McHenry County Blog

A press release from the McHenry County Circuit Court:

Twenty Second Judicial Circuit of McHenry County Drug Court Program Set to Begin

WOODSTOCK, IL – After nearly two years of planning, the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit Drug Court Program will begin on Thursday, December 1^st.  Associate Judge Michael W. Feetterer has been selected to preside over the drug court call.

Earlier this year it was announced that the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit Drug Court Program would be receiving funding from the United States Bureau of Justice Assistance FY 11 Adult Drug Court Discretionary: Implementation Grant Program in the amount of $305,717.00 to fund the program for a period of three years.  The grant was awarded by competitive process to jurisdictions which have completed a substantial amount of planning and are ready to implement an evidence-based adult drug court program.

A drug court program is a highly specialized, multifaceted collaborative effort, overseen by the court to divert individuals who commit crime and are addicted to drugs or alcohol, from the traditional criminal justice system.  These individuals will be identified early, screened and upon acceptance placed into an intensely supervised and highly structured program.  The program will target individuals who have a high risk of committing new offenses and a high need for treatment and other services to address the participant’s individual issues.  Participants referred to the program must be involved in the program within 60 days of their first appearance with counsel or they will not be considered.

Drug courts programs are specifically designed to achieve a reduction in recidivism and substance abuse among nonviolent substance abusing offenders and to increase the offender’s likelihood of successful rehabilitation through early, continuous and intense judicially supervised treatment, mandatory random drug testing, community supervision and use of appropriate sanctions and other rehabilitation services.

Referrals for Drug Court are expected to come from probation officers, public defenders, private attorneys and police officers. Defendants being assessed for the program must meet program eligibility criteria including; McHenry County residency, age of 17 years or older at the time of the offense, a current felony  offense and alcohol/drug dependence as well as statutory eligibility outlined in 730 ILCS 166/20. DUI charges will not be accepted into the Drug Court Program. If general eligibility requirements are met, defendants will undergo evaluations to determine their level of criminogenic risk/needs and substance use.

A press release from the Illinois Supreme Court:

Acting Administrative Director Declares Two Illinois Associate Judges Appointed

in the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit

Michael J. Tardy, Acting Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced that the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit judges voted to select

• Joel D. Berg and
• Kevin G. Costello

as associate judges of the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit.

Mr. Berg received his undergraduate degree in 1990 from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, and his Juris Doctor in 1994 from IIT/Chicago-Kent Law School, Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Berg is currently engaged in solo practice in Harvard, Illinois.

Mr. Costello received his undergraduate degree in 1984 from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, and his Juris Doctor in 1987 from Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. Mr. Costello is currently engaged in practice with Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle, in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

McHenry County Courthouse

Sitting through an hour of Judge Thomas Meyer’s court proceedings before the Zane Seipler Special Prosecutor request case has convinced me that the 22nd Circuit Court Judges should hire a management consultant.

Most of the hour was spent re-scheduling cases that were not ready for trial.

This does not seem like a good use of the time of a $171,000 a year public servant hired to made judicial decisions.

I would bet that a management consultant would have these attorneys queuing up in the Circuit Clerk’s Office where a clerk would use a computer program to schedule future hearings to match the judge’s available days with those when both attorneys could make it to his courtroom.

And one does not need a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, which I earned at the University of Michigan, to be able to realize that vast improvements could be made in the work flow at the Courthouse.

Also obvious was that the Courtroom doesn’t qualify as an open forum.

While Judge Meyer could be heard most of the time, hardly any of the male lawyers talked loud enough for spectators to understand their words.

Only two female attorneys, Jennifer Gibson and Sandy Kerrick, projected their voices well enough to be heard.

Whatever microphones in use certainly do not work well enough.

I asked McHenry County Court Administrator Dan Wallis what was going on with regard to the selection of two new Associate Judges.

Here is his reply:

“As far as the 2 new associate judges, I am expecting that announcement to be made perhaps the last week in October.

“There is a new judge seminar scheduled in December that I know Chief Judge Sullivan would like the new judges to be able to attend.”

Because of population grown since the year 2000, McHenry County gets two new associate judges.

The selection process for these $171,000 jobs is in process. Twenty-nine lawyers have applied.

