Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today appointed Charles P. Golbert, a longtime attorney in the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian, to serve as acting public guardian.
Golbert has worked in the office for 26 years, most recently as deputy public guardian. He succeeds Robert F. Harris, who Chief Judge Evans appointed as public guardian in 2004 and will be sworn in Thursday as a circuit judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Harris to a vacancy on the court earlier this month.
Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today the judges who he has assigned to the new Pretrial Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
The appointments are effective Monday, and the new division accompanies an order Chief Judge Evans signed in July to change the cash-bail process in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The order states that if a bond court judge determines a defendant qualifies for release from jail before trial upon posting cash bail, the bail must be set in an amount that the defendant can afford.
Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today appointed Honorable Jill C. Marisie to serve as the Acting Presiding Judge of the court’s Third Municipal District. The appointment is effective immediately.
The Circuit Court of Cook County is set to launch a newapproach to address nonviolent crime with the opening of its first-everRestorative Justice Community Court in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood,Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.
“Asa court system, we must work to end the cycle of recidivism. Our new CommunityCourt empowers victims and residents to work as our partners to help restorenonviolent individuals back to society, provide restitution to victims, andimprove our overall quality of life,” Chief Judge Evans said.
Defendants who pose no danger to the public will be released from custody pending trial because any future bail amounts will be set at an amount they can afford, under an order Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans entered today that will take effect on September 18, 2017, in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
“I am saddened to learn of the passing of Commissioner Robert Steele and offer my deepest condolences to his family, colleagues and constituents.”
“Commissioner Steele was an effective advocate not only for his district but for the justice system as well. He took particular interest in the young men and women in the system, and I will always be thankful for his support to programs that helped individuals find a positive path to travel in life.”
Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and Superintendent Leonard Dixon today opened a barber school at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center to help residents obtain a state barber license.
The class will help interested residents seek educational and employment opportunities upon their release into the community. If a resident does not complete the 1,500 hours of class time required to receive an Illinois barber license during JTDC residency, completed hours can be applied to a barber school in the community.
Pursuant to action taken Tuesday by the Executive Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Circuit Judge Jessica A. O’Brien has been reassigned to administrative duties in the office of the Presiding Judge of the First Municipal District, Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr.
The assignment is effective until further notice.
The Executive Committee’s decision to reassign Judge O’Brien followed a meeting of the Circuit Court of Cook County Executive Committee convened Tuesday by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans.
Please see the below statement issued this morning by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans:
“I join all of the judges today in the Circuit Court of Cook County in expressing our sadness regarding the tragic passing of our colleague and friend, Associate Judge Raymond Myles. I offer my deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues in the Criminal Division.”
Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today appointed Circuit Judge Tommy Brewer as Acting Presiding Judge of the court’s Sixth Municipal District effective immediately. He succeeds former Presiding Judge Marjorie C. Laws who retired on Friday, January 20, 2017.
On a national level, there is a public conversation about the use of monetary bond in pretrial detention of defendants.
Locally, a Cook County Board resolution seeks to hold a hearing to explore the issue of alternatives to monetary bond.
I’m pleased that Cook County is joining the national conversation at this time. The Circuit Court of Cook County is currently in a transition period regarding pretrial detention in felony cases in Central Bond Court at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
The Circuit Court of Cook County will start holding weekend and holiday hearings for detained juveniles, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.
The Circuit Court previously followed the practice – in compliance with state law that other counties in the state have also followed – of holding the hearings only on weekdays. The new weekend and holiday hearings will begin on November 5, 2016 and be held at 11 a.m. at the Juvenile Center, 1100 S. Hamilton Ave.
As of Friday, August 26, 2016, Rhonda Crawford is no longer employed as a law clerk/staff attorney assigned to the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Markham courthouse.
On August 17, 2016, Crawford was suspended without pay by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans following allegations that she adjudicated two cases from the bench in a Markham courtroom while wearing a judicial robe. On August 26, 2016, Chief Judge Evans terminated her employment.
Pursuant to action taken today by the Executive Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Judge Valarie E. Turner has been temporarily reassigned to duties other than judicial duties in the office of the Presiding Judge of the First Municipal District, Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. The assignment is effective until further notice.
