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Name: Laurie McPhillips
Age: 51
Political party: Republican
Town where you currently reside: Plainfield
Marital status: Married, 25 years this month!
Significant other: Russell Weglarz
Children: 1 son, John, 18
Office sought: Will County clerk
Occupation (employer):
Real estate broker, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Naperville
RLJ Management, president/small business owner
Education:
I worked my way through college:
Associate of Arts: Business Management from Joliet Junior College
Bachelor of Arts: Concentrating in Business Administration from Governors State University
Achieved Certified County Official (CCO) Status – Level 1, by completing 24 credit hours of education
Licensed Real Estate Broker (formerly salesperson) for the last 25 years
Licensed Florida Real Estate Salesperson – since March 2017
Elected offices held:
2004-2008 – Will County Recorder of Deeds
2010-2012 – Will County Board, Dist. 3
Website:
Facebook:
Laurie McPhillips for County Clerk
Twitter:
@Lauriemcp
Email:
Contact@mcphillips4clerk.com
Phone (for possible constituents to call):
708-436-3354
1) Why are you running for the elected office you’re seeking?
When County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots announced her retirement last summer, I felt that my experience and knowledge of county operations would be a perfect fit to continue to run the clerk’s Office as efficiently and effectively as we are accustomed. I also received numerous calls encouraging me to run before I even announced my interest. The reason is because of my almost 27 years of experience at Will County and managing county offices, as well as my connection and leadership in the community over the past 20 years through volunteerism.
I am also an entrepreneur who has worked in the private sector for 20 years, including managing a small business. I am the only candidate that has actually managed a countywide office, including preparing and implementing multi-million-dollar budgets, managing employees, initiating new technology and implementing new laws. I worked with three county clerks during my tenure at the county, including working on elections, voter registration and working with Nancy Schultz Voots from the budgeting side to purchase new election equipment. I have also been a voter registrar for over 10 years.
The county clerk’s office has always been run by county clerks with experience working at Will County, as well as honesty and integrity. This office runs in a non-partisan manner, so voters and the community can be assured of not only trustworthy elections, but the integrity of their vital records and the numerous other functions of the office. Experience and knowledge of county operations is critical and why both County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots and former Clerk Jan Gould have endorsed me.
2) What skills, qualities or experience do you have that separate you from your opponents?
Honesty, integrity and experience differentiate me from my opponent. I have served both Will County and my community with honesty and integrity for decades. My opponent had a felony forgery charge against her, and, a few months ago lied to the reporter that asked her about it.
After producing the police report, she admitted to stealing funds from her employer and forging a payroll check. Elected officials should be held to the highest standards, and the county clerk’s office should be no exception, particularly when this position oversees a $4.8 million budget and is the keeper of your signature and vital records. We cannot have any cloud of suspicion when dealing with elections. Illinois has a bad reputation with corruption in our elected officials, and we need to demand honesty and integrity.
As far as experience, I have managed three county offices with almost 27 years of experience working at Will County, working with three county clerks. This is a management job with numerous responsibilities. My experience includes 20 years as a county employee, gaining knowledge and experience to work my way up to county board administrator - the only staff person to the 27-member county board - and a history of serving Democrats and Republicans, as well as director of operations to the county executive. As director of operations, I was responsible for overseeing 15 county departments and almost 1,000 employees and preparing and implementing the county’s $250 million budget at that time.
I also was elected recorder of deeds for four years, establishing the first-ever online land records system, a satellite office in Bolingbrook using existing staff and free rent and receiving the Fiscal Responsibility Award for returning the most tax dollars back to the county.
I was elected and served on the Will County Board, which is the legislative or policy setting body, for almost three years, elected as the treasurer for the forest preserve district and served on the finance committee.
Keep in mind that a few months after the county clerk takes office in December, there will be another election, so knowledge and experience is critical. I also have private sector experience managing a small business for over 20 years. You can’t go over budget or call in sick when you run a small business, so I run a tight ship!
3) What are the greatest challenges facing Will County and/or your specific district in the coming years?
There are three challenges that are facing the Will County Clerk’s Office in the coming years:
1) Cybersecurity - I recently attended a seminar at the University of Chicago concerning "Election Security in the Age of Committed Foreign Threats," and it was very informational. The No. 1 recommendation was paper ballots, which the Will County Clerk currently utilizes. Also, we learned the new security mantra for local election officials, “Defend, Detect and Recover.”
2) Maintaining/Updating Election Equipment - The next clerk will need to address maintaining and/or updating the current election system. Our current voting equipment was purchased about 16 years ago. I was involved in the purchase with Nancy Schultz Voots from the budgeting side.
3) Increasing voter turnout - We have so many options to vote, from early voting, vote by mail, in-person and more. It’s disappointing when we spend our tax dollars to print ballots and staff the election for a 100 percent turnout and only get a 30 to 40 percent turnout for some elections.
4) If elected, what will be your top three priorities?
My top three priorities would be the top three challenges facing the county clerk’s office:
Implement Cybersecurity Plan – Based on best practices that I learned at the Election Security in the Age of Committed Foreign Threats seminar I recently attended, I would engage the professionals who I spoke with at this meeting, including Homeland Security and other local, state and federal tools that are free resources, to assist in reviewing our election system and updating as needed to ensure that there are no threats. Just as important are the many checks and balances which the county clerk requires, and should be reviewed annually and updated as needed, as well as the paper ballots, to insure the security of our election process. Finally, I would include additional training of election personnel to detect improprieties or threats, maintain relationships and network with other election authorities to share threats or possible incidents and research new technology to improve efficiency, control costs and ensure security of elections.
Maintaining/Updating Election Equipment - I will review the hardware and software maintenance agreements to ensure that they are still supported. Also, as technology has been evolving, I will review new technology options to confirm that we have the most secure and efficient voting system. I updated the recorder of deeds systems, combining four into one and offered the first-ever online Land Records System, so I am familiar with implementing new technology. Two requirements to maintain a secure system and a system of checks and balances include utilizing one system and paper ballots.
Increasing voter turnout - We have so many options to vote, from early voting, vote by mail or in-person and more, and we need to continue and grow the current programs to educate voters about these options and encourage them to vote. We have a great turnout during presidential elections, but we need to educate voters on the importance of all elections, and particularly local elections, which have a great impact on our community. I would also explore the new technology of a voter information app that is available to educate voters and bring voting information to their cell phones or tablets. It’s a great honor to have the right to vote and it’s important that we exercise this right.