Granata: Will County Circuit Clerk Must Return Donations

JOLIET, IL — The Republican candidate for Will County Circuit Clerk has called for Democrat incumbent Andrea Lynn Chasteen to return several thousand dollars in campaign donations she has received from government contractor, Harris & Harris.

During an interview with Joliet Patch, Chasteen said she has no plans to return any of the donations. She also disputed the suggestion of her Republican challenger, Anthony "Tony" Granata, that Harris & Harris has a contract with her office.

Chasteen maintained that Harris & Harris, a debt collection firm that works with numerous governmental entities as well as hospitals, has its agreement with the office of Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow to do debt collection proceedings for Will County.

"They are really not my vendor because they represent the state's attorney in open court," she said. "We basically supply them with data. We send mass data files to them so they can decide which ones they will try to collect from."

Granata's news release indicates Harris & Harris "was contracted by the incumbent Circuit Clerk Andrea Lynn Chasteen to collect 90 days past due assessments and fines previously ordered by the court."

According to Granata, Harris & Harris has made nearly $14,000 in campaign donations to Chasteen since she took office four years ago.

Chasteen told Patch that Harris & Harris has been a sponsor for multiple fund-raiser events that she has had since campaigning for the circuit clerk. Chasteen pointed out that in some years, she has as many as four or five political fund-raisers.

Chasteen pointed out that other organizations including labor unions regularly donate to candidates seeking office.

“There is zero transparency and accountability in the work being done by a county contractor who also happens to be the office holder’s top campaign contributor," Granata remarked in his news release. "In these instances, taxpayers have every right to question the quality, value, and integrity of the work. This is pay to play politics, and when I’m elected, every contract that my office holds with private entities will be thoroughly re-evaluated. I am committed to bringing integrity and efficiency back into an office that has been stagnant for 24 years.”

Chasteen said she has 25 years of experience working in the Will County Circuit Clerk's Office overseeing multiple projects and 150 staff who work at several Will County locations.

She said that her challenger has not worked in the office.

Chasteen said that some of her most recent accomplishments as the Will County Circuit Clerk include the conversion to E-Record for all civil cases. That means lawyers must file everything without using paper.

During the new coronavirus pandemic, Chasteen said her office facilitated the use of Zoom court hearings for civil, family and probate matters.

Chasteen said she helped launch the new traffic court program on June 8 at the Rialto Square Theatre to encourage social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak.

She said she is finalizing a new initiative called "i-Guilty," which will allow people to plead and pay on traffic and conservation tickets before going to court in person. Lastly, Chasteen said her staff has been working to launch a new traffic safety school program through the Will County Bar Association, which will offer the program online.

"We have been busy during my first term and looking forward to the next four years," she told Joliet Patch's editor.