News Room

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced the Annual Circuit Court of Cook County Black History Month Courthouse Tours of the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, will again be held on nine (9) days to accommodate increasing public response. Tours will be offered daily beginning on Monday, February 14, 2005, through Friday, February 18, 2005, and the following week from Tuesday, February 22, 2005, through Friday, February 25, 2005.

Chief Cook County Judge Timothy C. Evans announced the Circuit Court of Cook County has launched an educational pilot program to help teenagers understand the long term ramifications facing them if they commit a crime at the age of 17.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced he has appointed Robert F. Harris as the Cook County Public Guardian effective December 1, 2004. Currently serving as the Chief Deputy Public Guardian, Mr. Harris, a 13-year veteran of the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian, has held every legal and administrative position in the office. He will replace Patrick T. Murphy who was recently elected a circuit judge.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and Fourth Municipal District Presiding Judge Edmund Ponce de Leon today announced that a Drug Treatment Court graduation ceremony will be held on Wednesday, November 3, 2004, at 1:30 p.m. at the District Four court facility, 1500 Maybrook Drive, Maywood, Illinois, in courtroom 103. Judge Ponce de Leon, along with Drug Treatment Court Judge Judy Mitchell-Davis, will award certificates of completion and recovery medallions to eight (8) graduates. A brief reception with family and friends will follow.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and Sixth Municipal District Presiding Judge Ronald C. Riley today announced that a Drug Treatment Court graduation ceremony will be held on Wednesday, October 27, 2004, at 2:00 p.m. at the District Six court facility, 16501 Kedzie Parkway, Markham, Illinois, in the Jury Assembly Room, second level. Judge Riley, along with Drug Treatment Court Judges Honorable Thomas P. Panichi and Honorable Thomas O’Hara, will award certificates of completion and recovery medallions to eight (8) graduates.

Effective Wednesday, October 20, 2004, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans has reassigned Judge Stanley J. Sacks from the Criminal Division to duties other than judicial duties in the Office of the Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division until further notice. Chief Judge Evans ordered the reassignment of Judge Sacks in response to Judge Sacks’s angry outburst and use of profanity in a trial earlier this month.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and Fourth Municipal District Presiding Judge Edmund Ponce de Leon announced the court will convene a day-long symposium on family violence on Tuesday, October 12, 2004, at the Hillside Holiday Inn and Conference Center, 4400 Frontage Road, Hillside, Illinois. Titled "The Many Faces of Domestic Violence," the symposium will feature national and local experts who will speak about domestic violence and its related issues, teen dating violence, child abuse and elder abuse.

More than 250 south suburban high school students gathered at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights for a multi-faceted presentation on the tragic consequences they could face as a result of aggressive driving habits or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The presentation was sponsored by the Circuit Court of Cook County, the South Suburban Bar Association, and Prairie State College.

Results of an investigation conducted by Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans have determined that the court’s Adult Probation Department acted properly in withdrawing probation officers from fieldwork duty at various times within the last month due to safety concerns. However department officials failed in their responsibilities to immediately notify Chief Judge Evans of their decision, and to take immediate action to return the full complement of officers to the street as soon as possible.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced the Puerto Rican Heritage Day Courthouse Tour will take place on Thursday, June 10, 2004, in the Richard J. Daley Center at 50 West Washington Street in Chicago. Co-sponsoring the tour is the Puerto Rican Bar Association.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced that he has expanded participation in the In-Court Lawyer Referral Program in two of the court’s suburban districts to increase the number and diversity of attorneys available to offer defendants immediate representation in court.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced that the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Criminal Division will launch a Mental Health Court pilot program in which a team comprising a judge, prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers and social service agencies oversee mentally ill probationers to ensure compliance with treatment and monitor progress toward improved mental health.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced that pro se litigants in the Chancery Division can receive free assistance with filling out court forms and understanding court procedures through the court’s new Chancery Division Advice Desk opening Wednesday, February 18, 2004, in the Richard J. Daley Center. The new program will also screen litigants to determine if they qualify for the appointment of counsel through the Chicago Bar Association’s Access to Justice Program.

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced the Circuit Court of Cook County Annual Women’s History Month Courthouse Tour of the Richard J. Daley Center at 50 W. Washington Street will take place on Thursday, March 11, 2004. Co-sponsoring the tour is the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today issued an order stating that in light of recent action taken by the Illinois Supreme Court, Associate Judge Adam D. Bourgeois, Jr. is not eligible for the office of associate judge for two (2) months, effective January 20, 2004.

