Grundy County Clerk Kay Olson plans to seek re-election

Grundy County Clerk Kay Olson has announced she will be seeking re-election to a second term as county clerk.

After serving a full term in office, Olson said she is very happy of the accomplishments she and her staff have achieved.

“I love this job, and the variety it brings on a daily basis," Olson said in a press release. "I also enjoy the wide interaction with all officials of the county and the public. With all the changes and challenges that get thrown our way, especially regarding election law, I believe now, more than ever, in the importance of continuing to have a clerk in office, who has knowledge and experience.”

Olson implemented the mandated, same day voter registration in all 40 Grundy County voting precincts, upgraded the county’s voter registration system, and has successfully combined and consolidated many of the county’s voting precincts.

Olson has also been busy on the recorder’s side of her office, having put more than 30 years of Grundy County land records online, for an online search capability. She has also implemented, with the recording staff, the Illinois Dept of Revenue’s, MyDec, an electronic real estate transfer stamp system.

She has several new projects on the horizon, such as integrating an electronic receipting system in the clerk’s office and accepting credit and debit cards as payment in both offices, as well as continuing the imaging of land records, so that all the County’s land records, even the oldest and most historical, will be available for online searching, and will be safeguarded from any unforeseen disaster.

“I try to keep the people of the county in mind, and know that this is their office, not mine, and my hope is to leave the office in a better place. It has been an honor and privilege to serve as the County Clerk & Recorder since 2014,” she said in a press release.

Olson, a Democrat, was first elected in 2014, after the retirement of long-time clerk Lana Phillips. Olson and her husband, Rick, reside in Morris, and have three grown children, Maggie (Matt) Blaine, Ben Olson, and Jake Olson.