Candidates view technology as key
From the Daily Chronicle, Wednesday, October 29, 2008.
By BENJI FELDHEIM - bfeldheim@daily-chronicle.com
A five-time incumbent and a former deputy clerk are both running to be keeper of records at the DeKalb County Courthouse for the next four years.
Maureen Josh has held the position of DeKalb County Circuit Clerk since 1984, and looks to maintain a personable atmosphere while serving the growing number of users in the court system.
Sycamore resident Josh Boies, who worked in the clerk's office from 2000-2004, said he would streamline the office with more technological advances.
Maureen Josh said she has worked over the last five terms to transition the office from a "pen and paper" operation to a more modern facility, while maintaining traditional roles of the office, such as coordinating between several legal and law enforcement entities.
"We are not just sole practitioners here," she said. "We do a lot with schools, with attorneys, the police and the public to make access to the court system a good experience."
Josh Boies said that more can be done to automate aspects of the clerk's offices, such as making online records available for free.
"We have to have court records online," he said. "If you look at most of the counties in the state you don't have to pay for it, even in smaller counties."
Josh Boies pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence after he was charged Jan. 12, 2007, in Geneva. Since then he has fulfilled the requirements put on by the court, and said he learned a great deal from the experience.
"It was the hardest night of my life and I paid a heavy price," Josh Boies said. "I don't think it should disqualify me as a candidate. In a way, I got to see things from the other side and got to see what people see coming in to the court system."
Maureen Josh, who co-chairs the state's Court Information System Technology Advisory Committee, said changes and updates to the clerk's office have to go through several local and state approvals before they can be installed.
For example, clerks in six Illinois counties, including DeKalb, have been working for 3 1/2 years on a new computer-based ticketing system in which police officers can electronically send citation information to the clerk's office. Contracts were recently signed by the clerks who are involved, Maureen Josh said.
"Even though we might have wonderful ideas, we have to work within the framework of the system," she said. "It's important that people know this role is defined by statutes."
Josh Boies said his experience in putting GED records dating back to the 1960s online while working with the Kane County Regional Office of Education would serve well in the clerk's office. If elected, Josh Boies said he would make the office more efficient.
"It's not popular, but when you bring in new technologies, you might have to cut staff," he said. "I could bring creativity and a background in technology to this position."
Maureen Josh said that money spent for the clerk's office largely comes from fees and fines paid by people within the court system, such as from traffic tickets and court fees, and not tax dollars.
"When people say they will save the taxpayers money they really don't understand the system of the courts," she said. "The clerk is not a sole decision maker. The main thing is you have to work with other agencies and know the authority you have."
Police to begin using electronic tickets for traffic stops
From the Daily Herald, Wednesday, October 15, 2008.
The sight of flashing red lights in a rearview mirror can quicken the pulse of even the most conscientious motorist.
But circuit court clerks in six area counties can promise a more efficient, safer and speedier experience with an electronic ticketing system being piloted in their jurisdictions.
Authorities in Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, McHenry and Will counties unveiled Tuesday a wireless, computerized system that allows police to issue electronic citations rather than the old pen-and-paper versions.For example, rather than writing out much of the motorist's personal information, the officer can access and record that data simply by scanning or swiping the bar code on the back of the driver's license. The motorist receives a printed version. The ticket can be transmitted almost immediately to the circuit clerk, who later can more easily share statistics with state officials.
Supporters say it cuts the time of an average traffic stop nearly in half.
"It'll cut down on the gaper's block, which often creates traffic jams and accidents," Cook Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown said. "It's our hope in 2009 we'll be able to completely roll out this system."
Added Kane Circuit Clerk Deb Seyller: "The faster we can get somebody off the side of the street and back on the road again, the safer it is for everyone involved."
Police write about 1.1 million traffic tickets annually in Cook; 225,000 in DuPage; 110,000 in Kane and 167,000 in Will.
The participating circuit clerk's offices paid for the software through an automation fee assessed to all new case filings. Cook spent about $800,000 to try out the software in a few targeted districts, including the Rolling Meadows area. In DuPage County, authorities spent $2.3 million for a five-year contract that offers all the different ticketing options, including written warnings and overweight truck citations.
"Our plan is to do away with that crunchy old yellow ticket that you had to carry around in your pocket to try to get on an airplane with or otherwise use as a form of identification," DuPage Circuit Clerk Chris Kachiroubas said. "What you will have instead is a printed-out version; something you can actually read."
Eventually, the technology may be expanded to include animal control, fire and county health citations. It's also the goal of many circuit clerks, including Kachiroubas, that the new system eventually ends the practice of taking motorists' drivers licenses by allowing them to instead pay during a traffic stop with a credit card.
Local police pay for equipment inside the squad car, basically is a $600 printer that may be covered through a state grant.
Police in south suburban Oak Lawn became the first in Illinois in 2003 to use the technology. Today, it is used in more than 700 jurisdictions across the nation, said Peter Tillman of Advanced Public Safety, or APS, which offers the technology.
More than words: 'Mockingbird' unites Sycamore
From the Daily Chronicle, Tuesday, September 30, 2008
SYCAMORE - Young Rory Gallagher loves theatrical plays. Especially when they are free.
"And it's always good to go to a kickoff!," the enthusiastic 12-year-old said Monday evening after attending a reenactment of a scene from the historic Harper Lee novel, "To Kill A Mockingbird."
