October 2022 • Volume 110 • Number 10 • Page 12
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LawPulse
Upgrades Galore
County courthouses spend millions on technology upgrades thanks to Illinois Supreme Court technology grants.
During the past few years, the Illinois court system has benefited from federal and state grants allowing state and local courts to make technology improvements, adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, and provide access-to-justice resources to self-represented litigants.
The need for technology upgrades in particular was a recurring theme during the Illinois State Bar Association’s 2020-2021 Listening Tour, held virtually throughout the state and featuring Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne Burke. Partially as a result of the Listening Tour, the Illinois Supreme Court launched its Technology Modernization Funding Program. The program, which closed this summer and was administered by the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts (AOIC), has provided nearly $13.5 million to courts throughout Illinois for county courthouse technology upgrades.
Given the ISBA’s lead role in sponsoring the Listening Tour, the Illinois Bar Journal asked the Illinois Supreme Court and the AOIC for an update on how the Technology Modernization funds have been spent.
What follows is a sampling of how Illinois courts have used their Technology Modernization funds. Amounts cited reflect total allocated funds, not the amounts counties ended up spending. Information for all counties receiving the Technology Modernization funds was not available prior to the printing of this issue. Some information has been supplemented with details reported by the media.
Gallatin County, $57,842.90. Gallatin County is investing in a new projector, computers, and monitors intended for presenting evidence during trial. To support the new technology, the courthouse will install new wiring, audio equipment, and a server. It also will upgrade its software and computers.
Hardin County, $119,414.35. To support faster internet service, the Hardin County courthouse will use Technology Modernization Funding for new wiring and cables. It also plans to purchase computers, including a computer station for self-represented litigants. The circuit clerk’s office will also receive a new server, software updates, computers, and a printer.
Kendall County, $237,538.04. Kendall County intends to use its Technology Modernization Funding for a “digital kiosk,” which will provide a more efficient and convenient way for parties to “check in” for traffic court. Funds also will be used to equip courtrooms for remote appearances and hearings.
Marion County, $82,547.22. Marion County is modernizing its courthouse with technology for remote hearings, computers and monitors for judges when they are on the bench, and computers for judges’ chambers. Other upgrades are to include new copiers, including one for the public; laptops for courtrooms, the sheriff’s department, and state’s attorney’s office; courtroom printers; and Microsoft Surface tablets for the circuit clerk’s office, probation office, and jury room. The funds also will help pay for increased security in the form of “Google Doorbells” for the probation office.
Piatt County, $93,550.65. Piatt County used its Courtroom Technology Modernization funds for “a rolling docket cart," which will display case information for each daily docket. Piatt will provide self-represented litigations with a self-help computer station. The county also will be investing in better sound, video recording, and videoconferencing systems for its courtrooms; plus, video arraignment equipment.
Richland County, $189,112.77. Richland County is using its Technology Modernization Funding for new computers, a courtroom projector for trials, scanners, and a storage system for case files.
St. Clair County, $698,684.85. St. Clair County has plans to build six “self-help” stations in its law library, upgrade computers, and purchase a new copier and scanner. The technology is to assist litigants who need help creating documents, researching their cases, and attending remote hearings.
Vermilion County, $307,051.43. Vermilion County is receiving one of the largest Technology Modernization Funding program’s allocations, which will be spent on a sound system; internet service; and network-enabled computers and monitors for counsel tables, the witness chair, and the jury box for presenting evidence.
Vermilion County notes that some of its upgrades are also intended to help the county comply with the Illinois Supreme Court’s policies on minimum courtroom standards and for allowing electronic devices in courthouses.
Wabash County, $64,394.01. The Technology Modernization Funding Program will allow the Wabash County courthouse to upgrade its video and audio capabilities; and purchase a new server, backup software, computers, and monitors. The county also is using a portion of the funds to equip its courtrooms with videoconferencing technology.
Wayne County, $69,033.15. Technology Modernization funds will allow the Wayne County courthouse to upgrade video and audio capabilities for remote hearings and install fiber optic wiring for faster networking service. The courthouse also is investing in a smartphone app through which parties can submit fines and appear remotely.
Tracking Grant Spending
There is no single repository that tracks, by line item, how government and private grants are allocated and spent. Government entities like courthouses may use other funding sources, including court fees and tax revenues, for updating technology.
Courts also benefit from private foundations. For example, in 2021, the Circuit Court of Cook County received $1.45 million in grants from the MacArthur Foundation to reduce incarceration. The Foundation also provided the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts with $500,000 to implement pretrial reform legislation throughout the state. While these grants did not specifically target technology needs, they are examples of nontraditional funding sources sometimes available to courts.
Therefore, due to the challenges of investigating grant spending, the Illinois Bar Journal recognizes it may have overlooked some technology-related grant spending by Illinois courts.
| County | Approved Funding* |
|---|---|
| Cook | $2,310,981.65 |
| Rock Island | $1,115,292.03 |
| Lake | $1,096,863.95 |
| St. Clair | $698,684.85 |
| Kankakee | $602,410.06 |
| Whiteside | $354,013.51 |
| Henry | $340,016.25 |
| DeKalb | $310,339.50 |
| Vermilion | $307,051.43 |
| Sangamon | $289,814.35 |
Pete Sherman is managing editor of the Illinois Bar Journal.
psherman@isba.org