Richard J.

Daley Center
Room 1001
Chicago, Illinois 60602
(312) 603-5030
FAX (312) 603-4557
www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org

DOROTHY BROWN

CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT

May 3, 2016

OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY

Ms. Natasha Korecki

Illinois Playbook at Politico.com
Dear Ms. Korecki:
Enclosed is a copy of a letter to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Cook County
Board of Commissioners discussing the disparity between the salary for the position of Clerk of the
Circuit Court of Cook County and the salaries of other Cook County Public Safety officials, the Clerks of
Court for the next two largest counties in Illinois, DuPage and Lake, and other Cook County-wide
elected officials.
As noted in the letter, the compensation for the position of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook
County is grossly inequitable with the salaries of other elected officials of comparable levels of
responsibility, even though they have far fewer employees, cases to manage, and areas to oversee.
The letter closes with a request for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Cook
County Board of Commissioners to consider closing the salary gap between the Clerk of Court position
and the other positions discussed, regardless of who will be in the position.
According to state statute, this request must be made during this time period in order to go into effect
for the next term. If not for the legal requirement that stipulates a request for increase be made 180
days prior to a new term, this request would not have been made at this time in consideration of the
county's current budget crisis; however, please note that the County Board has the option to approve
the salary adjustment, effective for FY2017, but then, defer commencement of payments to FY2018.
It is also important to note that there has not been a salary increase for this position in 16 years and
this is the first time that a request has been made to adjust the salary to close the disparity gap.
We would welcome an opportunity to meet with the members of the Editorial Board to further discuss
the inequity between the salary of the position of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County and
other similar offices.

rcuit Court of Cook County

cc: Wasiu Fashina, Chief of Staff
Enclosure