The Circuit Court and Cook County have finalized the scheduled closing of two Chicago branch court locations – 155 W. 51st St. and 2452 W. Belmont Ave. – to take effect after court concludes on January 4, 2019.
The two branch court closings, which were finalized as part of the budget litigation settlement between the county and the court, will help the county avoid $9.2 million in repairs, renovations and maintenance that would be necessary to keep the two buildings safe, operational and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Pursuant to action taken Monday by the Executive Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Circuit Judge William H. Hooks has been referred to anger-management counseling while he performs administrative duties until further notice.
The committee is aware that Judge Hooks is accused of acting in such a manner that created a hostile work environment for another judge. The alleged conduct did not occur inside a courtroom. Judge Hooks expressed contrition to the Executive Committee regarding the matter. The committee referred the matter to the Judicial Inquiry Board.
Pursuant to action taken Wednesday by the Executive Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Circuit Judge Mauricio Araujo and Associate Judge Richard D. Schwind have been reassigned to administrative duties. The assignments are effective until further notice.
The Executive Committee’s decision on the reassignments followed a meeting of the Circuit Court of Cook County Executive Committee convened by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans.
Today marks the one-year anniversary of Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans’ creation of a Pretrial Division and his entering of General Order 18.8A on bail and pretrial release in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
The Circuit Court has processed and validated nine months of administrative data to present the following facts:
Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today appointed Honorable Raul Vega to serve as the Acting Presiding Judge of the court’s Domestic Violence Division. The appointment is effective September 4, 2018.
Judge Vega was elected a circuit judge in 2002. He initially served in the First Municipal District and has served in the Domestic Relations Division since June 2003. He has heard just about every type of domestic relations matter, such as divorces, child-custody disputes and requests for orders of protection.
Please see the statement below from Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans on the settlement agreement in Evans v. County of Cook:
“I am pleased that the court and the county could come together to settle this matter. Overall, the court will receive an additional $11.1 million – a combination of new funding and budget credits.
Pursuant to action taken Wednesday by the Executive Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Associate Judge Joseph Michael Claps has been reassigned to administrative duties. The assignment is effective until further notice.
The Executive Committee’s decision to reassign Judge Claps followed a meeting of the Circuit Court of Cook County Executive Committee convened by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans.
Please see the below statement issued by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans:
“I join the legal community in mourning the passing of our friend and my former law professor, George N. Leighton. He served the public in many ways as a Circuit Judge, an Illinois Appellate Justice and a U.S. District Court Judge.
Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today published the outcomes of bond court throughout the Circuit Court of Cook County since his general order on bail took effect last year. This is the first comprehensive release of performance measures related to bail reform.
The Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County today announced its selection of the 34 candidates who will seek appointment to 17 Associate Judge vacancies by a vote of the Circuit Judges.
"Due to the winter storm warning that predicts 10-14 inches of snowfall in the Chicagoland area between Thursday February 8, 2018, 6 p.m. and Friday, February 9, 2018, 9 p.m., and to ensure that no one is placed in a position of danger in getting to court, the Circuit Court of Cook County will be closed Friday, February 9, 2018.
The Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County decided today to reconvene the Associate Judge selection process in April.
The Nominating Committee took this action to avoid overlap with the March primary in which several applicants for Associate Judge are also running for Circuit Judge, and to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts’ mandatory Education Conferences that judges will attend in February and April.
Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today appointed Dr. Thomas Lyons to serve as the Interim Chief Probation Officer of the Adult Probation Department of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Dr. Lyons,51, succeeds Lavone Haywood, who retired on December 29 after a four-decade career with the department. Under the interim appointment, Dr. Lyons will temporarily vacate his current role as the Director of the Research and Evaluation Unit in the Office of the Chief Judge.
The Circuit Court of Cook County is partnering with Safer Foundation to help probation clients secure long-term employment, reducing the likelihood that they will re-offend and return as defendants to the criminal justice system.
Announced today by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and President Victor Dickson of Safer Foundation, the initiative is funded through a $4.5 million grant that Safer Foundation received from the U.S. Department of Labor to work with 563 adults in Illinois and Iowa.
Chicago Lawyer magazine cites work on criminal justice reform in 2017
Chicago Lawyer magazine has named Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans its Person of the Year for 2017.
“We took several steps forward this year to protect constitutional rights and reduce the jail population because justice required us to do so. I am honored to receive this recognition of the progress we have made in our court system in 2017,” Chief Judge Evans said.
The magazine cited three initiatives that began this year. In the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chief Judge Evans:
Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today that he is accepting applications as part of a nationwide search for the next chief probation officer of the Adult Probation Department.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded a $1.85 million grant today to the Cook County justice system to safely reduce the jail population, divert certain nonviolent offenders from the court system and track efforts to remind defendants about future court dates.
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.
