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Dorothy Brown
Brown in 2015
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County
In office December 1, 2000 – December 1, 2020
Preceded by	Aurelia Pucinski
Succeeded by	Iris Martinez
Village Administrator of Dolton, Illinois
In office October 2021 – December 2021
Appointed by	Tiffany Henyard
Succeeded by	Keith Freeman
Personal details
Born	Dorothy Ann Brown (1953-09-04) September 4, 1953 (age 71) Minden, Louisiana, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Benton Cook ​(m. 2009)​
Children	1
Education	Southern University (BS) DePaul University (MBA) Illinois Institute of Technology (JD)

Dorothy Ann Rabb Brown Cook, also known as Dorothy Brown (born September 4, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician affiliated with the Democratic Party who served as the clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County from 2000 through 2020.

Brown's tenure was criticized for inefficiency in the clerk's office and a failure to adequately update the office's operations with digital systems. She was also criticized for sizable use of political patronage. Her tenure was plagued by many scandals regarding her ethics. She and numerous associates have been the subjects of criminal investigations into alleged involvement in corruption schemes.

Brown was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Chicago in the 2007 and 2019 elections, an unsuccessful candidate for Chicago city clerk in 1999, and an unsuccessful candidate for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2010. After her tenure as clerk of courts ended, Brown spent several months as the village administrator of Dolton, Illinois.

Early life, family, and education

Brown grew up in Minden, Louisiana, one of eight children. Her father worked in the laundry room of the Louisiana Army Ammunitions Plant near Minden. He also owned a cotton farm in Athens, Louisiana, where Brown and her seven siblings helped him pick and chop cotton. Brown's mother worked as a cook and a domestic.

At Webster High School, Brown was captain of the girl's varsity basketball team, and graduated in the top ten percent of her class. Brown studied at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and graduated magna cum laude. In 1977, Brown received her license as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). In 1981, she received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) with honors from DePaul University in Chicago. In 1996, Brown received her J.D. degree with honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Early career

Brown worked for Arthur Andersen and Commonwealth Edison as a certified public accountant. She also helped to start a minority public accounting firm. From 1991 to 2000, Brown worked as the general auditor for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).

Brown unsuccessfully ran for City treasurer of Chicago in 1999, losing to incumbent Miriam Santos by a 2.8% margin.

Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County (2000–2020)

Cook County voters elected Brown as the Clerk of the Circuit Court in 2000, and reelected her four additional times. Brown served for 20 years and retired in 2020. As the official keeper of records for all judicial matters brought into one of the largest unified court systems in the world, Brown was responsible for managing an annual operating budget of more than $100 million and had a workforce of over 1,800 employees.

While Brown was initially seen as a reform-minded politician when she was elected, by 2014, Natasha Korecki of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that over the course of her tenure Brown had come to be, "increasingly viewed as an entrenched politician who for years signed off on dubious practices in her office."

Elections

In 2012, during Brown's third reelection campaign, the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune declined to endorse any candidate, citing "Brown's years of failed assurances to modernize the obsolete, paper-choked office she heads."

In August 2015, the slating committee of the Cook County Democratic Party narrowly voted to endorse Brown for reelection to a fifth term in the March 2016 primary elections. In early October 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at Brown's home and seized her County-issued cell phone. On October 23, 2015 the Cook County Democratic Party withdrew its endorsement of Brown and endorsed challenger Michelle A. Harris.

Both the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune declined to endorse Brown or her opponent in the 2016 campaign. Brown went on to win both the Democratic primary and the general election, being reelected for a fifth term.

In August 2019, Brown announced that she would not seek reelection to a sixth term in 2020.

In 2018, political consultant Delmarie Cobb described Brown's dedicated political supporters as being churchgoers and a grassroot base. In 2024, journalist Gregory Pratt recalled that Brown received loyal support from "'the church ladies' –older Black women voters who worship every Sunday and gave her their backing." Pratt also observed that Brown had benefited from the lack of interest from "big-hitter" politicians in seeking the office of circuit court clerk.

