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The Kane County Circuit Court will conduct most business remotely online from Jan. 10 to Feb. 4 following a rise in COVID-19 cases in the county, officials announced Wednesday.
Only jury trials and requests for orders of protection will be handled in person at courtrooms at the courthouse in Geneva or the judicial center in St. Charles.
All other scheduled cases will be heard remotely using Zoom. The links to the individual courtrooms can be found in a “streaming directory” at www.illinois16thjudicialcircuit.org.
Also, all cases at the branch courts in Aurora, St. Charles and Elgin will be held via Zoom. The branch courts will reopen to in-person appearances on Monday, Feb. 7.
Kane County Chief Judge Clint Hull said the decision was made after consulting with judges, county officials, public defenders, the state’s attorney, Court Services, the circuit court clerk and representatives of private attorneys.
Hull said they will continue to monitor the situation daily. Unlike when the pandemic first started, most attorneys and judges are now familiar with using Zoom, Hull said, making it easier to move cases through the system remotely.
“We are doing our best to balance the needs of protecting the public and the court staff while keeping the courthouses open to hearing those cases that must be heard,” Hull said in a statement. “We are focused on those cases that involve individuals who are in custody and those matters required for the protection of individuals and the public.”
The Kane County jail is still trying to contain a COVID-19 outbreak among detainees, so defendants haven’t been brought into court over the last two weeks. Sheriff Ron Hain said before Christmas, around 30 detainees – or about 8% of the jail’s population – tested positive for COVID-19.
As of Wednesday, around 65 detainees and 15 staff members – or about 18% of the jail’s population – had tested positive for COVID-19. All have mild symptoms, Hain said.
Anyone with questions about remote court access can call or visit the Kane County Law Library and Self Help Legal Center by calling 630-406-7126 or going to www.KCLawlibrary.org.
mejones@chicagotribune.com
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