Kahalah Clay’s replacement as St. Clair County circuit clerk isn’t short on experience
After retiring as a supervisor in the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk’s Office in September, Marie Zaiz didn’t expect a quick return to lead the entire office.
But Zaiz has been appointed by the county board to serve as circuit clerk to fill the vacancy created when Kahalah Clay stepped down from the post on Nov. 30. Clay left to take a job as the chief legal counsel for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
Zaiz said she had “no clue” that Clay had planned to resign. When she heard about the vacancy, however, she felt the pull to return.
“I really love this office, I mean we become a family,” she said. “I wanted to come back and help the people here.”
Zaiz, who first started as a deputy clerk in 1996, said her goal is to provide St. Clair County residents with top-notch customer service when they have to do business with the circuit clerk’s office — whether it’s dealing with a traffic ticket fine, child support payments, small claims court or a multimillion dollar civil lawsuit.
“We’re here to serve them,” she said. “We hope that they feel welcome when they come up to the office.
“That’s my main goal is to just keep the people of St. Clair County happy.”
The circuit clerk’s office is “responsible for maintaining the official court record for all civil and criminal cases,” according to the clerk’s webpage.
2022 election
Zaiz, 55, will earn $100,106 annually as circuit clerk.
Before her retirement, she had worked in multiple departments of the circuit clerk’s office over a 25-year period. At the time of her retirement, she was overseeing the clerks in both the felony and juvenile courtrooms.
Zaiz said she appreciates the support she has received from county employees as well as County Board Chairman Mark Kern and the county board members who unanimously voted for her appointment on Nov. 29. Zaiz is taking over Clay’s unexpired term since Clay was re-elected in 2020.
County Clerk Tom Holbrook has said Clay’s resignation means the circuit clerk’s seat will be on the Nov. 2, 2022, ballot. The primary will be in June.
When asked if she will run for election to the office, Zaiz said it was too early for her to think about that since she just sworn into office on Dec. 1.
Zaiz said her focus right now is to keep the 56 employees in the circuit clerk’s office “moving forward.”
“My concentration is on the office at this point,” she said.
If you need to reach the circuit clerk’s office, call 618-825-2334. Zaiz said if residents have an issue with the circuit clerk’s office, she wants to hear about it.
