Suburban Cook County courthouses closing on weekends

Starting Jan. 7, all five of Cook County’s suburban courthouses will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

The county is working to consolidate its weekend bond court by requiring that all weekend hearings take place at the criminal courts building at 26th and California in Chicago.

Cook County officials are estimating the change will save $1.9 million in 2012.

The county’s suburban courthouses — located in Skokie, Rolling Meadows, Maywood, Bridgeview and Markham — have continued to hold Saturday bond court despite a low volume of cases at some locations. Markham also holds bond court on Sunday.

“Consolidating weekend bond court at the criminal courthouse will make the criminal justice system more efficient,” wrote Liana Jackson, press secretary for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office, in an email.

To hold hearings on the weekends, she said, each suburban courthouse needs a minimum of one judge, one assistant state’s attorney, one public defender, three clerks and seven sheriff’s deputies to be present. Jackson said that the average number of total weekend hearings across all suburban municipal districts ranges from 87 defendants on Saturday to 37 on Sunday.

“Holding bond court on the weekend is expensive and diverts resources that could be dedicated to other functions within the county. The consolidation will allow public safety resources to be more efficiently utilized,” she said.

Jackson said local police will be responsible for transporting their defendants to bond court at 26th and California.