Pursuits of other offices during tenure

Brown unsuccessfully ran mayor of Chicago in 2007. She was the only established political figure challenging incumbent mayor Richard M. Daley. Brown failed to attract strong enough support from the African American community to mount a true challenge to Daley, and lagged severely behind Daley in terms of campaign funds. She ultimately finished in second place out of three candidates, with 20.12% of the vote, 51 points behind Daley.

Brown ran for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2010. At one point, she led the Democratic field in at Chicago Tribune poll. However, she ultimately lost the Democratic primary to Toni Preckwinkle, placing third out of four candidates, behind Preckwinkle and Terrence J. O'Brien. Brown received 14.45% of the vote.

Despite the scandals she had faced, Brown attempted to run for mayor of Chicago in 2019, but was removed from the ballot for failing to complete the required paperwork. Following her removal from the ballot, Brown endorsed Amara Enyia for mayor. However, Enyia failed to qualify for the runoff election, which was won by Lori Lightfoot.

Patronage

Brown was characterized as running an office full of patronage hires. In 2014 the Chicago Sun-Times described the Clerk's office as "a 2,300-employee office, one of the last true bastions of political patronage in Illinois".

Beginning in August 2018, a federally-ordered monitor was appointed under to audit the hiring and employment practices of Brown's office in an effort to monitor the office's compliance with the Shakman Decrees. This federal oversight of the office's hiring and employment practices would not cease until November 2022, during the tenure of Brown's successor.

In 2015, an employee of Brown's office testified that the "going rate" for a job in Brown's office was $10,000.

Modernization efforts and shortcomings

When she first campaigned for the office in 2000, Brown promised that she would make sure that the clerk's office kept pace with new technology. However, Brown was seen as falling significantly short of this promise in her tenure. In 2014, Natasha Korecki of the Chicago Sun-Times described Brown as, "synonymous with questionable ethics and woefully outdated technology." In 2017, the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune characterized Brown as leading a, "patronage-packed office...stuck in a land that time forgot," with a, "well-earned reputation as a fortress of inefficiency." In 2024, journalist Gregory Pratt recalled,

As Cook County circuit court clerk, Brown controlled key operations for the court system, one of the most byzantine and failed structures of government in the Chicago area. Decades after computers became widespread, its digital system barely worked, and it was still using carbon paper.

Projects and services developed under Brown's leadership include: Two Electronic filing (e-filing), a Clerk of the Circuit Court mobile app: "Court Clerk Mobile Connect," an Online Traffic Ticket Payment System, an Electronic Tickets (eTickets) system, Mortgage Surplus Search, SmartForms (Online Order of Protection service), Smart Kiosks (court information terminals), and IDMS (Imaging Document Management System).

Brown was criticized by advocacy groups who alleged a failure to sufficiently modernize the court system. The court's case management system had been characterized as "archaic". In 2012, the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune criticized Brown for, "years of failed assurances to modernize the obsolete, paper-choked office she heads."

Brown numerous times failed to meet deadlines for the modernization of the court's filing system. In late-2017, Brown announced that an e-filing system that the Illinois Supreme Court had mandated be created for lawsuits and other civil cases was ready to be launched. However, a month after this, Brown called-off the launch and requested that the court allow a delay. The eventual July 2018 rollout of the electronic filing for civil cases was plagued by confusion and disorder.

A partial system update that digitized criminal courts filing was first phased-in in November 2019, but proved to be problematic. This update led to the records it made available often being incomplete incomplete and taking longer to be updated. This proved so problematic that the court itself in October 2020 ordered that Brown halt its implementation.

Failure to provide records and notices in timely fashion

For much of her tenure, Brown was criticized for failing to provide stored records that had been requested in a timely fashion.

In May 2018, The Chicago Reader detailed how the removal of documents case files to warehouses as part of the slow-moving effort to digitize documents had placed more 600 appeals cases in flux due to the unavailability of needed documents. At this time, the Illinois Appellate Defender's Office called delays in obtaining records from the Brown's office was an "ongoing problem".