A reading of the famous trial from the book - at which character Tom Robinson is the defendant - was held Monday evening at the DeKalb County Courthouse. The event was the first of many in a local effort to promote literature through The Big Read, a nationwide initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts.
"While you are here, I hope you will take a moment to walk around your courthouse and be as honored and proud of it as we are who work here every day," said Maureen Josh, DeKalb County circuit clerk. "You truly are the stewards of this courthouse."
The courtroom, which is older than the 1935 scene that was re-enacted there Monday, was filled to capacity with more than 100 attendees.
"The problem is that less than 50 percent of the American public has read a work of fiction during the last year," said Dee Coover, executive director at the DeKalb Public Library. "But there's a solution...We continue to read, and that is what will pull us together as a community."
Members of the DeKalb County Bar Association volunteered for the event and put their acting skills to the test. Each was assigned an uncharacteristic role - men played the parts of women and adults played the roles of children.
Lessons about racism, prejudice, justice and equality were intertwined throughout the scene in which Tom Robinson, a black man, is on trial for his life. Robinson's lawyer, Atticus Finch, works to defend his right to freedom as an innocent man.
"As you see the words behind you reading peace, justice and equality, you'll find they are principals Atticus Finch fought so hard for," DeKalb County State's Attorney Ron Matekaitis said. "It is a demand we must make of ourselves to be on guard against racism and prejudice."
Reading for the role of Atticus' young daughter, Scout Finch, during the play was Sycamore lawyer, Laurel Wykes Smith. She spends five days a week in the courthouse, she said, but acting in a scene from one of her favorite novels was a lot more fun than a day's work.
One of the scene's most important lessons lies in the fact that people can be unjustifiably hateful, Wkyes Smith said.
"People can be hateful and travesties can occur," she said after the play. "This shows our justice system isn't perfect when it's left to people who are acting out of hate."
In 2007, the DeKalb Public Library received a $5,000 grant to sponsor Big Read events, and this year, it received $20,000. The money will help host events throughout the month of October at which attendees will receive complimentary copies of some of 5,000 "To Kill a Mockingbird" books purchased using part of the grant money.
The ultimate goal of the initiative is to get everyone reading for enjoyment, Coover said.
Last year's Big Read had 200 participating communities nationwide, she said and that number has grown to 500 for 2008.
"To Kill A Mockingbird" is the theme for the month-long events. It was selected from a list provided by the NEA, which leads the annual effort in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest.
Kishwaukee Family YMCA And Voluntary Action Center Provide Opportunity For Campers To Learn Community Service
Released August 18, 2008
DeKalb, IL - Children participating in Kishwaukee Family YMCA day camp this summer had a unique opportunity to participate in a community service project that will raise funds for the Meals-On-Wheels program provided through the Voluntary Action Center (VAC). Campers from the YMCA have designed Holiday Cards for VAC's holiday fundraiser. The cards will be printed and sold throughout the community with the proceeds helping to fund Meals-On-Wheels.
"This project was a perfect fit for our camp program," said Katrina Luetkebuenger, Youth and Family Director of the YMCA. "It instilled a sense of community service, a key developmental asset, and promoted the YMCA core values of Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility. We strive to incorporate these values in all programs at the YMCA." For the design of the cards, an all-camp coloring contest was held. All Y campers had the opportunity to submit a picture for the upcoming card design. Six winners were selected by a panel of judges comprised of VAC's Executive Committee, with Maureen Josh, DeKalb County Circuit Clerk serving as Holiday Card Committee Chair.
"We received hundreds of card designs! Our panel certainly had a difficult time selecting 6 winners," said Ellen Rogers, Associate Director for VAC. "It was wonderful to see the care so many put into their designs, knowing it would help others in our community." The Voluntary Action Center will use the proceeds to help meet the growing need for services in these times of rising food and fuel costs. "Each packet of cards will provide one meal that would otherwise go unserved. We are grateful for this partnership with the YMCA in which we can bring food to the table of those in need."
Camp winners were announced at a Family Day Party at the YMCA on Friday, 8/15. Parents are invited to watch the campers put on a show, enjoy ice cream as a thank you from VAC, and hear who the coloring contest winners were. The following campers will all have their design turned into an actual holiday card!
Kelsey Body
Rachel Westbrock
Carley Unger
Madeline Ruehl
Rodney Wilson
Destinee A. Feliciano
VAC's holiday cards will be printed in September and available throughout the community, including the YMCA and VAC, of course.
Database Helps Identify Repeat Traffic Offenders
An excerpt from the Daily Chronicle on Mar 14, 2008 - 12:42:17 am CDT
The DeKalb County Circuit Clerk's Office has been the main test site for a database program created in DuPage County that will help paint a fuller picture of a driver's history for law enforcement officials to use in traffic-related cases.
The goal is to create faster access to traffic records over a broader area, DeKalb County Circuit Clerk Maureen Josh said.
But such information is often hard to get from other jurisdictions: The 16th Circuit Courthouse in Sycamore can access traffic violations from only DeKalb, Kane and Kendall counties, Josh said.
DeKalb County has been testing the program for the last six months, and will be the first county other than DuPage to start using it, Josh said.
"DuPage's system should be operational in the next few weeks, and we will follow shortly thereafter," Josh said Thursday. "It's another way we can serve the county in a professional, accurate manner."
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