Meet Carla

Former Lake County Clerk Carla Wyckoff is a respected leader and attorney who has spent more than 25 years getting things done for Lake County residents.

After 20 years in the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office where she worked extensively with the Lake County Clerk’s Office as a civil prosecutor, Wyckoff was elected clerk in 2014 the first time she ever ran for public office.

As the Lake County Clerk, she empowered the staff, leading to high employee satisfaction with all 38 staff members she managed. During her tenure, she led two significant overhauls that changed how elections were conducted, overseeing the implementation and training of 1,500 election judges for Election Day voter registration and universal early voting sites. In addition to expanding voter access, she provided enhanced training, introduced new technology, and offered expanded voter education resources while safeguarding taxpayer dollars.

Wyckoff has spent a combined 23 years serving residents as an Assistant State’s Attorney. She began in the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office in 1994, and during her 20 year career in that office, she worked as both a criminal and civil prosecutor. On the criminal side, Wyckoff handled cases ranging from misdemeanors to juvenile to felony drugs to homicide and worked directly with the Lake County courts and our judicial system. As a civil prosecutor, Wyckoff served as the legal representative for county government and county elected officials, including the Lake County Clerk, Lake County Recorder, Regional Superintendent of Schools, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Merit Commission. Following serving as Lake County Clerk, Wyckoff was recruited by the McHenry County State’s Attorney to work as an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Civil Division from 2019 to 2022.

Prior to her career in public service, Wyckoff worked with the American Medical Association in Washington, DC, and later in Chicago as the Field Division Director. She was responsible for all liaisons between the association and 50 state medical societies and 25 national medical specialty societies to lead the grassroots legislative and political activities that supported the association’s mission.

Raised to value education, Wyckoff earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, her MBA from Northwestern University, she attended Temple University School of Law, and she earned her Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. During law school, she was honored on the Dean’s List and received the highest grade in 5 different classes. Wyckoff received the Benedict J. Ori Award in 2017, which recognizes former Lake County prosecutors for their contributions to law enforcement, the judiciary, and the people of Lake County. And in 2020, she was elected to the Lake Forest High School Alumni Wall of Fame.

She currently serves as President of the Board of Independence Center in Waukegan, a club-modeled facility that provides resources to adults with a history of mental illness so they can remain independent and productive in the community. She previously served as Chairman of the Lake Forest City Legal Committee, and member of Lake Forest Caucus Committee and Lake Forest Friends of the Library Board. She is an Elder with the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest where she currently serves on the Personnel Committee.

Wyckoff graduated law school and began her career as a single mother of two. She still managed to be active in her children’s lives in Boy Scouts, orchestra, choir, and even serving as the Lake Forest High School tennis team mom. She raised two successful children: McKay, the Chief Bankruptcy Judge, Southern District in West Virginia, and Alexander, a commercial pilot and airplane mechanic in Utah. In her spare time, Wyckoff enjoys traveling and various outdoor activities including pickle ball, paddle tennis, golf, and skiing. On weekends you can find her gardening, antiquing, or volunteering at her church.