Wednesday, February 15, 2012

32- Year Veteran Lake County Circuit Court Clerk Sally Coffelt Endorses Her Current Chief Deputy Clerk, Keith Brin

I got this yesterday from the campaign of Keith Brin for Circuit Court. It's no surprise to people who have been paying attention, but now it's official....

Lake County Circuit Court Clerk Sally Coffelt Endorses Keith Brin
 
WAUKEGAN, IL – Sally Coffelt has officially announced who she is supporting to become the next Lake County Circuit Court Clerk: Keith Brin.

"Keith Brin has been learning the Office of the Circuit Court Clerk for the past 3 years and the voters of Lake County now have a decided advantage in having an experienced candidate running for this very important office. Keith is enthusiastic in his approach to maintaining the court records and has a number of ideas that will continue to provide the taxpayers of Lake County with effective, efficient, and fiscally responsible leadership as the use of technology increases in this process," said Coffelt of her endorsement.

Keith responded: "Sally has faithfully served Lake County for thirty-two years in this position, so to have her endorsement is humbling to say the least. She taught me that the sole focus of an elected official is to be on serving the public and living up to the trust they placed in us with their votes. I look forward to continuing her legacy of integrity and fiscal conservatism while further modernizing the office in order to improve access and efficiency."

Brin, Chief Deputy for the Office of the Lake County Circuit Court Clerk, has most recently led the development of a state-of-the-art Electronic Filing System without the use of taxpayer funds. This system is being heralded as a model for Circuit Court Clerks’ offices nationwide.
Coffelt’s endorsement joins a number of other high-profile endorsements received by Brin, including Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran, Lake County Clerk Willard Helander, Lake County Treasurer Robert Skidmore, and Lake County Regional Superintendant of Schools Roycealee Wood. In addition, the only Lake County Republican Township Organizations to endorse Primary candidates – Cuba, Libertyville, and Wauconda – have all overwhelmingly chosen Brin.

To see a full list of the endorsements Brin’s campaign has received, visit www.KeithBrin.com and click on the "Endorsements" tab at the bottom.
 
About Keith Brin:

Keith Brin is the Chief Deputy for the Lake County Circuit Court Clerk. An attorney and business executive from Highland Park, Keith received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees from Emory University and his JD from the Loyola University School of Law. He is highly involved in area civic organizations, including serving as chair of the Technology Committee for the Lake County Bar Association and as Vice Chair of the Moraine Township Republicans.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why not, she picked him.

Anonymous said...

Check out the candidate forum from Sunday with the League of Women Voters. There is a good synopsis of it here: http://lakeforest.patch.com/articles/county-candidates

Anonymous said...

Hand pick your successor and then endorse him? Brilliant!

Anonymous said...

Whatever. She's yesterday's news.

bettergovernment said...

Brin is a liar. I was at the candidate forum. He comes across as a used car salesman. The technology in that office is a joke. A long running joke. The "model". Lie! The administrative order that "he" crafted was actually from the Illinois Supreme Court ordering his office to "cease and desist" the illegal activity the office was conducting. Lie! The man is ethically and morally bankrupt. Cease and Desist support for Brin. He is what's wrong with politics in Lake County.

Anonymous said...

The dirtiest campaigns in Lake GOP primaries are the McSweeney/Gaffney race and the Dietz/Brin for Clerk of Court race.

McSweeney accused Gaffney of breaking the law by using state staffers on state time to circulate petitions, charges that were tossed out by the State Board of Elections. Instead of apologizing, McSweeney still hurls those now baseless charges.

Dietz has been following the McSweeney model and also has been peddling half truths and lies mudslinging about Brin from the very start. The Supreme Court case forbid charging a clerk fee for use of a public defender, a practice many other clerks in many other counties performed. The words ""cease and desist" do not appear in that decision.

The "administrative order" the mudslinger is citing was issued by the Lake County Chief Judge. It instructed the clerk's office to slow down and stop some technological advancements the Clerk's office was experimenting with until such a time as the Court issued formal rules on the subject on access. Over a year later and no rules have been issued. That too seems to be Brin's fault according to the mud hurled by Dietz.

There is a reason why no reputable newspaper has picked up on these "stories." There is really nothing to report.

Only swine wallow in mud. Dietz ought to keep that in mind.

And by the way, who was the Township Attorney for Avon when it got tagged with a half million dollar settlement for illegal political firings after Democrat Yingling took office? A settlement which the Daily Herald reported on over several stories? Dietz?

Now that is poetic justice!

Anonymous said...

It's not mud being thrown, nor is it half-truths.

Administrative Order 11-33 dated October 26, 2011 (114 days ago, not "over a year later...") states "It is hereby ordered the Clerk of the Circuit Court shall immediately cease and desist providing remote public access to any person buisness or non-profit entity, organization,or association..."

That's not a "slow down" my friend, that an outright order to stop. Go get your own copy, it's public record.

As for the Supreme Court Ruling (2012 IL 111590) that states "In the present case...the fee was imposed by the Lake County circuit clerk. At oral argument, defense counsel represented that this is a particular problem in Lake County with the circuit clerk routinely imposing the fee on its own. Even the State referred to the "rogue actions of the Lake County circuit clerk." We admonish the circuit clerks in general and the Lake County circuit clerk in particular, that they may not impose public defender fees on their own."

How often does the Supreme Court quote "rogue actions" of another public office in it's rulings? Again, go get a copy it's out there.

I still want to know how Mr. Brin is able to bring a state-of-the-art electronic filing system "...at no cost to the taxpayer and no cost to you all to operate that system..." Is the cost coming out of his own pocket? Is it a gift? Does Mr. Brin think the public is that stupid to believe that a state-of-the-art system for a government office is cost free? Ha!

