News Room

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.