Circuit clerk cites staff losses and upcoming expungement event; notes legislative changes pending

Kane County Circuit Clerk Miss Ferrero told the Judicial and Public Safety Committee on Sept. 11 that case filings are up about 6% and that the office has lost staff to other county offices, which she attributed in part to pay differences; she said one recent departure represented a $10,000 annual salary difference from competing offices.
"We just lost our fifth employee to other offices in this room," Ferrero said, and said the office will start training resolutions to document cross-office training needs so other offices cannot simply recruit trained staff without support. She said several newly passed public acts include mandatory ("shall") requirements affecting the circuit clerk's duties and that the office is reviewing those changes with the state's attorney's office.
Miss Ferrero also said she will host an expungement event in Elgin on Saturday with state Sen. Cristina Castro at the Gail Borden Public Library, main branch, and asked members to promote the community event.
The committee received the report as informational; no funding or policy actions were taken Sept. 11. Ferrero said she will coordinate with the state's attorney on implementing recent legislative changes and will return with any budgetary requests prompted by new statutory duties.
The clerk asked the committee to consider training and retention strategies in upcoming budget discussions.