| Clerk, Circuit Court, Innovation. You might not expect to hear these three words together, unless you know Candice Adams. As the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Candice has a view to continually improve the office that maintains the official court records for DuPage County, which is Illinois’ second largest county. For lawyers and individuals who have used the court systems, they know how difficult it can be to retrieve important records from some court systems and the processes and costs can be frustrating. In DuPage County, with Candice Adams leading the way, processes are better and costs are reduced. This is no small achievement.
The office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court is digitizing records and implementing multiple electronic, web-based programs to help everyone who uses the DuPage courts reduce their time and effort on administrative matters, filings, and fees. Candice Adams understands that being effective and efficient helps improve the experience for residents, who are likely in difficult situations if they need to be in court or obtain court documents. At the same time, her improvements and innovations have saved DuPage taxpayers’ money.
She doesn’t rest on her administrative strengths. Candice Adams takes an expansive view, and to the great benefit of DuPage residents, her role includes designing innovative technology. Under her leadership, the office created a Pretrial Fairness Act Dashboard to provide data about a law in its first year of implementation and has many community members curious about its results. Rather than let people guess what was occurring in the courts and make suppositions, her office is giving the public useful information.
She knows that there are ways to create win/win situations. Her office sponsors Amnesty Programs that reduce collection costs for persons who have traffic tickets and other criminal court fees. Importantly Clerk Adams’ office operates Expungement Clinics for persons who are seeking to clear their criminal records. Providing free legal assistance with volunteer attorneys helps people from start to finish through a process that is available to them but difficult to navigate. Clerk Adams knows there is nothing to gain by keeping people from seeking their fresh starts. Hundreds and hundreds of DuPage residents have used these programs.
Candice Adams excels in her role as DuPage County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Learn more about her here: | 
