Lake County Gazette

Lake County Law & Judicial Committee met June 24

Here is the agenda provided by the committee:

1. Call to Order

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Roll Call of Members

4. Addenda to the Agenda

5. Public Comment

6. Chair's Remarks

7. Unfinished Business

8. New Business

CONSENT AGENDA (Items 8.1 - 8.4)

*MINUTES*

8.1 25-0851

Committee action approving the Law and Judicial Committee minutes from June 3, 2025.

*REPORTS*

8.2 25-0879

Report from Erin Cartwright Weinstein, Clerk of the Circuit Court, May 2025.

8.3 25-0845

Report from Jennifer Banek, Coroner, for the month of April 2025.

8.4 25-0874

Report from John D. Idleburg, Sheriff, for the month of May 2025.

*CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER*

8.5 25-0822

Joint resolution authorizing the renewal of the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center’s program funding awarded by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS) through the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2026, including grant funding of $626,682.48.

• The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office has been awarded $626,682.48 in grant funds from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

• The grant term is July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

• The Children’s Advocacy Center and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office will use the funds to provide partial funding for the salary and benefits for the current four Victim Advocates, Program Director, Director of Outreach and Engagement, Executive Assistant, and contractual work for Forensic Interviewers assigned to the grant program.

• If funding for these positions ends, and new funding is not secured, the positions will be eliminated.

8.6 25-0830

Joint resolution authorizing the renewal of the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center’s Violent Crime Victim Assistance (VCVA) grant awarded by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2026, including grant funding of $81,000.

• The Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center has been awarded $81,000 in grant funds from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

• The grant term is July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

• The Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center will use the funds to fund the salary and partial fringe benefits for a Bilingual Victim Advocate/Forensic Interviewer.

• If funding for the positions ends, and new funding is not secured, the position will be eliminated.

*CIRCUIT COURT CLERK*

8.7 25-0885

Ordinance establishing fees for expungement cases to be charged by the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

• In 2020 and again in 2023, Lake County adopted ordinances setting fees for criminal cases, including specific fees for Petitions to Expunge and Seal, as authorized under Chapter 35 of the County Code.

• The Administrative Office of Illinois Courts updated its record-keeping manual effective October 1, 2024, mandating e-Filing for adult expungement and sealing petitions involving criminal cases as a new MX (Miscellaneous Criminal) case, which prompted the need for revised fee structures.

• Under the Criminal Identification Act, the Circuit Court Clerk is authorized to charge administrative fees for processing expungement and sealing petitions, while the Illinois State Police also charges a separate $60 fee for processing these court orders.

• The Clerk must collect and remit the State Police portion of the fee and is also permitted to charge up to $60 per petition and $4 per certified copy, in alignment with state law.

• This ordinance amends the total administrative costs at $152 per petition, regardless of offense count, and standardizes fees for petitions ($60), mailing ($10), certified copies ($4), state police ($60), and admin processing ($10), effective immediately upon adoption. This is a decrease compared to the previous fee structure.

8.8 25-0887

Ordinance establishing fees for copy costs to be charged by the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

• In 2020, the Lake County Board amended Chapter 35 of its Code of Ordinances to establish copy and certification fees charged by the Circuit Court Clerk, including fees for certified judgments, document reproduction, and hard copy printouts from digital records.

• Since then, the Clerk of the Circuit Court implemented upgraded case management technology that enables attorneys and parties of record to access documents electronically at no cost, while improving access efficiency for the general public.

• Due to restrictions under the Illinois Remote Access Policy, the Clerk cannot offer full electronic access to the general public, though the improved system significantly lowers the cost of reproducing documents.

• The Circuit Court Clerk is requesting a revision to the fee structure to reflect the reduced administrative burden and promote access to justice by lowering the cost of certified copies and document reproduction.

• The ordinance reduces the fee for certified judgment copies, following the first copy from $10 to $6; reduces the per-page document reproduction fee to $0.25; and reduces the automated hard copy print output per-page fee from $6 to $0.25, making access to court documents more affordable for the public.

*STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE*

8.9 25-0870

Joint resolution authorizing the renewal of the State’s Attorney Violent Crime Victims Assistance (VCVA) grant program awarded by the Office of the Illinois Attorney General for state fiscal year (SFY) 2026.

• The VCVA grant administered through the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, with a grant period from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, has been renewed. Funding for this grant began in 1990 and has been renewed each year.

• Grant program goals include the promotion of fairness and accountability, the coordination of services for victims and witnesses of domestic violence, and the promotion of policy and procedure for domestic violence cases in order to improve response by law enforcement and court personnel.

• The SFY 2026 grant will fund $140,000 towards salary and fringe benefits for two full-time Domestic Violence Victim Specialists to serve as a liaison to victims of domestic violence in Lake County.

8.10 25-0844

State’s Attorney’s Office Annual Update.

9. County Administrator's Report

10. Executive Session

11. Member Remarks and Requests

12. Adjournment

Next Meeting: July 29, 2025

https://lakecounty.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=1254740&GUID=5135614A-156D-4D2E-B930-3E34B63ED2F8