Candidates for Kendall County Circuit Clerk speak during meet and greet event

Candidates for Kendall County Circuit Clerk spoke at a meet and greet event on Oct. 7 hosted by the Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce and the Kendall County Bar Association.

Along with being a meet and greet event, candidates were given two minutes to speak to those attending the event, held at Bauman Family Funeral Home in Oswego. Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce Board Chairman Rick Warner, who also is a local attorney, thanked those in attendance.

“As a member of the Chamber of Commerce for Oswego, I think it’s really important that we take stock in our community, that we get involved in our community,” Warner said.

He said the idea behind the meet and greet was to “meet each other as neighbors.” Among those at the event were those candidates running for Kendall County Circuit Clerk and Kendall County State’s Attorney.

Kendall County Circuit Clerk

Tiara McCullough, a Democrat, is challenging Republican incumbent Matthew Prochaska for the position. The circuit clerk is responsible for maintaining and preserving all the official records of the court filed in Kendall County.

If elected to the position, McCullough said she will ensure that the court records are maintained at the highest level of accuracy as well as accessibility.

“I also will ensure that modern technology is used to streamline processes, to make information accessible to you as you need it,” she said. “And I will prioritize customer service, ensuring that every interaction with the Circuit Clerk’s Office is respectful and efficient. I just want to say, let’s work together to make our judicial system more efficient.”

Prochaska has been in the office since December 2020. Prior to that, he was on the Kendall County Board.

He talked about what his office has done in the last four years, including implementing electronic citations for the Circuit Clerk’s Office that allows local law enforcement agencies to be able to transmit their records to his office.

“So a process that would take six to seven days for processing has been reduced to one to two days,” Prochaska said. “We have fully expanded electronic filing, meaning from your home, you can file and post your documents with the courthouse. Those will be accepted usually the same day, if not, the next day.”