In June 2020, Legal Aid Chicago filed a lawsuit accusing Brown's office of, during the COVID-19 pandemic, failing to provide domestic violence and sexual assault survivors with copies of their orders of protection immediately after they had been granted, which the office had a statutory duty to do. The lawsuit by Legal Aid Chicago further accused Brown's office of failing to transmit such orders top the Cook County Sheriff's Office in a timely fashion so that they could be entered into that office's Law Enforcement Agency Data System. The lawsuit argued that these alleged failures on the part of Brown's office endangered survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Also during the pandemic, Brown received criticism for failure to mail out the notices in a timely fashion to tell individuals that their court appearances would be conducted virtually, with some notices having been mailed out after the date of the court appearances had already passed. When questioned by WGN-TV on this, Brown alleged that “unconscious racism” was at the root of both that story, and other negative stories reported on her during her tenure.

COVID-19 pandemic

Amid theCOVID-19 pandemi, Brown received criticism from courts clerks and the clerks' union, who argued she was not doing enough to protect them and the public amid the pandemic. Some clerks walked off the job. Brown faced lawsuits for her alleged failure to send out notices of virtual hearings in a timely fashion, and for failing to produce documents in a required timely fashion.

In November 2020, Brown was caught by WGN-TV holding a retirement party that appeared to possibly violate the city and state's 50-person limit on gatherings amid the pandemic.

Political fundraising controversies

In 2024, the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune recollected,

Given the office’s lack of glamour and given our county’s history, it’s no surprise that the post has been a particularly fertile source of corruption. Dorothy Brown, who held the job for two decades, was Exhibit A. Under Brown, the office was rife with improper fundraising for her campaigns.

In 2012, the Chicago Tribune published a report documenting in excess of $315,000 of political donations which Brown had accepted from employees of her office and at least $75,000 which she had accepted from relatives of employees. After winning election to a fourth term several months later, Brown promised to stop accepting campaign contributions from her employees.

In May 2006, Brown chaired the host committee for a Chicago fundraiser to support the reelection of Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans, Louisiana. Information technology contractor Mark St. Pierre, who had worked contracts for both the city of New Orleans and Cook County government and contributed to both Brown and Nagin's political campaigns, organized the event. Nagin was indicted on corruption charges on January 18, 2013, with the fundraiser being cited in the indictment. He was convicted in 2014.

Cash gifts and "Jeans Day" controversies

Brown accepted cash gifts on her birthday and Christmas from her employees. In 2008 Brown announced that she would no longer accept the gifts after questions arose regarding how she claimed the items.

In January 2010, the Inspector General of Cook County investigated Brown's "Jeans Day" program, in which Clerk's office employees could donate cash to the Jeans Day fund and wear casual clothing to work on a Friday. The Jeans Day fund, which grew to over $300,000, was supposed to be used to fund employee morale activities and charities. The Inspector General's report documented expenditures unrelated to charitable causes, including Chicago Bulls tickets, Six Flags Great America tickets, and employee parking reimbursements. The Inspector General's report cleared Brown's office of wrongdoing, but advised Brown provide better controls. Brown discontinued Jeans Day in August 2010.

Criminal investigations into Brown and associates

In June 2011, a contributor to Brown's political campaigns gave a commercial property at the intersection of Pulaski, Ogden and Cermak Avenues on Chicago's southwest side to Brown's husband. Two months later, the deed was transferred to The Sankofa Group, L. L. C., Brown and her husband's for-profit consulting firm, and in November 2011 The Sankofa Group sold the property for $100,000. The Cook County inspector general and by a grand jury convened by prosecutors with the Cook County State's Attorney's office opened an investigation of the land deal.

In 2014, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Chicago Area Project, which had employed Brown's husband, was the subject of a criminal probe by a grand jury. Ethics concerns related to conflict of interest were raised by the newspaper, which noted that signatures on documents indicated that Brown had directly involved herself in her office's the handling of the probe's subpoenas. The newspaper also alleged that Brown had been involved in securing the granting of sizable amount of money to the group from the Illinois state government.

In 2013, it was reported that a campaign donor, Naren Patel, had given Brown's husband a parcel of land for $1. Brown's name was later added to paperwork and Sankofa Group (a private entity once registered to Brown's home) ended up on the title. Brown and her husband sold the land for $100,000. Brown did not disclose the land as a gift or donation on state economic interest forms. In October 2015, the FBI executed a search warrant at Brown's home and seized her County-issued cell phone. Chicago attorney Ed Genson represented Brown at the time.

