DuPage court clerk Kachiroubas seizes third term

DuPage County Circuit Court Clerk Chris Kachiroubas coasted to victory Tuesday over challenger Ralph Scalise.

Kachiroubas, an Elmhurst Republican, captured 57 percent of the vote to Scalise’s 43 percent, with all 748 precincts unofficially reporting.

Scalise, a Carol Stream Democrat and former staffer in the clerk’s office, put Kachiroubas on the defensive during the campaign, challenging the incumbent’s outsourcing of some functions of his office and accusing him of spiking a political ally’s pension.

But Kachiroubas contended his policies save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. He also defended pay raises given to former county board member Bill Maio, whom Kachiroubas said earned them by bringing in more than $12 million in uncollected revenue while working in the circuit clerk’s office between 2005 and 2010.

Kachiroubas said his third-term priority will remain keeping costs down while providing better courthouse service to the public through programs such as electronic ticketing.

“I’m very pleased with how we did the last two terms and, going forward, (the vote) tells me we’re going to do even better,” Kachiroubas said as he celebrated at the Diplomat West in Elmhurst. “We provide a service you need to be able to count on, and people need to know they’re being treated fair and that it’s being done right.”