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with Anon 8:01. The Dietz vs. Brin campaign has been a one way mudslinging fest.

Brin talks about the modernization of the office. Dietz throws mud at Brin and says little about future plans.

The office runs at a profit with fees imposed by state statutes for filing documents in court. The money for upgrades come from the filing fees which are imposed by Springfield. I as an attorney deal with Court Clerk offices in Cook, Lake, Will, DuPage, McHenry, Winnebago an Kane Counties. The Lake County Clerk's office is far easier to work with than the others, save for DuPage, which has the technological bells and whistles that Lake needs to install, and which Dietz slings mud at.

While Dietz throws mud and offers few suggestions for improvements, Brin takes the high road and comes up with ideas for the future.

Interesting how all who know how the office is really run have endorsed Brin over Dietz, from Helander, Curran, Wood, Skidmore and Sally Coffelt, from lawyers who use the office, and from all Townships that have endorsement sessions. His endorsement list is impressive and well earned by those who know what is going on.

That includes me. I too endorse Brin. All Dietz has to offer is a negative campaign of little substance.

Those of us who know better are voting for Brin. Those of us who can read Supreme Court Cases and Administrative Orders and not confuse them or contort them for mudslinging purposes are voting for Brin. I'm voting for substance. I'm voting for Keith Brin.

Louis G. Atsaves
Moraine Township GOP Chairman

Anonymous said...

I find Mr. Atsaves post mildly amusing. People of Illinois are TIRED of the politics in this state. TIRED of our politicians being in bed with one another. TIRED of the misuse of our money and trust. And yet he posts a list of politicians who are causing all of this exhaustion. I haven't decided who to vote for yet, but one more list of who is getting into bed with who will pretty much be the deciding factor.

Tired American
Lake County Illinois

Anonymous said...

"Whom"... It's "who is getting into bed with whom..."

Remember, when the pronoun is the object you should use "whom."

Just sayin...

Anonymous said...

C'mon now. Talking about administrative orders and Supreme Court rulings aren't really a mudslinging fest. They're just facts.

But talking about how Brin owned and operated a "women owned" business for the last five years and also while he worked for the Clerk, now that could be a mudslinging fest.

Just sayin.....

Check out the December archives on www.district116.org

Anonymous said...

The mudslinging continues from a desperate Dietz campaign! Wallow in your own mud guys! What's next? A Parking Ticket? A tire on his car slightly under inflated?

Sheesh!

Rod Blagojevich threw mud all over Judy Barr Topinka claiming "facts" and claiming that he was a reformer! Remember "What Was She Thinking?" To call those acts a "distortion" would be a gross understatement.

We all saw how those big lies ended up destroying our once great State of Illinois. If that's your campaign role model, if that's what you want to mimic, go for it!

Such mudslingers never come clean about their dirty acts! All they can do is hope to fool the voters.

Louis G. Atsaves

bettergovernment said...

a Brief Synopsis:


Dietz has been following the McSweeney model and also has been peddling half truths and lies mudslinging about Brin from the very start. The Supreme Court case forbid charging a clerk fee for use of a public defender, a practice many other clerks in many other counties performed. The words ""cease and desist" do not appear in that decision. 

The "administrative order" the mudslinger is citing was issued by the Lake County Chief Judge. It instructed the clerk's office to slow down and stop some technological advancements the Clerk's office was experimenting with until such a time as the Court issued formal rules on the subject on access. Over a year later and no rules have been issued. That too seems to be Brin's fault according to the mud hurled by Dietz.

It's not mud being thrown, nor is it half-truths. 

Administrative Order 11-33 dated October 26, 2011 (114 days ago, not "over a year later...") states "It is hereby ordered the Clerk of the Circuit Court shall immediately cease and desist providing remote public access to any person buisness or non-profit entity, organization,or association..."

That's not a "slow down" my friend, that an outright order to stop. Go get your own copy, it's public record.

As for the Supreme Court Ruling (2012 IL 111590) that states "In the present case...the fee was imposed by the Lake County circuit clerk. At oral argument, defense counsel represented that this is a particular problem in Lake County with the circuit clerk routinely imposing the fee on its own. Even the State referred to the "rogue actions of the Lake County circuit clerk." We admonish the circuit clerks in general and the Lake County circuit clerk in particular, that they may not impose public defender fees on their own."

How often does the Supreme Court quote "rogue actions" of another public office in it's rulings? Again, go get a copy it's out there.

I find Mr. Atsaves post mildly amusing. People of Illinois are TIRED of the politics in this state. TIRED of our politicians being in bed with one another. TIRED of the misuse of our money and trust. And yet he posts a list of politicians who are causing all of this exhaustion. I haven't decided who to vote for yet, but one more list of who is getting into bed with who will pretty much be the deciding factor.

Tired American
Lake County Illinois

I have to agree with Anon 8:01. The Dietz vs. Brin campaign has been a one way mudslinging fest.

And by the way, who was the Township Attorney for Avon when it got tagged with a half million dollar settlement for illegal political firings after Democrat Yingling took office? A settlement which the Daily Herald reported on over several stories? Dietz?

Only swine wallow in mud.

When you consider the conditions that exist in the Clerks office, with the nepotism and cronyism, the antiquated technology, the poor morale of it's employees, and the lack of oversight in both it's finances, records keeping, or hiring practices, they can only be described as "sty" like. 

So when you look for those who wallow in the mud and those who are in your words, Mr. Atsaves, swine. You may want to first look in the "sty". 

I'm sure you'd like to just bullet point "mud slinging" to detract from the court documents that do in fact call the actions of the clerk's office "rogue"and do call for their illegal practices to immediately "cease and desist", but please remember where the mud is found. In the "sty".