CHICAGO — Incumbent Dorothy Brown easily defeated Republican Diane Shapiro in Tuesday's race for clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Brown won nearly 67 percent of the vote while Shapiro won just 33 percent.
Brown's victory comes after years of scrutiny for failing to modernize the clerk's office. While other court systems offer quick access to court records through online portals, much of the work in Cook County is still done on paper.
Earlier this year, one of Brown's former employees pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges after allegations the man loaned $15,000 to a company run by Brown's husband in a bid to be rehired in her office. Brown has not been charged, though federal officials are still investigating her office.
Three weeks ago, Brown announced an "Amnesty Week" during which people could pay overdue court fines without having to pay for collection fees, according to the Sun-Times. Brown's photo was on fliers announcing the promotion.
Last month, the Sun-Times' Editorial Board declined to make an endorsement in this race. The board claimed Shapiro would "not offer Cook County voters a better alternative" to Brown due to her "judgment issues."
The board wrote: "When ... we asked her about a claim she has made online that President Barack Obama is 'pushing to nationalize the police,' she assured us this was true and cited as proof a story in a publication of the conspiracy-minded John Birch Society."
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