Iris Martinez, clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County at a news conference announcing the opening of the expungement department within her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. The contest to run the often-overlooked office responsible for managing filings in the nation’s second largest court system could become one of the most expensive races in the March 19 primary.
Martinez defended her record in a session with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board Thursday, citing as her chief accomplishments improvements to customer service, progress on digitizing a system that long relied on carbon paper and hard copies, and work to clear a backlog of criminal record expungements.
But Spyropoulos, who is currently a commissioner on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board, told editorial board members in a separate session Tuesday that Martinez’s modernization efforts have fallen short and that the incumbent’s ethical lapses are little more than an extension of the scandals of Brown’s tenure.On top of her significant cash advantage, Spyropoulos has the backing of the Cook County Democratic Party and the Teamsters Local 700 in Park Ridge.
Martinez said she inherited the existing inspector but defended his independence and said he was doing “a phenomenal job.” Spyropoulos said she would push for even more data access while working to change the state law to make the office subject to FOIA. She said, if elected, she would release information on the office’s spending, case statistics and how many continuances are taken in cases.