In November 2015, a federal indictment alleged that a clerk's office employee had been rehired by the Clerk's office weeks after lending $15,000 to a company controlled by Brown's husband, then lied to a federal grand jury about the incident. The employee pleaded guilty in 2016, and claimed that the "going rate" for a job in the office had been $10,000.

In 2018, a federal probe detailed accounts of alleged job-buying in Brown's office.

In March 2019, a federal indictment charged Donald Danagher with bribery, alleging a pay-for-contract scheme which involved making donations to Brown's campaign and scholarship funds in exchange for his debt collection business receiving a contract.

On April 26, 2019, a jury convicted former Brown aide Beena Patel, who had supervised approximately 500 employees in the clerk's office, of perjury concerning her federal grand jury testimony in 2015 and 2016. In November 2019, court documents evidenced that Patel's perjury had protected Brown against prosecution.

In October 2021, Donald Donagher Jr., the former chief executive officer of a debt-collection company, admitted in federal court that he had made payments to support a Women's History Month program run by Brown in an effort to reward Brown for business he believed she had directed to him.

Lawsuits brought against Brown

In late 2019, Brown's office had a class-action lawsuit brought against it alleging that it had charged illegal fees to people seeking child support enforcement.

Legal Aid Wisconsin filed a lawsuit over Brown's failure to produce documents in a timely fashion as legally required during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also faced a separate lawsuit alleging failure to send notices of virtual hearings in a timely fashion during the pandemic.

Activities after leaving office

After her successor as clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Iris Martinez, was critical of the shape of the office she inherited from Brown, on December 17, 2020, Brown released a three-page statement to WGN-TV which was highly critical of Martinez. Brown accused Martinez of refusing attempts she had made to assist Martinez's transition into office. Brown wrote that Martinez, "obviously does not have a plan or a clue how to run the office."

Brown's statement included comments which attacked Martinez for hiring Puerto Rican individuals to management, writing, "Iris Martinez's administration does not look the racial make-up of Cook County, but it looks like Puerto Rico". The statement accused Martinez and her staff of, "showing disrespect to the American English language, and the English-speaking staff, by only communicating in Spanish, when non-Spanish speaking staff are present."

Brown received $5,000 for consulting services to the 2021 Dolton, Illinois mayoral campaign of Tiffany Henyard. Henyard considers Brown to be her mentor. Brown then led the transition team after Heynard was elected mayor. From October 2021 until December 31, 2021, Brown served as village administrator of Dolton, having been appointed by Heynard. The hiring of Brown to the six-figure position sparked criticism from several Dolton city trustees.

Honors

In 2013, Brown was an honoree awarded at the "125 Alumni of Distinction Reception" held by the Chicago-Kent College of Law. In 2021, Brown was inducted into Southern University's Black College Alumni Hall of Fame. She has received professional achievement awards from both of these alma maters. Other honors that Brown has received include the Marks of Excellence Award from the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, the Women of Achievement Award from the Anti-Defamation League, and the Justinian Society of Lawyers Humanitarian Award.

Personal life

Brown is married to Benton Cook, who is a convicted felon.

Electoral history

Publications

1. Brown, Dorothy (January 3, 2015). "A Year of Achievements Roll into a New Year of More Innovations in the Clerk's Office". The Chicago Defender. Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
2. Brown, Dorothy (November 19, 2014). "eTickets remove some of the frustration of getting a traffic ticket". The Chicago Defender. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.

