Michael Cabonargi, Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Democratic candidate profile

Candidate profile

Michael Cabonargi

Running for: Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County

Political/civic background: Democrat

Current: Vice Chair, Democratic Party of Illinois
Democratic State Central Committeeman, 9th Congressional District
Leadership Circle Member, Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association
Board Member, Loyola Academy Bar Association
Board Member, District 39 Educational Foundation
Board Member, Milan Committee of Chicago’s Sister Cities Program

Previous: Member, Illinois Governor-Elect JB Pritzker’s Budget and Innovation Transition Committee
Member, Illinois Comptroller’s Ethics Commission
Member, Local School Council for Brentano Elementary School
Member, 35th Ward’s Zoning Advisory Committee
Board Member, University of Illinois College of Law Alumni Board

Occupation: Chair and Commissioner, Cook County Board of Review

Education: University of Illinois College of Law (Champaign, IL) J.D. with honors (2000)
Miami University (Oxford, OH)
B.A. Political Science (1993)
B.A. Foreign Affairs (1993)
Loyola Academy (Chicago, IL) High School (1989)

Campaign website: michaelcabonargi.com

Facebook: @CabonargiforClerk

Twitter: @Cabonargi4Clerk

The Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board sent candidates for Cook County Circuit Court Clerk a list of questions to find out their views on a range of important issues. Michael Cabonargi submitted the following responses:

What reforms would you institute to bring the technology of the office up to the standards of the clerk’s office of the U.S. Northern District of Illinois? Given budget restraints, where will you find the money to upgrade the workings of the office, making it more efficient and transparent?

The Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Office needs transformative change. The office is stuck in the 20th century, using carbon paper instead of digital solutions. There are ways to bring the office into the 21st century and maximize technology to promote best practices, while also saving taxpayers millions of dollars.

In an age of “e-everything,” the Clerk of the Circuit Court must ensure everyone’s rights are protected. Smart, effective business practices must drive technology reform and, ultimately, open greater access to the courts.

There’s no question we must update and integrate the e-filing system in the Cook County court system -- from the Chief Judge to probate courts. This will help ensure that everyone interacting with the Cook County courts will have equal access to justice.

We must update the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Office’s electronic data system to provide online calendar information and to send text or email reminders of court dates, rather than the current system of mailed postcards.

Digitizing the office will save taxpayer money -- and to prove this, one needs to look no further than the $24 million warehouse recently paid for with taxpayer money to store the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Office paper court records. We need to go into this massive storage warehouse and begin the process of digitizing all court files. Document imaging and other digital solutions will result in millions of dollars in savings for the taxpayers of Cook County and help guarantee we no longer build costly new buildings.

The process of digitizing old records may be cumbersome and challenging, but the end result will be easier access to court records, more transparency, and a fairer legal process in Cook County. Over time these system changes will create efficiencies and lead to cost savings.

Integrating new technology into the office should be all-encompassing. The office needs a dedicated Chief Innovation Officer to lead and drive technology development and implementation whenever possible. The office must create collaborative partnerships with nonprofit and philanthropic organizations such as Code for America that will help integrate modern, accessible solutions in the office.

And, perhaps most importantly, we will make the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s website more user friendly and interactive and develop a mobile application with answers to common questions and the option for a live chat. We will develop and expand online tutorials and courthouse tours to feature interviews with judges about how to navigate the courtroom, how to prepare for a courthouse visit, and what to expect as a juror.

We will establish teleconference, video, and electronic court appearances and allow for online dispute resolution, where appropriate.

Modernization is not unfamiliar territory to me. At the Cook County Board of Review I helped develop an award-winning digital appeal review process that offers homeowners a complete and reliable review of their appeals, ultimately saving taxpayer money in employee overtime and document storage. I will bring this experience and commitment to the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office.

A new case docketing system has been rolled out, but the office continues to move so slowly that companies that do criminal background checks say they often can’t complete those checks in time to allow young adults to be hired for seasonal jobs. Similar delays occur elsewhere in the system. What will you do about it?

We cannot achieve access to justice by amplifying the already existing problems in the office. The newest broken system, does nothing to restore the trust between the people of Cook County and the court system. It would be irresponsible and a misuse of taxpayer money to expand a system that’s already proven to be a failure.

