Cook County Clerk of the Court Brown Optimistic About E-Filing Expansion

Coming off the heels of her inaugural E-Court advisory Committee meeting, Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court says she is “optimistic” about an August 23, 2012 letter from Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride, in which he notes that the Illinois Supreme Court’s statewide plan to create uniform e-filing principles and standards is expected to be concluded “within the near future.”

“We fully support the Supreme Court’s efforts to develop e-filing standards for the entire State of Illinois,” said Clerk Brown, who has been anticipating expanding e-filing in Cook County since 2009 when she launched an e-filing pilot project in the Law Division’s commercial litigation section.

Clerk Brown has staunchly championed e-filing in Cook County and her pilot project has been a major success. However, Clerk Brown’s efforts to expand e-filing were put on hold when the Illinois Supreme Court decided it must first establish statewide rules.Today, those rules have not been established.“To receive a letter this week that says the conclusion of this process is imminent is exciting,” said Clerk Brown. “I look forward to getting the green light from the Supreme Court to fully implement e-filing very soon.”

The Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court is a State judicial branch of government whose record keeping rules are governed by the Illinois Supreme Court.
Last week, Clerk Brown formed an E-Court Advisory Committee comprised of members of the local legal community. The committee took on several major topics e-filing was a priority.