The Demcoratic Party is fielding Kimberly Crum Klein of Lake in the Hills for Circuit Court Judge against Mark Gerhardt, who was appointed to the post.

Here is her campaign biography:

A lifelong resident of McHenry County, Kimberley Crum Klein is an experienced attorney who has worked in the courtroom as a prosecutor, a defense attorney, and a civil litigator.

She is a tenacious advocate for her clients and brings honesty and integrity to everything that she does.

Kimberley believes that the American legal system provides a model system of order and justice, and that access to that system and to justice should be available to all who need it.

As a prosecutor in the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, Kimberley prosecuted felony, traffic, and misdemeanor cases.

She protected victims by prosecuting Domestic Battery cases in the Domestic Violence courtroom and she served as the supervisor in the DUI courtroom.

As an attorney in private practice and the owner of her own law firm, she has represented criminal defendants and family law clients in a myriad of civil and criminal matters.

She has tried hundreds of cases at jury and bench trial as a prosecutor, as a criminal defense attorney, and as a family law attorney.

Kimberley has served as a Guardian ad Litem in many cases around Illinois and is trained as a mediator.

In addition, she worked under contract for the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office to prosecute child support cases.

Kimberley’s non-traditional path to a legal career has afforded her a wider range of experience than most lawyers.

She went to law school following a career in the mortgage industry and over a decade as a stay-at-home mom raising her three children.

Her years spent raising children, her extensive volunteer work in McHenry County, especially in School District 158, and her work as a loan officer and in the mortgage credit reporting industry widened her focus.

Because she has not always worked in the legal system, she brings a unique and important perspective to the courtroom.

Kimberley understands how important it is for a public servant such as a judge to listen carefully and impartially to the people that she serves, whether they are a plaintiff or a defendant, a victim of a crime or someone who has been accused of a crime.

The daughter of teachers, Kimberley moved with her family to McHenry County when she was 13 years old and has lived here for almost her entire life.

After graduating from H.D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin, she attended the University of Illinois and then returned to McHenry County to marry her high school sweetheart and to raise her family.

Kimberley and her husband, Randy, have been married for 31 years and have three children.

They live in Lake in the Hills with their German Shepherd mix rescue dog, Margot.