Jacob Meister: Candidate Profile

Back to Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: ChicagoWebsite: www.jacobmeister.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Age: 50Family: Meister was born in 1965, the youngest of five children, in the suburbs of Milwaukee. He is single and has four nieces and nephews.Occupation: AttorneyEducation: University of Wisconsin Law School (Madison, Wisconsin), J.D., with honors (May 1990)The American University (Washington, D.C.), B.A., cum laude, International Studies and Political Science (December 1986)Civic involvement: Jacob is the founder and chairman of the Civil Rights Agenda, a non-profit civil rights organization dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights of LGBT people. He has been deeply involved in government and electoral politics since a young age. He was employed in the U.S. House of Representatives and was a Law Clerk for the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Judiciary and Consumer Affairs. More recently he ran as a statewide candidate (U.S. Senate, 2010). He has provided extensive resources and management for numerous political and issues campaigns, including, the Democratic Coordinated Campaign, Governor Quinn, and Illinois Unites for Marriage.Elected offices held: NoneQuestions Answers If you expect to ask for an increase in appropriations during the next four years, what areas would you want to put more money into?In the short term, additional appropriations will be requested for capital investment in computer systems and related technology to modernize the Clerk's office, to move the Clerk's office from a paper based system to a paperless system and to insure electronic integration with stakeholders, including all municipalities in the County, the Sheriff, State's Attorney, Public Defender, Department of Corrections and private attorneys, among others. This investment will ultimately achieve significant efficiencies and savings both at the county and municipal levels.List any relations (including those related to you by marriage, and nieces/nephews) who are on the public payroll in Illinois, their jobs and who they work for.Jacob's sister, Wendy Meister is a part time employee with the Avon Township (Lake County) Assessor.How can the flow of cases through the Cook County court system be speeded up?The Clerk's office needs to implement the statutorily mandated "Rocket Docket." Despite bipartisan support for this statute that mandates speedy trial for minor offenses, the current Clerk has failed to implement the new law. In addition, technology improvements (including implementation of a paperless system and electronic integration with stakeholders, including all municipalities in the County, the Sheriff, State's Attorney, Public Defender, Department of Corrections and private attorneys) will eliminate or greatly reduce the current problems with missing files that unnecessarily delay criminal and civil matters and appeals of all types.Compared to some collar counties, the Cook County court system is antiquated in terms of online access to case files. What do you intend to do about that?The Cook County court system is severely antiquated and lags behind many courts in Northern Illinois, including the federal court system and DuPage County, in particular. Both systems allow for paperless online access and have achieved efficiencies that allow for increased productivity by all users of the courts and ultimately save taxpayer dollars. As stated elsewhere in this questionnaire, Cook county needs to implement a paperless online system that integrates with all stakeholders in the court system.Please list any elected office you have ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?Jacob was a candidate in the Democratic Primary for United States Senate (Illinois 2010). Shortly before the primary election, he withdrew from the race and endorsed one of his opponents.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?There is a near universal recognition among judges and attorneys that the Clerk's office is broken, both operationally and ethically: (a) courtroom services are inadequate; (b) inadequate customer service leaves users frustrated and unable to navigate an, often times, overly bureaucratic system; (c) foreign language interpretation services are nearly impossible to find; (d) police officers regularly show up for court cases that have been dismissed, ending up in wasted officer time that could be better spent on the streets, in our communities; and (e) employee morale within the Clerk's office is at an all time low.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Warren Buffet. Despite his overwhelming wealth, Warren Buffet has demonstrated great leadership and has been a philanthropist, giving back to society.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?The Golden Rule - treat others as you would like them to treat you.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have learned to play the piano from a young age.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?World History has provided me with an important understanding of different cultures, philosophies and ways of life.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?To live by the Golden Rule: to always strive to treat others as you would like them to treat you.