The Illinois Supreme Court will be taking to the road next week, hearing two oral arguments in the historic courthouse in Ottawa.

It is part of the Court's and Chief Justice Rita B. Garman's initiative "to bring the Court to the people we serve" and its continuing goal for transparency in the judicial process.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments beginning at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 in the Third District Appellate Courthouse, 1004 Columbus Street, Ottawa, Ill. The Appellate Court building was originally built, and completed in 1860, to house the Illinois Supreme Court when it traveled to three locations—Ottawa, Mount Vernon and Springfield.

The May 21 program reaches out to area teachers, schools and students. In addition to the Supreme Court, the program is sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association, the Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts and the Third District Appellate Court.

Teachers and students from LaSalle-Peru High School, Ottawa High School and Marquette Academy in Ottawa will be participating in the program either by attending the arguments live, or witnessing them live-streamed on the Internet via https://new.livestream.com/blueroomstream/events/2939315.

The Administrative Office also will record and post the video of the arguments to the Court’s website at http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/.
The public is invited, though seating will be limited in the courtroom and in an adjoining room where the arguments can be viewed and heard on a monitor. Those wishing to attend are asked to arrive by 10:30 a.m.

The Supreme Court has been holding oral arguments in Chicago while its regular home in Springfield, opened in 1908, is undergoing a structural and infrastructure rehab under the authority of the Illinois State Capital Development Board.

"We have had such positive feedback regarding the time we have spent in Chicago that the entire Court wanted to share this important legal ritual with other areas of the state," said Chief Justice Garman. "Bringing the work of the Court to the people we serve is one way to increase transparency and to demonstrate the judicial process in action."

The Court will be hearing oral arguments in the cases of People v. Smith and Keating v. City of Chicago. People v. Smith deals with a firearms enhancement sentencing law. Keating v. City of Chicago is a constitutional challenge to Chicago's red light traffic camera program. Legal briefs for the cases also are posted on the Court's web site at http://illinoiscourts.gov/Media/Video/Events/2014/Ottawa_052114.asp.

The event will mark what is believed to be only the second time that the Supreme Court has heard oral arguments outside of Springfield or Chicago since 1897 when the Court was consolidated in Springfield. Before 1897, the Court met in Three Grand Divisions in Mount Vernon, Ottawa and Springfield. In September 2008, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the historic Mount Vernon courthouse as part of events honoring Illinois' most venerable lawyer, Abraham Lincoln.

The Mount Vernon courthouse is now home to the Appellate Court for the Fifth Judicial District; and the Ottawa courthouse is home to the Appellate Court for the Third Judicial District.