References

1. Slowik, Ted (20 July 2022). "Column: Dolton trustees take steps to curb mayor's authority over spending, employment". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
2. "Dorothy Ann Brown Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
3. ^ "Alumna Dorothy Brown Cook inducted in National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame". Southern University and A&M College. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
4. Brown, Mark (31 August 2018). "Dorothy A. Brown Cook? Mayoral hopeful debuts new name for voters". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
5. Felsenthal, Carol (21 December 2011). "Why Dorothy Brown Wants Another Term as Circuit Court Clerk". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
6. ^ Sjostrom, Joseph (February 7, 1999). "Treasurer Candidate Brown To Address City Club Of Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
7. ^ Korecki, Natasha (May 9, 2014). "Dorothy Brown: 'A reformer gone wrong.'". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
8. ^ "Choices for Cook County". Chicago Tribune. October 22, 2012. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
9. Dardick, Hal (August 18, 2015). "Cook County Democrats fail to endorse in state's attorney race". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2016. The committee was able to make a recommendation for circuit court clerk, narrowly backing Dorothy Brown in her bid for reelection after calling 21st Ward Ald. Howard Brookins away from a lunch break and back into the room to put Brown over the top.
10. Brown, Mark (August 19, 2015). "Cook County Dems stay neutral in U.S. Senate race". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved February 29, 2016. In a tight vote, Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown was endorsed over lawyer Jacob Meister, a gay rights activist who vowed to stay in the race.
11. ^ Meisner, Jason; Dardick, Hal (October 15, 2015). "FBI seizes Dorothy Brown's cellphone in probe of land deal". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2016. The FBI has seized the cellphone of Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown as part of an ongoing investigation into a 2011 land deal involving a longtime campaign contributor that netted Brown and her husband tens of thousands of dollars. Agents showed up at Brown's home last week armed with a search warrant for her phone, said attorney Edward Genson, who is representing Brown in the criminal investigation
12. Herguth, Robert; Fusco, Chris; Placko, Dane (October 15, 2015). "Hiring, 'pay to play' focuses of Dorothy Brown probe". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved February 29, 2016. Those revelations come as federal agents visited Brown's South Side house last week and seized her county-issued cellphone.
13. Byrne, John (October 23, 2015). "Clerk Brown vows to stay in race after Cook County Democrats yank backing". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2016. On Friday, Democratic leaders took away Brown's endorsement for an office that controls nearly 1,800 jobs and supported Ald. Michelle Harris, a loyal Democratic soldier who came up through the ranks of the vaunted 8th Ward organization once headed by the late John Stroger.
14. Fusco, Chris; Herguth, Robert; Rehkamp, Patrick; Placko, Dane (October 23, 2015). "Dems drop support for Dorothy Brown, endorse Ald. Michelle Harris". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on January 2, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016. Cook County Democratic Party leaders on Friday withdrew their endorsement of Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown in the March 15 primary amid a federal corruption investigation, instead throwing their support to a newly announced candidate, Ald. Michelle Harris (8th).
15. "Cook County Democratic Party withdraws endorsement of Court Clerk Dorothy Brown". The Columbia Chronicle. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
16. Jones, Will (14 August 2019). "Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown to not seek reelection after nearly 2 decades". WLS-TV. ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
17. Sarah, Schulte (April 19, 2018). "Dorothy Brown to challenge Emanuel in mayoral race | abc7chicago.com". ABC7 Chicago. WLS-TV. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
18. ^ Pratt, Gregory Royal (2024). The City is Up for Grabs: How Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Led and Lost a City in Crisis. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-1641605991.
19. "Dorothy Brown running for mayor; Cook County Circuit Court clerk formally declares her candidacy". Chicago Tribune. September 1, 2006. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
20. Daley: A Retrospective: A Historical Exploration of Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley by Chicago Tribune Staff Dec 18, 2012
21. ^ "2007 Municipal General - 2/27/07".
22. ^ "Suburban Cook County Election Results February 02, 2010 Gubernatorial Primary Election President Cook County Board Comm. Township & Precinct Results". Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
23. ^ "2010 Primary - DEM - 2/2/10". Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
24. Multiple sources:
    • "Editorial Board Questionnaire". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
    • Dardick, Hal; Becker, Robert (December 23, 2009). "Dorothy Brown touts knowledge, experience; Tribune poll found her leading Cook County Board president's race". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
