Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County Marianna Spiropoulos presented a mid-year update to the board committee, highlighting progress in transparency, modernization, and fiscal responsibility. She discussed budget variances, staffing challenges, and key initiatives, followed by questions from commissioners on data, hiring, domestic violence, and jail release times.
Is it still morning? Okay, 15 minutes left. Good morning. Chairman Daly, Commissioners, thank you for the opportunity to provide a mid-year update on the office of the clerk of the circuit court of Cook County. I'm Marianna Spiropoulos, the clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. And before I begin, I'd like to introduce my staff that's here with me. Chief of Staff, Mike Chaito, Executive Clerk for Court Operations, David Moses, CFO Tahani Hill, Executive Clerk for Human Resources, Chad Gearrig, FIS Chief Vivek Ananda, and General Counsel, James Chandler. Thank you. When I appeared before you last fall, I spoke about restoring trust in one of the largest public offices in Cook County. And trust is not built through promises, it's earned through results. So today I'm proud to report that my administration continues to deliver those results while remaining focused on responsible stewardship of tax dollars. Residents expect their government to do more than balance spreadsheets. They expect us to spend wisely, operate efficiently, and deliver measurable value for every public dollar entrusted to us. And that responsibility has guided every decision that we have made. Over the past year, we've continued transforming the clerk's office into a more transparent, accountable, and modern institution without losing sight of our core mission, ensuring every person who comes through our court system receives efficient, accessible, and professional service. We've continued expanding transparency through our public data dashboard. And this year we built on that commitment by launching our orders of protection dashboard, providing greater visibility into one of the court system's most important functions while equipping policymakers and community organizations with better information to strengthen public safety and improve services for survivors. Our commitment to modernization has received national recognition. In fact, uh NACO has honored our e-citation initiative with a 2026 Achievement Award. By replacing outdated outdated paper processes with secure digital data exchange, we have improved accuracy, reduced administrative delays, and increased transparency while continuing to expand the program across Cook County. These improvements are not simply about technology, they're about making government work better for the people that we serve. We've continued expanding online services that reduce unnecessary trips to the courthouse, simplifying interactions with the court system, and improving access for working families, seniors, and residents with disabilities. Internally, we have remain focused on strengthening accountability. Our financial oversight practices continue to ensure responsible management of public resources while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency across the organization. We've continued investing in employee development because well-trained public servants provide better service, reduce errors in public, and build greater public confidence in government. Our commitment to accessibility extends far beyond the courthouse. Since taking over my office has participated in hundreds of community events throughout Cook County, therefore bringing court services, educational programming, and vital resources directly into neighborhoods. Whether helping someone understand the court process, obtain court records, or connect with available services, these efforts ensure that access to justice is not limited by geography or circumstances. The people of Cook County should not have to navigate government alone. Government should meet people where they are. And through all of this, we've remained disciplined in how we manage taxpayer resources. We continue to evaluate expenditures carefully and pursue operational improvements that strengthen service while protecting public dollars. So efficiency is not about doing less, it's about doing better. And as we look forward the remainder of the fiscal year, our priorities remain clear. We're going to continue modernizing operations. We're going to continue expanding transparency, and we will continue improving access to justice. We will continue ensuring every dollar entrusted to this office delivers measurable value for the people of Cook County. The progress we've made demonstrates that good government and fiscal responsibility are not competing priorities, but they reinforce one another. Now I'd like to get into some variance information. Overall, our office remains committed to stay on track to meet our estimated revenue projection and is trending toward ending the fiscal year within budget. Our revenue variance appears to be related to the timing of when the information was pulled for the report. The fiscal year 26 budget revenue section includes revenue estimates through May of 26, while the fiscal year 26 actual revenue section, currently reflected in the template, only includes revenue activity through April of 26. Based on current projections, the clerk's office remains on target to finish fiscal year 26 within its budgeted estimate revenue estimates. Beginning with professional services, we are showing positive variants of approximately 182,000, 9.8%. This is simply a timing issue. Several planned expenditures, including the Sage Accounting Software, Clerk of the Circuit Court website hosting, and the countywide sentinel contract are scheduled for the second half of the fiscal year. So as this projects m as these projects move forward and the related invoices are paid, we expect this variance to be eliminated by the year end. In terms of office supplies, we have a positive variance of about $98,000, which is 43.9%. We started the fiscal year with sufficient inventory on hand, which reduced the need to purchase additional office supplies during the first half of the year. As inventory is used, we expect purchasing activity to increase during the second half of the year, and we do not anticipate any significant variance at fiscal year end.