Dorothy A. Brown is the current Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County since 2000. Re-elected to a third term in
November 2008, she has won all three elections by large margins. As the official keeper of records for all judicial matters brought into one of the
largest unified court systems in the world, Brown is responsible for managing an annual operating budget of more than $100 million and has a workforce of over 2,100 employees. Brown is also an attorney, a Certified Public Accountant

Certified Public Accountant

Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...

 (CPA), and holds a Master’s Degree in Business
Administration (MBA).

Brown has brought revolutionary changes to the operations of the Circuit Court Clerk's Office through her focus on improving services within five strategic areas: 21st Century Technology, Operational Efficiency, Customer Service, Employee Training and Development, and Financial Accountability. Brown has implemented a host of innovative programs which have streamlined processes, improved the quality of services, saved millions of dollars for taxpayers, and increased revenue for Cook County administration.

Major projects and services developed under Brown's leadership include but are not limited to: Electronic Filing (E-Filing), an Online Traffic Ticket Payment System, Mortgage Surplus Search program, SmartForms (Online Order of Protection service), Smart Kiosks (criminal court information terminals), and IDMS (Imaging Document Management System). All of these "Green Court"/E-Court initiatives improve accuracy, save time for court users, cut costs for the court system, and conserve energy.

Early life, family, and education

Brown is one of eight children born to a unionist father and a religious mother. Brown grew up in Minden, Louisiana. 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. The values her parents instilled resulted in Brown and her siblings acquiring seven bachelor degrees, six master degrees, two jurist doctorate degrees, one doctor of philosphy degree and one certified public accountant's license among them.

At Webster High School in Minden, LA, Brown distinguished herself as captain of the girl's varsity basketball team, and graduated in the top ten percent of her class.

Brown entered college in 1971 at Southern University

Southern University

Southern University and A&M College is a historically black college located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Baton Rouge campus is located on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section...

 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She graduated Magna cum Laude from Southern University in 1975. In 1977, Brown received her license as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). In 1981, she received her Master in Business Administration (MBA) with honors from DePaul University

DePaul University

DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...

 in Chicago. Fifteen years later in 1996, Brown received her law degree (Jurist Doctorate) with honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law

Chicago-Kent College of Law

Chicago–Kent College of Law, the law school affiliated with Illinois Institute of Technology, is nationally recognized for the scholarship and accomplishments of its faculty and student body. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. Many of the applications of technology in the...

.

Professional career

As a CPA, Brown worked for one of the “Big Eight” accounting firms, a major utility company, and a major Chicago Bank. She also helped to start a minority CPA firm. From 1991 - 2000, Brown was employed as the General Auditor for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). Under her leadership, the CTA designed a mechanism to monitor fare collections at train stations and prevent the misappropriation of funds. She also participated in the implementation of the automatic fare collection system currently in use by the CTA.

Affiliations

Brown is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She is also a member of the King of Glory Tabernacle Church of God in Christ. Her professional memberships include: the Chicago Bar Association, the Cook County Bar Association, the Black Women Lawyers' Association, and the Illinois Association of Certified Public Accountants.

External links

• http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/