News Room

Read the full story here: https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2021/11/10/22772000/veterans-court-rehabilitation-service-members-trauma-judge-michael-hood-quilts-valor-steinberg

Follow the court on X @CookCntyCourt

A new $350,000 grant for the University of Chicago’s Veteran Restorative Justice Project will provide aid to the Veterans Treatment Court in the Leighton Criminal Court Building, which helps veterans who have criminal cases, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced on Thursday.

Starting today, the Hon. David Navarro is the new acting presiding judge of the Pretrial Division, according to Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. 

Judge Navarro, who had previously served as supervising judge of the division, was first appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court in May 2017 and was elected in November 2018. 

“Judge Navarro has shown tremendous dedication and skill in his years in the Pretrial Division, including as a supervising judge, and I am confident that he will succeed in this new leadership role,” said Judge Evans. 

The Skokie Veterans Treatment Court, a problem-solving court in the Circuit Court of Cook County, will have its first in-person graduation ceremony since the start of the coronavirus pandemic on Friday. The ceremony will be held at 2:15 p.m. on October 22 in room 201 of the courthouse, which is located at 5600 Old Orchard Road. The media is welcome to attend the ceremony, which takes place less than three weeks before Veterans Day. 

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced he has entered an order reestablishing the Circuit Court of Cook County Committee on Domestic Violence Court and that he has appointed a veteran Domestic Relations Division judge, Honorable Grace G. Dickler, to serve as the Committee’s Chair.

The Committee, which is in formation, will review practices and procedures governing the hearing of domestic violence matters throughout the court, and review the organization and efficiency of Domestic Violence Division operations at all courthouses where domestic violence matters are heard.

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans will administer the oath of office to 22 new Circuit Court of Cook County associate judges during a virtual ceremony at 11 a.m. on Monday, October 4. The ceremony can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/user/CookCntyCourt.

The county’s 249 circuit judges selected the associate judges from a list of 44 finalists, who were chosen from 225 candidates.

Four Circuit Court of Cook County judges have volunteered to conduct up to 50 weddings for a closed-street celebration on Michigan Avenue at the Wrigley Building on Sunday, September 26. 

The event, called “Marriages on the Mile – Weddings at Wrigley,” is part of The Magnificent Mile Association’s larger “Meet Me on the Mile” program for Sunday, which will include other activities throughout the day. Scheduled wedding ceremonies will take place between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. outdoors beneath the Wrigley Building Bridge at 410 N. Michigan Avenue. 

Note: This is an update to a previous press release

Highly offensive documents, falsely claiming to be orders from various current or retired Circuit Court of Cook County judges, are being circulated by some person or group, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans said on Wednesday. The documents are forgeries, and the Office of the Chief Judge finds the content appalling. The documents appear to be intended as a means of intimidating the recipients and others.

The documents use the names of several sitting and retired judges out of the Skokie Courthouse.

Highly offensive documents, falsely claiming to be orders from various current or retired Circuit Court of Cook County judges, are being circulated by some person or group, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans said on Wednesday. The documents are forgeries, and the Office of the Chief Judge finds the content appalling. The documents appear to be intended as a means of intimidating the recipients and others. 

The Office of the Chief Judge is fully cooperating with law enforcement authorities to discover who is circulating these fraudulent and disturbing documents.

In order to better serve victims of domestic violence, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans has issued an order allowing all proceedings to go forward by videoconference or teleconference, except for contested hearings.