I would suspend the expansion of the new system that’s been rolled out and bring in the right experts to evaluate and refine it.

Large insurance institutions, including banks, reportedly have been moving cases to suburban counties where it is easier to deal with court clerk’s offices. This has had an impact on Cook County’s budget because court filing fees fund not only the court clerk’s office but also help cover expenses in the chief judge’s office and initiatives in the sheriff’s and public defender’s offices. What will you do to reverse the trend?

Court fees and staff training are two major components that will help reverse the trend of large institutions moving cases to suburban counties. Cook County has some of the highest filing fees in the country. We need to move away from relying on those seeking justice and relief in the courtroom to fund the court system. These fees affect not only attorneys and large corporations, but also working families who have to use the court system to receive justice. We must simplify and clarify the fee structure while also reducing the cost of using the people’s legal system in Cook County.

The process of filing legal documents with the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office can often be frustrating. We need increased training for staff to better guide people through the legal system in Cook County.

Lawyers complain that court files often are incomplete. They say there are sometimes two or three separate files for a single case because things get lost. To what extent do you believe this is really a problem? What will you do about it?

The current filing structure of the office is detrimental to justice. Records have not been properly filed and are often stored in different places with documents needed for open court cases moved to different locations outside of the courthouse where the case is pending. I will ensure that existing paper documents for open cases stay onsite. Moving to a paperless system and digitizing existing paper documents will ensure that all files for a case are available in a single place.

In some counties around the country, the clerk of the circuit court is an employee of the chief judge’s office rather than an independently elected official. Would you support such a reorganization for Cook County? Why or why not?

This question certainly is warranted in an office that’s been under federal investigation for years. However, there should be more democracy not less. To prevent corruption through this reorganization, it would be entirely necessary for there to still be autonomy in the Clerk’s office, an opportunity for checks and balances, and the assurance that patronage hiring won’t carry over to this structure.

What would you do to improve the office’s ethical standards and public image?

I am no stranger to fighting corruption and incorporating ethical standards into public service. As a former Federal prosecutor, I worked at the SEC investigating and litigating a range of corruption, including insider trading, offering fraud, pay-to-play, and pyramid/Ponzi schemes. And, in my current role as a member of the Cook County Board of Review, I wrote the Board’s first ethics policy.

The Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Office has been plagued with scandals, investigations, and convictions. I am committed to establishing a new era of ethical practices in the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Office and in September I was the first candidate in the race to put forth a thorough Reform Plan, which lays out my commitment to a transparent hiring process, open bidding, a top-down audit of the work currently happening in the court system to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent effectively, and a commitment to not take campaign dollars from employees in the office.

I will expose misconduct that exists in the office—and stop it. This comprehensive approach to reform is the only way we will restore the public’s trust in the office.

What will you do to reassure taxpayers that patronage hiring and firing have no place in the office?

Public trust and confidence in the courts system are critical to their functioning in society. For too long, the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Office has been a bureaucratic mess due to patronage hiring. We need to instead enhance transparency and hire, retain, and promote qualified hard workers.

We will change the culture and the conduct in the office and bring in a new era of justice and credibility. I’ll recruit new talent and ensure it’s no longer business as usual. And on Day One, I will order an independent review of the office to identify waste and ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent efficiently. It’s time for a top-down forensic investigation of work performed in the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Office to root out corruption and bad practices and to recognize and reward talent.

What do you see as the core function of the office?

The Clerk of the Circuit Court exists to promote fair and accessible justice. The Circuit Court of Cook County stands as one of the largest unified court systems in the world. More than 2.4 million cases are filed every year, and more than 400 judges serve the 5.1 million residents of Cook County. Our courthouses must be open to all as a venue for dispute resolution. Special populations—such as thedisabled, elderly and those with limited English proficiency—must have full and equal access to the Circuit Court of Cook County.

What historical figure from Illinois, other than Abraham Lincoln (because everybody’s big on Abe), do you most admire or draw inspiration from? Please explain.

My first boss was Senator Paul Simon. As a 22-year-old just starting out in my career, I was lucky to learn first-hand and up close what it means to be a public servant and live a life of integrity and empathy.

What’s your favorite TV, streaming or web-based show of all time. Why?

Parks and Recreation. Leslie Knope for President 2020.