney who said she enjoys working in the court system. She said substantial upgrades in technology have been made and she'll continue working to improve systems allowing the public, attorneys and others to interact with the office and access information.

“It’s just been a whirlwind of change,” the Gurnee resident said of her tenure. “Not only are we greener but we’re more efficient now.”

Measures both “small and significant” have been taken to cut costs, she said, leading to a drop in the number of boxes of paper used each week from 300 to 10, for example.

“The things we have done have been robust,” she said.

The new case management system can be confusing, Cartwright-Weinstein acknowledged, but said adjustments are being made to make it more user-friendly and allow for requests for documents, for example, to be addressed more quickly.

She said she also is increasing the use of artificial intelligence to review electronically-filed documents and citations. The office will begin filing criminal cases in coming months and a program to allow people to obtain certified copies of documents from home will be introduced, according to Cartwright-Weinstein.

Wyckoff, a Lake Forest resident, is retired. A Lake County assistant state’s attorney for 23 years, she cites that work and her term as county clerk as experience that will provide “meaningful” management and leadership to the circuit court clerk’s office.

“My focus really has been running on providing an energized leadership to this operation,” she said.

Wyckoff charged the office is divided and dysfunctional due to a “culture of politics and retribution.” She said Cartwright-Weinstein fired three employees in her early days in office that lead to a $2.2 million decision.

“This was at the very least a bad judgment,” Wyckoff said. “I would make personnel decisions on merit.”

Cartwright-Weinstein said posttrial motions have been filed and the matter is still in litigation with an appeal possible.

“I stand by the decisions I made,” she said.

She said she entered into the first union contract for circuit clerk employees, which resulted in a fair, living wage and improved morale.

Besides getting politics out of the office, Wyckoff said more attention should be paid to customer service.

She suggests cross-training of personnel to better handle questions and complaints involving the time in which electronic filings are reviewed and “accepted” and considered official.