Lois Durbin is excited about taking over as Macon County circuit clerk Dec. 1.

The 49-year-old followed the example of fellow Republican Coroner Michael E. Day and was elected on her third try for the office. She is replacing Democrat Cathy Hott, who chose to retire after 16 years in office.

Durbin, currently the jury coordinator for the courts, said she won't be making any drastic changes but will "get down there and see where everything stands."

One immediate act will be to hire her chief deputy, Gary Glosser, who has strong management credentials to help administer the office, Durbin said. Glosser has a master's degree and is serving in management now, she said.

Durbin has things she hopes to accomplish in the short term. One is to restore electronic filing of documents with the circuit clerk's office, a practice done for a short time then shelved under Hott's administration.

"It's something the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts wants done," Durbin said.

Another major item looming for her will be negotiating a contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees for many of the workers in her office.

Durbin defeated Democrat John Trusner Jr. in the Nov. 4 general election by a vote tally of 24,980 to 23,451. A big contributor to Trusner's loss was his poor showing in Hickory Point Precinct 1, a GOP bastion in Forsyth, where Durbin polled 1,089 votes to his 357 votes.

That single precinct among the 87 in Macon County accounted for 48.7 percent of Durbin's victory margin.

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The canvass of Macon County's Nov. 4 election results will be 10 a.m. Wednesday in Room 119 of the Macon County Office Building, 141 S. Main St., Decatur.

County Clerk Steve Bean said about 100 absentee ballots will be counted, along with 40 of 81 provisional ballots cast. A provisional ballot is used when a voter's registration is called into question for some reason.

"Many of the 40 ballots should have been voted as fail safe ballots, but the election judges didn't do that for some reason," Bean said. "Fail safe means if a person moves, he or she can go back to their old precinct and vote a federal ballot only."

Bean said he does not expect any change in election results as a result of the additional ballots being tallied.

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Macon County Board Chairman Bob Sampson, D-Decatur, announced at Thursday's board meeting that he was honoring his promise to serve only one two-year term as chairman and would be stepping down when the board reorganizes at 7 p.m. Dec. 1 in the board room on the fifth floor of the Macon County Office Building.

Board Vice Chairman and finance committee Chairman Jay Dunn, D-Decatur, business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 146, is expected to be Sampson's replacement.

Dunn is filled with energy, knows the ropes and will do well in the chairman's post, Sampson said Friday.

"I enjoyed it for the last two years, but I'm also looking forward to it being over," Sampson said. "Macon is the only urban county in Illinois without some form of professional management. A host of decisions fall on the board chairman. I'm not complaining. I knew that going in, but it's a significant amount of work if you want it to be."

Sampson said he would not be surprised if the board at some future date revisits the possibility of hiring some type of professional help.

Sampson is a writer for University of Illinois Extension but indicated on Election Day that he will be retiring from that post May 15. He said Friday he has not decided if he will retain his county board seat after that happens.

A big impetus for Sampson to resign would be to consolidate his family life in Bloomington. A widower, Sampson married Christine Sipula, founder and director of Clare House in Bloomington, in May. The agency is part of the Catholic Worker Movement and provides services to the poor and underprivileged.

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