We Can Conquer This Great Divide

Why is splitting the Clerk & Recorders offices NOT an expansion of government?

The March 20, 2012 Recorder referendum asks the voters to decide:  Shall the office of the Recorder be eliminated, and (this is the important part) shall the duties and functions of that office continue to be performed by the Kendall County Clerk?

It sounds like a great idea to eliminate a government office but we cannot simply get rid of the County Recorder.  Someone HAS to be the Recorder; otherwise no one could own real estate in Kendall County.  The Recorder is the official keeper of property ownership records.  Technically, you don’t own your home unless and until a proper deed to you is recorded with the Kendall County Recorder.   You have no choice.  In order to own real estate in Kendall County you must trust the Recorder with your private information.

There’s two parts to the referendum question and the second part is the important part.  Shall the duties and functions of that office continue to be performed by the Kendall County Clerk?  Someone HAS to do it.  Currently in Kendall County, that person is the County Clerk. 

Private corporations can’t be the repository for these records.  Private companies can get sold or go out of business.  The official property ownership records must be held by a neutral entity, an entity that will always be there; an entity that will never hold the records hostage.  There are private companies that have "real estate title plants" but they still rely on a neutral Recorder's office as the source for their information.  And they maintain their databases to suit their own (or their customers) needs.  Which is great, free enterprise at it's best.  But those databases are NOT available to just anyone and they charge their customers appropriately for that service.  Good for them for doing so!

To further the point, the Recorder is NOT a commission, study group, czar or a department that was created because of one political party, one administration or a special interest group.  It is there and HAS to be there to document and protect private property rights.

What happens if you vote “no” on the Referendum?  Your “no” vote means that Kendall County will have a separate Recorder.  So, is voting “no” a vote to expand government? 

Even though the Kendall County Clerk currently acts as the Recorder, the physical offices of the Clerk and Recorder have been split for decades.  The Clerk’s office and the Recorder’s office aren’t even located on the same floor!  The Clerk’s personal office, along with the Chief Deputy Clerk and the Clerk’s staff, is located in the Clerk’s office on the second floor.  The Recorder’s office space, staff, equipment, desks, phones, chairs, computers and the records are all located on the first floor.  There’s even an empty desk, chair, phone and computer in the Recorder’s office for the separate Recorder to use.

If you want to see the Recorder’s office for yourself, go to the Kendall County office building at 111 West Fox in Yorkville and go to the lowest level.  The Recorder’s office occupies the majority of the east half of that floor.  To get to the Clerk’s office, you’ll have to go up one flight of stairs or take the elevator to the second floor.  The Clerk’s office occupies the majority of the west half of that floor.

The ONLY thing that your “no” vote will change is that the Clerk will no longer be the Recorder. Kendall County will finally have a separate Recorder; a specialist whose only job is to protect the records and protect the private information of the people of Kendall County.

Our current Clerk & Recorder has publicly stated in an interview published on 2/9/2012 (I will link the Record/Ledger article when it becomes available) that “she never put county residents’ personal information at risk”.  That is not true.  The Clerk put documents that she knew contained social security numbers on an open public website.  She allowed anyone in the world with an Internet connection to obtain a free copy of any document recorded in Kendall County back to 1986, with no tracking of who was obtaining those copies.  The Clerk knew that the documents she put online contained social security numbers.  As she stated in her 12/24/2009 interview:  “Gillette remarked that she decided to first upload the documents and then redact the numbers in order to expedite getting
the documents on line.”

It’s hard to believe that our Clerk really doesn’t consider social security numbers to be personal information.  It is difficult to believe that our Clerk truly thinks that she did not put Kendall County residents’ personal information at risk when she deliberately published documents she knew contained social security numbers to an open public website. 

The Clerk says my attempts to bring publicity to the availability of social security numbers on the county public website are politically motivated.  That is correct.  The County Board turned this into a political fight when they decided to put this referendum on the ballot instead of simply allowing the offices to be split per state law.

I am politically involved because I believe I can make a difference.   This is my home.  My mother lives here.  My in-laws live here.  My wife has lived her entire life here.  I moved here when I was a teenager and I love it here in Kendall County. 

Bad things happened in the Recorder’s office under the Clerk’s watch.  People I know, people I love, people I am proud to call my friends had their identities compromised by the Clerk’s actions as the Recorder.  The status quo wants to protect the Clerk instead of protecting the people, and I took on a big fight when I challenged the status quo.  I need your help.  Please help me spread the word to “Vote NO!” on the Recorder referendum.  Please ask your family, friends and neighbors to attend a town hall meeting for more information on the Recorder referendum. 

Weds, February 15, 2012 from 7-8pm at the Timber Creek Center, 3300 Drew Ave., Sandwich

Thurs, February 16, 2012 from 7-8pm at Sunfield Restaurant, 382 E. Veterans Pkwy., Yorkville

Weds, February 22, 2012 from 7-8pm at the Newark Fire Station, 101 E. Main St., Newark

Thurs, February 23, 2012 from 7-8pm at the Oswego Legion, 19 W. Washington St., Oswego

www.jerrybannister.com

For audio of my weekly radio program, 8:20 AM on Friday on WSPY Radio 107.1 click here.  www.weneedarecorder.com

Just Say NO!