Dupage Policy Journal

As DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek faces a criminal investigation by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, DuPage County Republican Chair Kevin Coyne is calling the matter a warning sign of local Democratic mismanagement.

Kaczmarek is under investigation for alleged official misconduct tied to her handling of election-related contracts and budget procedures. 

The Illinois Attorney General’s Office was appointed as special prosecutor after DuPage State’s Attorney Robert Berlin recused himself due to a conflict of interest, as his office represents both the clerk and the county. The attorney general's office has confirmed its role but has not commented further on the ongoing probe.

At the heart of the probe is Kaczmarek’s approval of over $229,000 in no-bid contracts for election services—decisions that critics say violated new state procurement laws requiring competitive bidding for services exceeding $30,000.

Coyne said Kaczmarek’s actions have tarnished the reputation of what was once seen as a well-run, fiscally disciplined county.

“We have a clerk in Jean Kaczmarek who's now under criminal investigation,” Coyne told the DuPage Policy Journal. “And we know has cost DuPage taxpayers millions through her mismanagement and errors in her office." 

Coyne added that the troubles have been mounting under Kaczmarek, particularly around financial oversight.

“It's been going on for some time. She's been fighting with Bob Berlin’s office for a while,” he said. “There’s a number of things at play. She hasn’t paid bills. She’s fighting with the county over whether the county or who's responsible for certain bills.”

The DuPage County Republican Party echoed Coyne’s sentiments in a recent Facebook post. 

“Kaczmarek was the first D in nearly 90 years to be elected Clerk in DuPage County,” the DuPage County Republicans said on Facebook. “She’s also the first DuPage Clerk over this 90 year window to be criminally investigated. She’s the first clerk over these 90 years to have cost the County millions due to clerical blunders. She’s the first Clerk over these 90 years who has refused to attend County Board meetings to answer questions .. preferring to stay in the shadows. Elections have consequence. DuPage going Blue is proving out to be an enormous step backward for the County.” 

As the 2026 election cycle nears, the political stakes are rising. 

Coyne says county residents must learn from what he sees as the consequences of one-party control.

“[Kaczmarek] has done all kinds of harm to the county,” he said. “It's not just her own reputation, but the county always had a reputation for being one of the better-run counties in the country, not that long ago. And unfortunately now, between Kaczmarek and all these other very silly things that have happened since [Democrats] have taken over.”

In April 2024, Kaczmarek refused to attend a County Board meeting to explain over $265,000 in no-bid election-related contracts. 

Ten board members—including Republicans and Democrats—had requested her presence, citing transparency concerns. Kaczmarek responded in writing, asserting that she is an independently elected official not subject to board oversight on procurement decisions.

Kaczmarek, a Democrat, announced her reelection bid in May despite mounting legal and political challenges. 

However, DuPage County Board Chair Deb Conroy, a former state representative with a far left track record, has expressed disappointment over the investigation and is backing board member Paula Deacon Garcia over Kaczmarek in the 2026 clerk race. 

The dispute has ballooned into legal warfare. 

Last spring Kaczmarek sued the county board, auditor and Conroy, arguing her constitutional authority to manage her office is being undermined. Her lawsuit follows an earlier civil suit filed by the county seeking to compel her compliance with county accounting procedures. The conflict led to a court-ordered agreement on how to process more than $325,000 in unpaid bills, many related to election services. 

Meanwhile, State Sen. Seth Lewis (R-Bartlett) publicly criticized Kaczmarek in November 2024 for delaying the release of mail-in ballot data following the general election. 

"Illinoisans deserve full transparency when it comes to elections," Lewis said at the time. 

Lewis warned that such delays jeopardize public trust and may prompt legislative action to mandate prompt ballot reporting.

The criticism doesn’t end there. 

In 2022, Illinois Conservative Union Chair Carol Davis claimed Kaczmarek “blacklisted” her from serving as an election judge after Davis publicly criticized election procedures as carried out by Kaczmarek’s office. 

At the time, GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey, a former state senator, accused Kaczmarek of costing the county $4 million by failing to file necessary marijuana tax paperwork. 

“She can’t run elections. She can’t file paperwork properly. She is a total disaster,” Bailey said. 

Conservative watchdogs like former state representative Jeanne Ives have also blamed Kaczmarek’s office for registration errors and vote count discrepancies regarding at least 1,300 questionable voter addresses in the 2020 election. 

That same election saw Republican auditor candidate Bob Grogan lose by 75 votes after a court-ordered recount found 1,600 more ballots than voters.