Blue Ribbon Committee Report

Blue Ribbon Committee

� In August of 2012 the Kankakee County Board created the Blue Ribbon Courthouse Commission whose mission was

� To make recommendations to the County Board concerning the renovation of the existing courthouse and/or construction of a new courthouse or addition to the courthouse.

� To recommend how this construction would be funded.

Reports Given at 8 Public Meetings by:

� Kankakee County Judges Michael Kick, Kendall Wenzelman, Thomas Cunnington, Michael Kramer, Kenneth Leshen, Adrienne Albrecht, and Ronald Gerts

� Kankakee County States Attorney Jamie Boyd� Kankakee County Sheriff Timothy Bukowski� Kankakee County Circuit Clerk Sandy Cianci� Kankakee County Board Chairman Michael Bossert� Kankakee County Maintenance Director Brian Gadbois� Kankakee County Finance Director Steve McCarty � Architects Robert Bohlmann and Dennis Kimme� Assistant Attorney General Vickie Simpson � Kankakee City Corporation Counsel Christopher Bohlen � Accountants Curt Dykstra and Carmen Huizenga of the firm Smith, Koelling & Ohm and Robert Vail of Bernardi Securities.

The Commission Considered

� The courthouse’s extensive noncompliance with the American Disability Act

� The Minimum Courtroom Standards in the State of Illinois, as adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court;

� A portion of the 2006 Kimme Plan, which detailed the suitability of existing courthouse space, and proposed a possible design for a courthouse addition to alleviate the need for additional space.

Four Recommendations &

Associated Findings

Recommendation

That the county, in addition to remodeling the existing courthouse, construct an addition to the existing courthouse.

Modernization Needs

� The heating and air condition systems are old and inefficient.

� Inadequate fire safety.

� Inadequate electrical system means no emergency generator during power outages.

Lack of Space

� The courthouse need, as determined in 2006, was 75,000 square feet

� Only 38,000 is currently available as useable space.

� Lack of office space is particularly significant for Circuit Clerk and States Attorney’s Offices.

Lack of Space

• Originally designed for two courtrooms.

� Currently houses 9 courtrooms.

� There is need for 10th courtroom, as there are now 10 judges in the county.

Supreme Court Standards

� Courthouse facilities must comply with the Illinois Supreme Court Minimum Courtroom Standards.

� Apply to courtrooms, jury deliberation rooms, judge’s chambers, court reporter’s offices, Circuit Clerk facilities, Jury Assembly area.

� Courtrooms are required to have separate, private entrance for judge, jurors and court personnel along a restricted access corridor.

� Kankakee County Courthouse does not have restricted access corridors.

Supreme Court Standards

� Persons in custody are to be kept separate from public by means of sallyport, holding cells and use of restricted-access corridors.

� Kankakee County Courthouse does not have restricted access corridors, holding cells or sallyport entrance.

� Require for each courtroom two adjacent rooms, one for attorney/client conferences and one secure room for witnesses.

� No courtroom in Kankakee County Courthouse has an adjacent room for either purpose.

Supreme Court Standards

� Require that jury box require that jury box shall be located so that all jurors can see the front of any witness.

� At least one current jury courtroom is located so that only 10 jurors can see the front of any witness.

� Require that each jury deliberation room shall have separate male and female restrooms.

� Of the four jury deliberation rooms in the courthouse, two have a single restroom, and two have no restroom.

American Disability Act (ADA)

� Title II of the ADA requires that public buildings provide program services to individuals with disabilities.

� The ADA applies to both members of the public and to employees of the County.

� For existing facilities, this means that at least one courtroom must designate at least one courtroom to accommodate disabled litigants, attorneys, jurors, witnesses, spectators and court personnel.

� In addition, the courthouse is required to comply with ADA requirements for the entire courthouse, including restrooms, entrance and clerk’s office.

American Disabilities Act ( ADA)

� On May 2, 2012, the Illinois Attorney General notified the County of 159 violations of the ADA.

� The minimum cost of addressing these violations is estimated to be approximately $600,000, with a grant expected to provide $385,000.