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Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced that to accommodate the large number of people who usually attend, the Annual Circuit Court of Cook County Black History Month Courthouse Tours of the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington Street, will be held again this year on nine (9) days. Tours will be offered daily beginning on Tuesday, February 17, 2004, through Friday, February 20, 2004, and the following entire week from Monday, February 24, 2004, through Friday, February 28, 2004.

Juvenile court programs aimed at reducing the number of young persons held in secure detention are among those receiving national accolades in a report released Wednesday by the Coalition for Juvenile Justice based in Washington, D.C., said Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans said the Fourth Municipal District courthouse will remain closed tomorrow, Wednesday, November 19, 2003, except for the 11 a.m. bond call hearing in Room 113.

Private attorneys, members of the State’s Attorney’s Office, members of the Public Defender’s Office, and necessary court personnel will be allowed into the courthouse for the bond hearing. After the bond call concludes, the facility will be closed for the remainder of the day while repairs are underway.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced that out of concern for the public’s safety, he has temporarily closed the Fourth Municipal District Courthouse located at 1500 Maybrook Drive in Maywood. The roof of the facility had been undergoing repairs and last night’s unusual downpour produced leaks in the roof’s temporary covering. Power to the facility was shut down as well.

Chief Judge Evans said that an assessment of the damage is being performed, and that he will announce when the courthouse will reopen as soon as the information becomes available.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced the Annual Circuit Court of Cook County Arab Heritage Month Courthouse Tour will be held on Friday, November 14, 2003, in the Richard J. Daley Center at 50 West Washington Street in Chicago. Joining the court in sponsoring the tour is the Arab-American Bar Association of Illinois, Inc.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans joined Fifth Municipal District Presiding Judge Anthony S. Montelione and Sixth Municipal District Presiding Judge Ronald C. Riley to announce the hosting of the Fourth Annual Domestic Violence Conference on Wednesday, October 15, 2003, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, 18501 South Harlem Avenue in Tinley Park, Illinois. The free conference is offered to agencies and individuals in south and southwestern suburban Cook County who work with victims of family violence, as well as the public.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced that due to a ComEd transformer problem, the Criminal Courts Building located at 2600 South California Avenue will temporarily close today. He said crews are working on the problem and that he expects power to be back on line later on today.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced the Annual Circuit Court of Cook County Polish Heritage Month Courthouse Tour will be held on Friday, October 24, 2003, in the Richard J. Daley Center at 50 West Washington Street in Chicago. Joining the court in sponsoring the tour are the Advocates Society and the Association of Polish-American Attorneys.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and Second Municipal District Presiding Judge Nancy Sidote Salyers announced that Jeffrey Edelson, Ph.D., a national authority on domestic violence, will present the symposium, Reflections on Emerging Practices with Children Exposed to Domestic Violence, on Tuesday, September 23, 2003, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Oakton Community College Campus, 1600 East Golf Road in Des Plaines. The symposium is offered to those whose work and interests encompass the cultural dynamics of domestic violence.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced the appointment of Judge Shelley Sutker-Dermer as Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Second Municipal District effective October 1, 2003. Currently a Criminal Division supervising judge in the Second Municipal District courthouse in Skokie, Judge Sutker-Dermer will succeed Presiding Judge Nancy Sidote Salyers who has accepted an appointment as a clinical professor with the University of Illinois School of Social Work’s Children and Family Research Center.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced the Annual Circuit Court of Cook County National Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month Courthouse Tours will be held on Friday, October 3, 2003, and Monday, October 6, 2003, in the Richard J. Daley Center at 50 West Washington Street in Chicago. Joining the court in sponsoring the tours are the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and the Puerto Rican Bar Association.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans honored four Chicago public high school students who won individual awards at the 2003 City Wide Mock Trial Competition on June 4, 2003.

The individual award winners, Anisa Figi, a senior at Noble Street Charter High School; Raven Ramclam, a senior at Lane Tech High School; Montriece Wade, a junior at Hirsch Metropolitan High School; and Weronika Wisniewski, a senior at Hubbard High School, each received a paid summer internship in the Office of the Chief Judge.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced he has begun a major reorganization of the court’s five suburban municipal districts.

The Cook County Circuit Court has received a $1 million grant from Reclaiming Futures, a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to improve drug and alcohol treatment for local teenagers in juvenile court.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced the Puerto Rican Heritage Day Courthouse Tour will take place on Thursday, June 19, 2003, in the Richard J. Daley Center at 50 W. Washington Street in Chicago. Co-sponsoring the tour is the Puerto Rican Bar Association.