Current deputy city clerk Rianne Hawkins, 35, was appointed by outgoing city clerk Cecilia Tumulty and confirmed by the city council in May of 2011. Since that time, Hawkins has worked closely with Tumulty on various initiatives. “When I set foot into the deputy clerk’s job I realized very quickly that this was an office that was very interesting to me,” she says. “Public service has always been important to me and in this office I can make a real difference and help make government a little bit better for the average citizen.”
When asked what precisely the city clerk does, Hawkins is straightforward. “The short answer is that our office is the official record keeper for the city of Springfield,” she says. “The most visible thing that our office does is keep the records of city council: the minutes, the agendas. The city clerk’s office also keeps and files all ordinances. “We’ve got ordinances dating all the way back to before the change of government that we frequently have to go back and refer to.” The office also has a record center, where records from City Hall such as building plans, old audits or canceled checks are stored. The office is responsible for Freedom of Information Act requests throughout the city, a process Hawkins hopes to continue to streamline.
“According to state law, we also are the local registrar for vital records here in Sangamon County, which means we handle birth and death records for all of Springfield.” The fact that the process is now digital has allowed the office to start a mobile birth certificate program. “Last year we set up at a desk at the Early Learning Center and parents were able to come to our little station when they’re registering their kids for preschool and get the birth certificate right there. We had some parents utilize it and we’re excited to do it again this year.”
Ward 4 alderman and mayor pro tem Frank Lesko, 55, has always been interested in the city clerk’s office, so when he heard that Tumulty would be stepping down, due to term limits, he threw his hat in the ring. “I think it’s a very important office for the city – keeping track of all the ordinances and being in charge of the FOIA requests and business licensing – I just think it’s a neat, neat office and I’ve always wanted to run for it so when there was a vacancy, I decided to go for it,” he says. Being on the city council, he says, has given him a lot of experience with ordinances being written and how they’re carried out. He also references his previous job as a logistics specialist with the state as being a positive. “I’m very meticulous about making sure that everything is right and correct,” he says.
He also points out that as the longtime owner of Abe’s Tradin’ Post, a resale shop located across the street from the state fairgrounds, he has unique insight into the kind of service he’d like to see the clerk’ s office provide. “I believe in open and honest government and I want to make sure the clerk’s office is as open and honest as it possibly can be and to make sure that people have ease when they walk in,” he says.
As for innovations he would like to bring to the office, Lesko says, “I want to have an outreach program for new businesses coming to town where we’d work hand in hand with the new mayor to help new businesses to get going.” He would also like to address wasteful practices by the city. “I know there’s a lot of paperwork that goes out of all the offices and it’s just a waste,” he says. “People look at it one time and then throw it away.”
Contact Scott Faingold at [email protected].