People reporting for jury service at the Rolling Meadows courthouse in the Circuit Court of Cook County will now have Wi-Fi access while they wait to find out if they will be considered to serve as jurors for a trial, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.
Prospective jurors already have Wi-Fi access in the Richard J. Daley Center, the Leighton Criminal Court Building and the courthouse in Markham.
The Circuit Court is working with the Cook County Bureau of Technology to bring Wi-Fi to the jury assembly rooms at the Skokie, Maywood and Bridgeview courthouses.
Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced the court will celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, with a tour of the Richard J. Daley Center Courthouse, 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, beginning at 10 a.m.
For the first time, the Circuit Court of Cook County will create a Restorative Justice Community Court that empowers victims and residents to play an active role in the rehabilitation of adult offenders who commit certain nonviolent crimes, under a pilot program Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.
Visitors to the Leighton Criminal Court Building will once again be able to store their cellphones in lockers starting on Monday.
Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans announced the news today after he requested a meeting and reached an afternoon agreement with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and the Cook County Department of Facilities Management, which reports to the County Board President.
The Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County today announced its selection of the 26 candidates who will seek appointment to 13 associate judge vacancies by vote of the circuit judges.
“The Nominating Committee worked diligently to ensure that any one of these 26 individuals will be an asset to the bench if ultimately elected by the circuit judges,” Chief Judge Evans said, adding that the process also examined applicants’ bar ratings, career achievements, and whether they could be fair and impartial adjudicators.
The Circuit Court of Cook County is alerting the public that effective April 2, 2016, the Cook County Department of Facilities Management will no longer provide storage lockers for the public to store banned items at courthouses. This includes the Leighton Criminal Court Building, at 26th Street and California Avenue, where smartphones have been banned for the past 3 years.
The Nominating Committee of the Cook County Circuit Court decided today to postpone the Associate Judge selection process until after the March 15 primary election.
The Nominating Committee took this action to avoid the potential appearance of impropriety because several applicants for Associate Judge are also running for Circuit Judge in the March primary.
While Circuit Judges are elected by the public, Associate Judges are appointed by the Circuit Judges.
Jonathan T. Swain will join the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, under an appointment approved today by a majority of Circuit Judges of Cook County.
Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans submitted Swain as the nominee to the judges for the position after interviewing seven qualified applicants.
Seven applicants have qualified as candidates for the soon-to-be open seat on the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.
The qualified candidates are (in alphabetical order):
Statement by Chief Cook County Judge Timothy C. Evans in support of the Men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated Chicago Chapter’s “Alpha Men Meet and Take Back 79th Street” Anti-Violence Rally on November 21, 2015
“I am pleased to support the members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated for sponsoring the Peace March and Anti-Violence Rally to be held in Chicago on November 21, 2015, at 1 p.m. on 79th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.
Court to follow same transparent process for another vacancy
William J. Kresse will join the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, under an appointment approved today by a majority of Circuit Judges of Cook County.
Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans submitted Kresse as the nominee to the judges for the Republican position after interviewing eight qualified applicants.
A one-of-a-kind adoption proceeding will take place in a Cook County courtroom on Friday as a brother and sister become cousins when they are separately adopted by two adult sisters.
The 5-year-old boy and 8-year-old girl are two of the seven children whose adoptions will be finalized at 10 a.m. on Friday in Courtroom 1707 of the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St.
Parents and children will be available for interviews after the adoptions are finalized.
Eight Chicago residents have qualified as candidates for the open Republican seat on the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.
Under a state statute, the composition of the three-member board is to include one member from the state’s two leading political parties. Currently, the board must have one Democrat, one Republican and one member from any political party. The current opening is the Republican seat. The qualified candidates are (in alphabetical order):
In honor of Arab-American Heritage Month, the Circuit Court of Cook County will host tours of the Richard J. Daley Center on Wednesday, November 18, 2015, beginning at 10 a.m. Co-sponsoring the tour is the Arab-American Bar Association of Illinois, Inc.
