County Clerk & Recorder

The Office of the County Clerk operates under the laws and statutes of the State of Illinois and is one of three county offices commissioned by the Governor. This is an elected office with a four-year term.

The Office of Woodford County Clerk & Recorder Debbie Harms is located at 115 N. Main St. Room 202, Eureka, IL 61530. The phone number is (309) 467-2822 and Fax (309) 467-7391.

The Office of County Clerk and Recorder has many responsibilities. Five of the major functions of this Office include:

Clerk to the County Board. The Clerk keeps an accurate record of all proceedings of the County Board meetings by preparing and filing all minutes. The Clerk also files all documents brought before the Board and acted on, maintains a current listing of all liaison committee appointments, and files minutes of Committee meetings. Indexes of the earliest records of County Board meetings for Woodford County begin in 1841.
Chief election official for the County. Passage of the “consolidation of Elections Law” in 1980 provided that the Clerk has the responsibility to prepare for and administer the election process for local, state and national elections. This law provided for a more uniform election process in the State of Illinois.
Keeping and maintaining the vital records for the County including births, deaths and marriages. The County Clerk’s Office is the depository for vital records that occurred within the County. State law mandated the filing of birth and death records in 1916. Prior to that time, the birth and death records that were filed begin around 1877. Marriage records begin in 1841. In addition, all licenses for marriage in the County are issued from this Office.
Computing the property tax rates for all parcels of land in the County and receive delinquent tax payments. In brief, the tax rate of a taxing body is computed by dividing the tax levy by the assessed value. Once these rates have been computed, the individual tax bills are ready to be prepared. The Tax Levy Ordinances for each taxing body are filed and maintained by this Office. The Clerk’s Office also receives delinquent tax payments once the property tax has been sold at the tax sale.
Recording all documents qualified to be recorded as specified by Statute. The office is responsible for recording, indexing and scanning such documents. It has maintained records since the late 1830’s. Some of the documents recorded in this office include plats, deeds, mortgages, liens, articles of incorporation, uniform commercial code documents and military discharges papers known as DD-214’s.

By law, the Clerk has the responsibility to file the commissions for notary publics, file assumed names for businesses and file campaign disclosure statements as well as statements of economic interest. In Woodford County, the Clerk’s Office issues licenses for Games of Chance, assists with the issuance of Liquor Licenses and also maintains the expenditures for the County Budget. The Clerk serves as the Risk Manager for the County and administers the various insurance programs concerning employee’s benefits.

Our goal is to serve the citizens of Woodford County in an efficient and pleasant manner as the staff of the County Clerk and Recorder’s Office work together as a team. The Office of Woodford County Clerk & Recorder Debbie Harms is located at 115 N. Main-Room 202, Eureka, IL 61530.
The phone number is 309-467-2822 and the fax is 309-467-7391. You are always welcome!