A new state law now makes it easier for homeowners to remove racially restrictive covenants from property deeds, said Peoria County Clerk Rachael Parker.
Parker said only one example of the law has come to the attention of her office so far in 2022, one for a Peoria home sold in 1960 that stipulated that “said premises shall never be sold or leased to any person not of the Caucasian race.”
A second deed on the home was recorded in 2018 that doesn’t have any of the restrictive language, said Parker.
A homeowner can present the document with the applicable language crossed out and, with the approval of the state ‘s attorney’s office, we would record the redacted version for a $10 fee, noted Parker.
Racially restrictive covenants are no longer enforceable but the state law, which went into effect in 2022, facilitates homeowners removing racist language from property deeds, she said.
Before being elected to the clerk’s office in 2020, Parker was appointed to fill the position in 2019. She spent nine years on the Peoria County Board and three years on the board of Peoria Public Schools.
She served seven years as economic development director for the city of Chillicothe while tending her business, Sweet Cakes by Rachael.
As an African American, Parker said her career represents the importance of determination. “I think it represents that anybody can do whatever they want if one puts their mind to it,” she said.
“To me, it all boils down to relationships that you’ve built up over time because it’s with those relationships that you find out opportunities,” said Parker.
“Our office has to follow a lot of rules in what we do but what I’ve tried to do with the office is to bring the offices together. The county merged the Recorder of Deeds office and the clerk’s office but the rumblings were that it still felt like there were two separate offices,” she said.
“I just felt it was my job to bring the two sides together. When I implemented the cross-training, the crew on the vital records side now knew how to do the same work on the recorder’s side. When somebody comes to the window, they can help them instead of saying, ‘You have to go over there,’” said Parker.
More of the documents in the clerk’s office are now available in Spanish “because the Hispanic population has grown so much in Peoria,” she said.
The clerk’s office will soon post a video on its Facebook page that walks people through the process of applying for a marriage license. A Spanish version will soon follow, said Parker.
Parker noted that the barber who just opened in the space where Parker’s daughter had operated a coffee shop several years ago was a hopeful sign for the largely-vacant Main Street block across from the Peoria County Courthouse.
“With OSF opening around the corner, when we get more bodies downtown I think that’s going to be a prime opportunity that more people will see. The city has a lot of programs to help business. That, along with the vacancies, offers an opportunity for people determined to do something,” said Parker.
