Republican Gretchen DeJaynes has stepped down as McDonough County clerk. She worked in the office for 24 years, the last 18 as county clerk.
County clerk offices in Illinois maintain vital records, such as birth and marriage certificates. They also handle business documents, deeds, and more.
DeJaynes said those documents were filed away on paper when she began working in the clerk’s office, but that has changed.
“Probably 80-percent of our documents now are e-recorded. When I started we didn’t even have e-recording. That has certainly been a change. A good change, but a change,” DeJaynes said.
Her first job in the office was overseeing elections. She said those have changed, too.
“We went from having to have a reason to vote early or absentee, to no-excuse early and absentee (voting) and same-day registration. That’s certainly been a big change,” she said.
DeJaynes said the national focus on election integrity in recent years made that part of the office’s duties a bit more stressful.
She believes the integrity of an election is as good as the person running it, and said her staff has done an excellent job of staying on top of elections.
“Most people don’t understand the amount of training, the amount of testing, the amount of time that is spent prior to Election Day making sure elections run smoothly and are legal,” she said.
Voters first elected DeJaynes in 2006. She replaced another long-time county clerk, Florine Miller, who retired from the position.
DeJaynes said she did not plan to become county clerk when she started in the office, but she’s glad it worked out this way.
“Meeting the people, dealing with differences, learning all that there is to learn. It’s been fun. I’ve been honored,” she said.
DeJaynes’ time as county clerk largely coincided with Scott Schwerer’s time as county board chairperson. He did not seek reelection this year after spending much of the past 17 years as the board chair.
DeJaynes said they both had a lot to learn when they started out, and they worked together well while learning a lot.
DeJaynes was reelected to a fifth term in 2022, which means she is stepping down mid-term. She’s doing so for family considerations.
“My husband has been retired for three years, and I want to spend some time with him,” DeJaynes said.
“I have an excellent replacement. It’s just time.”
The county board appointed Jeremy Benson as the new county clerk.
He’s been training with DeJaynes for the past several months, and he previously owned Terrill Title Company in Macomb, so he was already well acquainted with the people in the clerk’s office.
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