Kane Circuit Court Clerk Race: Technology Talk
Tom Hartwell, Karin Herwick and Cathy Hurlbut are all on the GOP ticket to vie for Deb Seyller’s seat.
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The Republican primary for Kane County Circuit Court clerk includes three names this year.
The contenders are Tom Hartwell, Karin Herwick and Cathy Hurlbut. They are all vying for the clerk position currently held by Deb Seyller.
Hartwell, Herwick and Hurlbut all have current or previous ties to county public office. Hartwell was a County Board member from 1996 to 2000. Herwick is the chief operations officer and chief deputy of the Circuit Court Clerk's Office. And Hurlbut is the District 19 Kane County Board member.
Operation of the Kane County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office has been a touchy issue as of late. A key talking point for the candidates is how and what type of technology update the courts will use. A new filing system was part of the terms of a settlement between Seyller and the county, according to the Daily Herald and Kane County Chronicle. Seyller sued the County Board, seeking money because she claims the Board underfunded her office.
Hurlbut also faced her own controversy after she announced her candidacy.
Hurlbut and her husband John were named in a lawsuit alleging an incident of sexual assault between the Hurlbut’s son and a girl two years ago in the Hurlbut's family basement. Hurlbut denied the charges and claimed the lawsuit was “political extortion.”
The lawsuit was recently dismissed, but neither side divulged any details about the settlement, the Daily Herald reports.
Here is some information on each candidate, why they should be elected and what their thoughts are on electronic filing.
The following information was obtained from the candidates' websites and various media reports where noted.
| Name |
Tom Hartwell |
Karin Herwick |
Cathy Hurlbut |
| Campaign Website | |||
| Age | 52 (Kane County Chronicle) | 44 (Kane County Chronicle) | 51 (Kane County Chronicle) |
| Residence | Elgin | North Aurora | Elgin |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Chief Operations Officer and Chief Deputy, Kane Co. Circuit Court Clerk Office |
Attorney |
| Experience |
|
20 years, Kane Co. Circuit Court Clerk’s Office | Kane County Board Member since 1994 |
| Why Should You Elect This Person? |
|
|
Experience controlling spending as chairperson of the County Board Finance/Budget committee |
| On County Technology Upgrade |
Would invite vendors to show pilot programs before county commits to a provider (Daily Herald) |
More communication needed between county offices to ensure successful transition to new system (Daily Herald) |
|
Endorsements (click each name below to read the endorsement)
Chicago Tribune: Herwick
Daily Herald: Hurlbut
Kane County Chronicle: Hurlbut
For more information on Tuesday’s primary, visit your local Patch site and click the “Elections 2012” button at the top of the page.
Then check Patch on Tuesday night for continuous election coverage.
Charles Emout
12:25 pm on Tuesday, March 20, 2012
It's funny to me that Cathy Hurlbut wants to be the Chief keeper of the Circuit Court records, yet she can't even maintain her own personal records!
This woman has traveled the county over proclaiming her vast experience as a board member and attorney which she'd like you to believe set her apart from the rest of the candidates in the field ... yet her law license registration appears to be in question and she is currently not authorized to practice law as an attorney in Illinois!
Check for yourself: https://www.iardc.org/ardcroll.asp
Do yourself and your neighbor a favor today - vote for ANYONE but Hurlbut!
Mary Stith
1:44 pm on Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Recommendations matter to me when someone makes them with their real name and I respect that person and their views. Otherwise, I find that a bloggers less than transparent behavior doesn't bode well for those they choose to endorse, and actually lends more credibility to those they don't endorse.
John
3:03 pm on Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Yes and to think that several Burns supporte grs admitted to using fictitious names in the transcript of the Geneva E-mail messages. You are right Mary.
Guess that the lack of transparency has no candidate or party designation.
Patch allows phony names. People will use them.
Lori Hessler
10:49 am on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
I have an important story to tell. This is an atrocity. Kane County Circuit Clerk’s office interviewed me for a position in the records department. I was offered the job and was thrilled. A good place to start, I knew my goal would be to climb the ladder. I excelled at this job right away. Instead of two weeks training on the first of many positions in this department, I moved on after three days. Then came the surprise. I had to pull from 300 to 600 plus files in three hours, if I did not keep up the pace I would be terminated towards the end of my “probation”. That was the civil desk. The criminal requires an employee to pull from 800 to 2000, depending on the day, in 6 ½ hours. These files are jammed in shelves, some on the floor, they fall out on top of you, and the law and divorce files are huge! I sweated and pushed myself to do this job for three weeks straight.
Lori Hessler
10:50 am on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Stacking files in my left arm all the way to my chin, running back to my cart, continuously. After seven weeks of working for this organization, I went home on a Friday exhausted. On Friday morning I could not get out of bed. The pain was beyond belief. Let me just say that I have been working for 35 years. I never once was terminated from a job. This was 9/22/12. I called my supervisor Monday morning who angrily said, you know you are not getting paid for this day. I apologized profusely. I was terminated on 10/2/12 for not coming to work.Over the next month I have been on pain pills, got more xrays, an MRI, saw a specialist, a spine specialist.
Lori Hessler
10:50 am on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
I have a pinched nerve in my neck. Today my insurance runs out.no one will say this is work related, don’t have money for rent let alone cobra. My son is disabled, has Aspergers and OCD.Mom had a stroke, can’t eat, and is in the hospital, so weak may not come through the surgery, and don’t even have gas money to go see her. This wonderful organization,Kane County Circuit Clerk, they push people to tears. 2 other ladies said they cried for weeks when they first started there too. One lady older than I, burnt her entire hand on a hot curling iron. She asked her supervisor to give her a different job for the day.
Lori Hessler
10:50 am on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
The supervisor said NO, just tape up your blisters. Files literally fall out on top of you, nothing is in order, years are randomly all over this huge warehouse.This poor lady ended pulling 2000 files that day with a burnt hand. I did not realize we were a third world country that got away with brutality. Deb Seyller, recently said that the people in the records dept don’t deserve raises, (no raise in 3 years), they are uneducated! She is retiring, leaving a MESS behind. Seyller is useless and has been raking in a nice salary just sitting on her laurels passing the time. Wonder if Tom Hartwell, Karin Herwick, Cathy Hurlbut, or any others will fix this disgusting situation. I would like workman’s comp to pay my bills and get my neck fixed so I can find a desk job and make a living.