News Room

CBS 2 coverage of Adoption Day 2024

Ten children join forever families as Cook County celebrates National Adoption Day - CBS Chicago

ABC 7 coverage of Adoption Day 2024

10 children have adoptions made official in Cook County court at Daley Center in Chicago in honor of National Adoption Day 2024 - ABC7 Chicago

NBC 5 coverage of Adoption Day 2024

Children welcomed into new families on National Adoption Day – NBC Chicago

WGN TV coverage of Adoption Day 2024

10 Chicago kids join forever families in National Adoption Day-eve ceremony | WGN-TV

From the pages of the Cook County Chronicle:

Court-program participants given second chance - Chronicle Media

Ten children will be joined to eight loving families on Friday at a National Adoption Day ceremony hosted at the Daley Center courthouse.

Injustice Watch explores how the order entitles tenants to quickly receive information about whether their landlords are being sued for building code violations.

Cook County Chief Judge issues eviction court reform order | Injustice Watch

In January, Tyshun Rule was behind the wheel of his car, hands trembling, during a traffic stop in which officers found a loaded gun. Rule owned the gun legally but is alleged to have committed a concealed carry violation. An aggravated unlawful use of a weapon conviction likely meant prison time for the 28-year-old.

The Cook County Circuit Court’s Second Municipal District Court in Skokie is hosting a ceremony on November 8 – three days before Veterans Day – for graduates of its Veterans Treatment Court.

The Polish Daily News joined us for Friday's Restorative Justice Community Court graduation ceremony. Read their account here:

https://www.dziennikzwiazkowy.com/artykul/123599,wasza-sprawa-zostaje-o…

When the Avondale Restorative Justice Community Court graduated its record 26 participants earlier today, it did so with the help of dozens of community volunteers who are the heart and soul of these local initiatives.

The Avondale Restorative Justice Community Court on Friday will host the largest graduation ceremony in the court’s four-year history. The 26 graduates will then have their non-violent cases dismissed and their records eventually expunged in recognition of this accomplishment.

The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1, at Resurrection Hall of St. Hyacinth Basilica, 3636 West Wolfram Street in Chicago. Members of the media and public are welcome to attend.

Markham's drug, mental health and veterans' treatment courts hosted a joint graduation ceremony, Tuesday afternoon, to celebrate six graduates who have gotten their lives back on track and are contributing to their communities. Read about it in the Chicago Tribune:

Court program helps inmates 'put their problems behind them' (chicagotribune.com)

This past Saturday, September 28, eight Cook County judges helped citizens get their driver’s licenses returned in a forum at Malcolm X College. More than 90 Cook County residents were able to successfully reinstate their licenses at the event, allowing them to again legally drive. Issues needing resolution often include unpaid fees, and the judges determined who qualified for waivers or other relief. Cook County officials have held a total of 11 of these forums, starting in July 2019. The eight judges helping on Saturday were Traffic Division Presiding Judge Diann K.

The Circuit Court of Cook County will host a job fair on Wednesday, October 9 for individuals interested in a role at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

Applicants can kickstart their careers with on-the-spot pre-screens for positions in direct care, security, cosmetology/barbering and more. 

Elijah Bell, plagued by what he described as traumatizing abuse as a child, began getting into trouble at a young age. First it was stealing, and then drug use.

Bell, 55, is now sober, lives at a south suburban rehabilitation center and works in a garden. He is one of six graduates from the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Problem-Solving Courts who will be honored during a Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 1) ceremony in Markham.

The Circuit Court of Cook County’s Domestic Violence Division has helped nearly 2,000 people during its after-hours pilot program for filing petitions for emergency orders of protection, now entering its third year.

Between September 6, 2022 and August 18, 2024, judges working between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on weekdays and between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on weekends have conducted hearings regarding 1,925 petitions for civil emergency orders of protection. Of these, 1,477 have been granted. 

The Executive Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County has considered the circumstances under which the Hon. Peggy Chiampas, an associate judge in the Criminal Division, entered an order restricting a person’s presence in the courthouse for possessing a cellphone in a courtroom. 

The court facility at 2452 West Belmont Ave., which was re-opened this week to hear multiple-arrest cases during the Democratic National Convention (DNC), will close this afternoon. The decision was made following a successful and predominantly peaceful convention week.

Cook County Chronicle wrote a story on Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and Traffic Division Presiding Judge Diann Marsalek participating in the annual backpack donation drive to ensure residents of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center have the supplies they need to start a new school year.

Judges give backpacks to Detention Center residents - Chronicle Media (chronicleillinois.com)

Residents of the Cook County Circuit Court’s Juvenile Temporary Detention Center will get a fresh start to the upcoming school year, having received a new backpack filled with all of the supplies needed for successful year.

The Cook County Chronicle, today, features the Aug. 5 graduation of seven participants of the Bridgeview Problem-Solving Courts. The seven graduates completed programming from drug, mental health and veterans’ treatment courts.  

Problem-Solving Court helps individuals find way forward - Chronicle Media (chronicleillinois.com)

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans led off tonight's episode of Chicago Tonight, discussing the preparations the Court and our partners have made to ensure everyone's rights are protected during a safe Democratic National Convention. See it here:

Chicago Tonight | Cook County Courts Prep for Possibility of Mass Arrests at DNC | Season 2024 | WTTW

Domestic Violence Division Presiding Judge Judith Rice has been honored with the prestigious Judith S. Kaye Award for Judicial Excellence. The American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence presents this award to judicial officers who show exemplary leadership developing courtroom responses to domestic and sexual violence issues.

The Cook County Circuit Court’s Fifth Municipal District in Bridgeview is hosting a joint Problem-Solving Court ceremony on Monday, August 5 for seven graduates from the drug, mental health and veterans treatment courts.

At the request of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the City of Chicago, the Circuit Court of Cook County has made extensive preparations to handle an increased number of court proceedings in the event of multiple arrests during the period surrounding the Democratic National Convention (DNC), which is being held in Chicago August 19-22, said Chief Judge Timothy C.

CBS 2 Chicago covered the grand opening of the new Restorative Justice Community Court in Sauk Village.

Restorative justice court program expands to Chicago's south suburbs - CBS Chicago (cbsnews.com)

Cook County Chief Circuit Judge Timothy Evans pledged Monday to more than double the county's so-called second-chance courts this year, praising their results so far in cutting recidivism by diverting young-offender prosecutions in favor of personal rehabilitation.

The Chicago Tribune covered the opening of the first restorative justice community court in the south suburbs at Sauk Village.

Cook County opens restorative justice court in Sauk Village (chicagotribune.com)

ABC covered the recent opening of Sauk Village's Restorative Justice Community Court, the first restorative justice court in the suburbs.

1st suburban Cook County Restorative Justice Court opens in Sauk Village, following Chicago's lead; more expected - ABC7 Chicago