Will County Circuit Clerk Election: Chasteen Faces Granata

JOLIET, IL — The Will County Circuit Clerk's race features incumbent officeholder Andrea Lynn Chasteen seeking a second term in office as she faces Frankfort challenger Anthony Granata. Chasteen, a Democrat, maintains she and her staff are friendly and accessible to the hundreds of people who visit her courthouse office on a weekly basis for civil and criminal court matters.

Granata, a Republican, contends that Will County needs a change in the office and says, "I am committed to bringing integrity and efficiency back into an office that has been stagnant for 24 years."

Several weeks back, Chasteen told Joliet Patch she has 25 years of experience in the Will County Circuit Clerk's Office overseeing multiple projects and 150 staff who work at several Will County locations.

On the other hand, her Republican challenger has never worked inside the office, she noted.

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

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

(Article continues below this photo of Andrea Lynn Chasteen.)

This past summer, 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 also launched a new initiative called "i-Guilty," which allows 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.

Meanwhile, Chasteen's opponent insists that the time has come for the voters of Will County to elect a new officeholder to oversee the circuit clerk's office.

In recent months, Granata called for Chasteen to return several thousand dollars in campaign donations she has received from government contractor Harris & Harris.

"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."

During an interview with Patch, Chasteen responded that she had no plans to return any of the donations. She also disputed the suggestion of her Republican challenger that Harris & Harris has a contract with her office.

According to his Facebook campaign page, Granata has reminded people that running for political office is a tough job.

In mid-October, he made the following post on Facebook, "After the day I’ve had, I’m reminded of a quote by the late great Judy Baar Topinka. When she’d get bad press or slammed by an opponent, or when candidates would ask her how to keep trucking along. She’d say:

“Politics is a blood sport. It ain’t bean bags, and it’s crazier than the dickens.”

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Related Joliet Patch 2020 election coverage:

Granata: Will County Circuit Clerk Must Return Donations

Coronavirus Totals Distorted, Will County Republicans Agree

Circuit Clerk Chasteen Launches iGuilty Program For Defendants