“Nonetheless, the voters demonstrated their confidence in my ability to continue to revolutionize the Office, improve customer service, install 21st Century technology and, most importantly, save taxpayers money during these strained economic times, by maintaining cost effectiveness,” she noted.
Under Clerk Brown’s leadership, the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court has been nationally recognized for its award-winning technology initiatives, and since taking Office, Clerk Brown has increased general and special revenue by a record $69 million. At the same time, she has managed the reduction of the Clerk’s Office operating expenditures by over $17 million.
Dismayed by the fact that the Tribune and Sun-Times intentionally ignored her many achievements, Clerk Brown claimed that she was not supported by the dailies based on superficial issues. “It was stated that I was not endorsed because of basically three reasons: (1) A few of my 2,100 employees may have been rude, contrary to my strong focus on customer service, which is backed up by thousands of letters from patrons that compliment our employees, which the newspapers did not ask to review; (2) A few of my employees voluntarily exercised their right in our democracy, and donated to my campaign; even though I did not solicit them, in accordance with the Cook county ethics ordinance, and following the rules in the same manner as other elected officials and candidates; and (3) I should not have a driver/security assist me in my travels to the 17 locations of the Clerk’s Office throughout the entire county, and to community events I attend upon the requests of my constituents, as do other elected and even non-elected officials with less responsibility and with even less security risks.
“Thankfully, the citizens of CookCounty are astute enough to not be swayed by specious reasoning that ignores their critical need for responsible and accountable government,” said Clerk Brown. “Endorsed or not endorsed by a couple of newspapers, my priority will always be to faithfully serve the citizens of CookCounty in a dignified and respectful manner.
“I do thank the newspapers that had the foresight and appreciation of my accomplishments to fairly evaluate me on my merits and endorse my candidacy, including the Chicago Defender, Citizen Newspaper Group, Pioneer Press, the Gazette, Jewish Chicago, and others,” Clerk Brownconcluded.
