Progress Report: First Year of the New Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County
Today, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and the Civic Federation released our report examining Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez’s first full year in office.
This progress report follows a report issued ahead of the November 2020 general election that provided transition recommendations for the new Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County: New Directions for the Office of the Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court: Recommendations for Planning and Transitioning to New Leadership. The coalition’s first progress report, detailing the Clerk’s first 100 days in office, was released in April 2021.
The report released today provides updates on the progress made by Clerk Martinez’s administration on each of the twenty-four recommendations made by our coalition since taking office on December 1, 2020. We found that the Clerk’s Office has made meaningful progress in several areas, but much work remains to bring the office up to the standards of technological competence, customer service, and accessibility that are necessary for public agencies.
Of our 24 initial recommendations, it appears that three have been completed, four are in progress, nine have been initiated but are not complete, and eight have not been initiated. The details of progress for each initiative can be found in the full report.
The Circuit Court Clerk oversees the handling of hundreds of thousands of court cases filed in the Cook County Circuit Court annually and a staff of nearly 1,500 people. Much of the Clerk’s first year was devoted to understanding the challenges inherited in the office, which had a reputation for a lack of efficiency and transparency. Now that the new Clerk of the Circuit Court has had a year to understand the day-to-day needs of the office, Chicago Appleseed, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and the Civic Federation urge the Clerk’s Office to transition to proactive improvements.
Several of the initiatives we encourage the Office of the Clerk to prioritize going forward include:
- Reassess staffing levels based on workloads and court activity;
- Better align operational processes with new e-filing and case management system technologies, and establish a long-term strategy to streamline electronic filing, electronic order entry, and the move toward remote online access to case documents;
- Ensure coordination and uniformity of customer service initiatives across divisions and courthouses, coordinated through designated staff person(s);
- Improve communication with the public by issuing announcements and making information about the Clerk’s operations, policies, and finances readily available on the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s website; and
- Improve responses to requests for data and information by working with the Office of the Cook County Chief Judge to revise policies regarding disclosure, and designating staff to handle external research and media requests.
While we appreciate Clerk Martinez’s willingness to consider our recommendations and engage in dialogue around these issues, we hope to see the Clerk focus on continuously improving transparency in this obscure and often opaque government agency. There are still many ways Clerk Martinez’s administration can improve access to justice for those navigating the courts, including through partnerships with other agencies and improved translation services.