� Non-compliance with the ADA can result in a lawsuit against the County by either employee or member of the public.

� Non-compliance can also result in loss of federal funding to the county.

Alternative Options• Leasing vacantspace in downtown Kankakee

• Converting unused space at Jerome Combs Detention Facility

• Night court

• Short term solutions vs. long term space needs

Alternative – Leased Space

� Commission examined option of leasing space in downtown Kankakee.

� Would require long-term lease.

� No current revenue source.

� Feasible for office space only.

� Any courtroom would increase cost of security and not alleviate office overcrowding.

� Jury courtroom would also result in separation from jury assembly area.

Alternative - Jerome Combs

� Courtroom would be distant from jury assembly area.

� Would cut into potential revenue to county.

� No alleviation of overcrowding in SA or Circuit Clerk’s Offices.

Alternative – Night Court

� Night Court abandoned in Cook County in 2002.

� Increased security cost.

� No alleviation of overcrowding in SA or Circuit Clerk’s Offices.

Alternative Options

� Alternative options are short term in nature.

� Short term solutions likely to be more expensive than well-planned long-term solution.

Security Concerns

� Non-compliance with Supreme Court Standards increases risk of violent incident at courthouse, as well as overall task of providing security to employees and public.

Warning

� If violent incident occurs in courthouse, and is attributable to lack of compliance with Supreme Court Standards, the County risks decertification of the current courthouse for use as a courthouse.

� Champaign County’s Courthouse decertified following a violent incident.

Recommendation

The existing courthouse should continue to function as a part of county government.

Historical Value of the Courthouse

� Third courthouse building to stand at the present site.

� Designed by well-known Chicago architect Zachery Taylor Davis (1872-1946),who also designed Wrigley Field.

Historical Value of the Courthouse

� 11 Monuments and/or statues have been placed on the Courthouse Square.

� National Register of Historic Places and a city/county landmark.

Vital to Kankakee

� Courthouse Square is center of Kankakee’s commercial district.

� Downtown Kankakee revitalization would suffer if the existing courthouse was abandoned.

� Turning the building over to a private entity would be unrealistic because of maintenance costs and utility expenses.

� This would lead to disrepair and deterioration.

� The loss of courthouse would be a major loss to community pride and future development of Kankakee, with negative impact to the entire county.

Preservation

� In the repair, remodeling, and maintenance of the existing courthouse, the county must use materials to ensure that the existing form, features, and dealing of the exterior, as well as the character defining features of the interior are preserved.

Recommendation

That the new addition be constructed adjacent to the south side of the existing courthouse.

In a manner that preserves the historical and architectural character of the existing courthouse

Recommendation

That the county board funds the remodeling of the existing courthouse, interim measures and construction of the new addition, either by generating a revenue stream sufficient for that purpose or by referendum requesting approval of the voters of Kankakee County to finance the Commission recommendation.

Financing

� The county cannot finance the construction of a new addition and possibly not even a short term solution, given existing revenue streams and current expenses.

� Imposing additional fines, fees or costs on users of the courthouse is not a viable option for funding a new addition.

New Revenue Stream Needed

� A new dedicated revenue stream for the County is required to fund the Courthouse space expansion project.

Financing Options

� Based on the information available to this commission, it does not appear that raising the county sales tax is a viable option.

� The only feasible method of funding a new courthouse by issuance of bonds is a taxpayer approved issuance of general obligation bonds. This requires a majority of the voters in Kankakee County to approve an increase in property taxes.

Photos Courtesy of

� http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardcox/3739677474/

� http://www.citynmb.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={E251CA14-4EFD-4B1C-B1B0-8803E09EB2CA}

� http://www.billburmaster.com/rmsandw/illinois/state/il17kan.html

� http://www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/5107254828/sizes/o/in/photostream/

� http://www.topix.com/album/detail/kankakee-il/M16O3S1MAB2TBVMR

� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kankakee_County_Courthouse_Civil_War_Memorial.JPG

� http://www.k3countyteencourt.com/images/court-room.jpg