25. "Dorothy Brown Removed From Ballot In Race For Mayor". CBS Chicago. January 22, 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
26. Leslie. "Dorothy Brown endorses Amara Enyia". Gary/Chicago Crusader. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
27. ^ "Editorial: Dorothy Brown's 17 years of broken promises". Chicago Tribune. December 20, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017.
28. Byrne, John (June 1, 2018). "Federally appointed monitor to follow Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown's hiring practices". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
29. Quig, A.D. (November 21, 2022). "Cook County court clerk is latest to exit federal oversight of hiring practices, though administrator has lingering concerns". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
30. ^ "Employee claims jobs sold for up to $10K in Cook County Circuit Court Clerk's office". 2 March 2018.
31. Office of Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown (June 2009). "Cook County is the Largest Court System to "Go Green" with E-Filing Pilot at No Cost to Taxpayers More than 1,000 Cook County Attorneys are Registered E-Filers". Tort Reporter. No. 10. The Tort Litigation Committee of The Chicago Bar Association. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
32. Office of Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown (April 4, 2014). "A mobile app for court info, anywhere, any time". Chicago Defender. Cloud Computing Magazine.
33. "Cook County does full launch of online traffic system". The Chicago Defender. August 20, 2009. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
34. Podmolik, Mary Ellen (August 25, 2011). "Cook Co. reaching out to those due money after property foreclosure". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
35. "Cook County: Foreclosure Fund Holds Millions In Unclaimed Taxpayer Money". Huffington Post. August 26, 2011.
36. Campbell, Traci (December 18, 2009). "Cook County Circuit Court Imaging and Document Management System Goes Live!". Business Wire.
37. Myers, Andrew (28 April 2020). "Iris Martinez upsets Evanston favorite Michael Cabonargi". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
38. Yin, Alice (22 September 2020). "Advocacy groups craft long to-do list for next Cook County Circuit Court clerk, rip incumbent Dorothy Brown for 'unprepared' response to pandemic". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
39. ^ Crepeau, Megan (28 November 2019). "Dorothy Brown's office debuts upgrade to criminal court computers to wide ridicule". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
40. ^ Hendrickson, Matthew (23 October 2020). "Court orders Dorothy Brown to halt planned updates to 'problematic' new case management system". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
41. Cohen, Mari (January 22, 2020). "The Race to Repair Dorothy Brown's Office". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
42. Cherney, Elyssa (2 July 2018). "After months of delay, Cook County begins electronic filing for civil cases". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
43. Dukmasova, Maya (24 May 2018). "Hundreds of Illinois prisoners languish behind bars waiting for Dorothy Brown to do her job". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
44. Dukmasova, Maya (24 May 2018). "Hundreds of Illinois prisoners languish behind bars waiting for Dorothy Brown to do her job". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
45. ^ "Legal Aid Chicago Files Lawsuit Against Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County". Legal Aid Chicago. 2020-08-03. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
46. Buckley, Madeline (6 August 2020). "'These survivors are reaching out for help': Lawyers accuse Dorothy Brown's office of failing to send paperwork for orders of protection in timely manner". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
47. ^ Bradley, Ben (30 July 2020). "Courthouse confusion continues: Court clerk claims it's 'racist' to ask 'why?'". WGN-TV. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
48. Lighty, Megan Crepeau, Todd (16 November 2020). "Dorothy Brown blinks on clerks' hours during court shutdown over coronavirus, as some walk off job". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
49. Bradley, Ben (2 November 2020). "Partying during a pandemic: Court clerk Dorothy Brown's last hurrah". WGN-TV. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
50. "Editorial: We endorse Mariyana Spyropoulos for Cook County Circuit Court clerk". Chicago Tribune. 19 February 2024.
51. Dardick, Hal (20 April 2018). "Dorothy Brown plans to run for mayor of Chicago despite federal corruption probe". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
52. "Circuit Court Clerk Brown stops t aking employee campaign donations". Chicago Tribune. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
53. Multiple sources:
    • Mihalopoulos, Dan; Main, Frank (2013-01-20). "Clerk Dorothy Brown chaired fund-raiser cited in Nagin corruption case". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    • "Cook County Circuit Clerk tied to fundraiser named in corruption case". WGN-TV. 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    • Hammer, David (2013-01-19). "IN DEPTH: Former N.O. Mayor Ray Nagin indicted on federal corruption charges". WWL-TV. Archived from the original on 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    • "Brown Event in Nagin Case". Chicago Sun-Times. January 21, 2013.