But now the County Board has to find a place to put two new judges.

Space is tight in the courthouse. You know government expands to fill all room available, a variation of Parkinson’s Law, I think.

So, what to do?

It appears that the County Board is about to do something logical, something that is should have done at least a decade ago.

What’s that?

Open branch courthouse in the population center of the county, southeastern McHenry County.

And, while most of Woodstock is in the southeastern McHenry County, the Courthouse is in the northern half of McHenry County. I refer to its inconvenient location as “the Hebron site.”

Crystal Lake City Hall is a potential site for a branch courthouse. One might think cities would be competing for a branch courthouse, hoping those with tickets would stay and do some shopping.

Court is already conducted in Crystal Lake’s City Council Chamber. It’s called Administrative Court and is a way the Home Rule City of Crystal Lake can extract money from people without sharing any with county government.

But that court certainly proves Crystal Lake has an adequate courtroom.

I see no reason that the Algonquin Village Board room wouldn’t work either.

Or the Huntley Village Board room. It was certainly big enough to hold close to 200 folks mainly interested in high tolls to fill their wallets.

So, move traffic court to the cities where the tickets have been written.

When I called the Crystal Lake City Manager’s Office I was told no inquiry has so far been made.

So, if you have an empty room that might work as a courtroom, raise your hand. You might get some rent for a room that otherwise might remain empty.

Oh, yes. Might be good to have plenty of parking.

A press release from the Circuit Court of McHenry County:

Twenty Second Judicial Circuit Implements Online Alternative Sanctions

WOODSTOCK, IL – In an effort to implement meaningful sentencing alternatives for alcohol related offenses and low degree criminal offenders, the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit of McHenry County, in conjunction with the McHenry County Department of Probation and Court Services, has implemented the use of the 3rd Millennium Online Classrooms.

During the last decade, courts have been diverting

• underage drinking,
• petty theft,
• marijuana possession, and
• other misdemeanor cases to diversion programs,

thus allowing the court to deal with more serious offenses.

For many first offenders, this is a “teachable moment.”

The Twenty Second Judicial Circuits wants streamlined, effective intervention solutions for low risk criminal offenders.

Evidenced based research shows that the briefest interventions sometimes produce the greatest effect in reducing future criminal actions.

For example, in one study to reduce alcohol consumption among college students who are heavy drinkers, researchers found that a single hour of advice was about as effective as a 6-week class and discussion group.

All 3rd Millennium online course offerings are

• interactive,
• self-motivating, and
• provide personalized feedback.

Each course includes

• multiple lessons,
• surveys,
• self-assessment,
• professional narration, and
• final exam.

The student navigates through this course one lesson page at a time. The student listens and/or reads a knowledge page and completes an interaction before advancing to the next page. The student must successfully complete a quiz at the end of each lesson to advance to the next lesson. The student cannot simply click through the lesson pages. Each interaction must be answered correctly.

If the student fails the quiz, he or she must complete the entire lesson again before retaking the quiz. The student is warned that there are hidden validation procedures built into the course. Failure to correctly respond to validation questions can result in loss of grades and nullification of course completion, which will be communicated to the appropriate Court Services personnel.

In today’s multi-media culture it is important to reach teens and young adults with programs which are fast-paced, culturally relevant, effective, engaging, convenient and positively impact behavior.

###

“The mission of the 22nd Judicial Circuit of McHenry County is to be the guardian of life, liberty and property to all seeking access to justice, by adhering to practices that ensure equality, fairness and confidence in the judiciary”

Two McHenry County lawyers won’t have to worry about keeping an office open after McHenry County Circuit Judges vote who should be appointed to two new Associate Judgeships resulting from local population growth.

At a salary of over $171,000, it’s not hard to understand why.

The following press release is from Chief Judge Michael J. Sullivan. [When originally posted, page two of the press release was missed. It contained the names of four Assistant State's Attorneys in three counties:

McHenry:

• William P. Stanton
• Demetrios P. Tsilimigras

Winnebago:

• Tiffany E. Davis

Cook:

• Mary E. McClellan.

Their names have been added to the alphabetized list.]

The prospective judges are

• Neil O. Anderson of Spring Grove
• Michael T. Bartlett of Lake in the Hills
• William (Randy) R. Baudin of Prairie Grove
• Joel D. Berg of Harvard
• William J. Bligh of Crystal Lake
• Michael E. Coppedge of Crystal Lake
• Kevin G. Costello of Crystal Lake
• Tiffany E. Davis of Woodstock
• Mark R. Facchini of Crystal Lake
• Robert W. Fetzner of Crystal Lake
• Raymond M. Flavin of Woodstock
• Camille A. Goodwin of Woodstock
• Joseph Gottemoller of Crystal Lake
• Robert L. Gray of Crystal Lake
• Robert H. Jackson of Crystal Lake
• Richard C. Kelly of Crystal Lake
• Cynthia D. Lamb of Crystal Lake
• James K. McBride of Johnsburg
• Mary E. McClellan of Holiday Hills
• David R. Missimer of Woodstock
• George A. Mueller of Crystal Lake
• Howard J. Rigsby of Woodstock
• Cynthia A. Schaupp of Algonquin
• Jennifer Siegler of Crystal Lake
• William P. Stanton of Crystal Lake
• Henry H. Sugden, III, of Woodstock
• Demetrios P. Tsilimigras of Cary
• Norman D. Vinton of Crystal Lake
• Marjorie L Worth of McHenry

There are so, so many attorneys walking the hallways in the McHenry County Courthouse whom I do not know.

It was a lot easier when McHenry County’s population was a third its current size–back in the early 1970′s.

Because of population growth, state statute says McHenry County’s 22nd Circuit Court will get two new associate judges.

The details are in the press release below from Chief Judge Michael J. Sullivan:

The deadline for submittal of applications is September 2nd.

The salary exceeds $170,000 per year, according to the State Comptroller’s Office.

Independent candidate for Judge Sally Wiggins campaigns in Marengo's Settlers Days Parade the Sunday before last.

Here is a photo of Sally Wiggins in her trademark heels and dress walking the Parade in Marengo.

She is wearing a pink scarf in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Wiggins was passing out roses again and her campaign reports that many people were yelling,

“Sally, we want a Rose,”

indicting that people know who Sally is, they say.

Independent Wiggins is running against Associate Judge Gordon Graham, who was nominated in an uncontested race in the Republican primary election.

The car carrying Sally Wiggins roses has the license plate "GAL X E 3."

Above Wiggins is Loading up with more roses to pass out to the ladies.

The campaign reports,

“Ladies from both sides of the street were yelling Sally’s clamoring for the coveted Sally Roses.

“She is walking in her New Young Gal shoes in the parade. Lets see the good ole boys try that!

:Sally’s team of supports passed out hundreds of flyers to the incredible crowds, while opponent Judge Gordon Graham road in his car.”

Besides handing out roses, Sally Wiggin's supporters handed out pamphlets. The woman behind Wiggins is reading one.

Wiggins greeted ladies along the parade route, passing out roses and flyers.

Reading the literature

“was something we noted at this parade was people were reading the flyer and not just stuffing it into a bag,”

a campaign spokesman said.

“This was a fantastic event.”

In times past the Chicago Tribune endorsed down to the County Board level.

No more.

This year, just those running for countywide office and judicial posts (some of which are now smaller than countywide) are endorsed in the collar counties).

Kathie Schultz

Mark Freund

In McHenry County, “consummate professional” Katherine Schultz is endorse over Democrat Mark Freund for County Clerk.

Schultz “has a thorough knowledge of the ins and outs of how the clerk’s office functions and where to look for savings,” the editorial reads.

But for Sheriff, Democrat Mike Mahon got the nod.

Mike Mahon

Keith Nygren

“Sheriff Keith Nygren fended off a primary challenge form a former assistant who said he was fired for blowing the whistle on racial profiling in the office. Critics argue that Nygren has become too cozy with the Republican establishment.

“Democrat Mike Mahon, a 23-year veteran of the Cook County Sheriff’s office, would bring a new perspective. Mahon is endorsed.”

Gordon Graham

Sally Wiggins

The Tribune endorsed Nygren in the primary election over Zane Seipler.

For Judge, the Tribune endorsed Associate Judge Gordon Graham over Independent Sally Wiggins.

No explanation was offered.  Just the name of the circuit and Graham’s name.