54. "No More "Happy Birthday" for Dorothy Brown". NBC Chicago. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
55. Dardick, Ha (5 June 2009). "Cash for boss abruptly ends". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
56. Dardick, Hal (September 10, 2008). "Dorothy Brown birthday fete aims to fill campaign coffers; Court clerk employees are among organizers of Sept. 30 fundraising effort". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
57. Dardick, Hal (5 June 2009). "Dorothy Brown says she won't take cash from county employees". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 18, 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
58. Multiple sources:
    • Dardick, Hal (22 January 2010). "Brown provides records, tries to move past 'Jeans Day' flap in circuit clerk's office". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
    • Byrne, John (26 August 2010). "Brown ends 'jeans days' after investigation's report". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
    • Blanchard, Patrick. "Jeans Day Fundraiser Review" (PDF). Office of Inspector General, City of Chicago. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
    • Clauss, Hunter (January 22, 2010). "Dorothy Brown Defends Jeans Day". WBEZ. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
    • "No written policy for Brown's "Jeans Days"". ABC 7 Chicago. January 22, 2010. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
59. "Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown flips free property for $100K". Fox 32 News. November 25, 2013. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
60. "Dorothy's Deed, Done Dirt Cheap; Campaign donor gives Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown's husband a building worth $100,000. Why? And why didn't Brown disclose the freebie as apparently required?". Better Government Association. November 25, 2013. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
61. Multiple sources:
    • "Dorothy Brown, Feeling Heat; Inspector general launches investigation over land deal involving wealthy campaign donor giving $100,000 parcel to husband of Circuit Court clerk". Better Government Association. March 4, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
    • Dardick, Hal (May 9, 2014). "Cook County circuit clerk's land deal probed; Brown, husband got parcel for free, sold it for tens of thousands in profit". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
    • Herguth, Robert; Rehkamp, Patrick; Placko, Dane (March 4, 2014). "Watchdog looks at land deal involving Dorothy Brown's husband". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
    • Crews, Julian (May 9, 2014). "Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown's land deal probed". WGN-TV. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
62. Carlson, Erin (May 12, 2014). "Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown Under Investigation for Shady Land Deal; Brown and her husband are also tangled up in Gov. Quinn's troubled anti-violence program". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
63. ^ Korecki, Natasha (15 October 2015). "Dorothy Brown comes under scrutiny in probe of husband". Politico. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
64. "Dorothy's Deed, Done Dirt Cheap". Illinois Answers Project. Better Government Association and Fox 32 Chicago. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
65. Meisner, Jason (November 20, 2015). "Feds disclose probe of Dorothy Brown's office with indictment". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2016. An employee in Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown's office has been indicted, the first public confirmation that her office is under investigation over the possible "purchasing" of jobs and promotions. The one-count indictment of Sivasubramani Rajaram comes weeks after the FBI seized Brown's cellphone as part of the ongoing probe. The charge, made public Friday, alleges that Rajaram was rehired by Brown's office in September 2014, just weeks after he purportedly lent $15,000 to a company controlled by Brown's husband, Benton Cook III. Brown's attorney indicated that the loan was a legitimate business loan. Neither Brown, nor her husband were charged with any wrongdoing.
66. Fusco, Chris; Herguth, Robert; Rehkamp, Patrick (November 20, 2015). "Feds charge worker of Cook County Court Clerk Dorothy Brown". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved February 29, 2016. A lower-level employee of Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown has been charged with lying to a federal grand jury "investigating the purchasing of jobs and promotions" in the clerk's office — including a lie about whether he had spoken to Brown after he was rehired. Sivasubramani Rajaram, 48, of Glenview, was rehired by Brown after he allegedly loaned $15,000 to Goat Masters Corporation, a company whose president was Brown's husband, Benton Cook III, according to the indictment.
67. Grimm, Andy (1 August 2018). "New details emerge in probe of alleged job-buying in Dorothy Brown's office". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
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External links

• Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County
• Illinois Circuit Court Clerks by District & Circuit
• Dorothy Brown news and investigations by the Better Government Association, an Illinois watchdog group
• Dorothy Brown archive at the Chicago Reader

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