New Lake County circuit judge getting trained in all areas
Lake County's newest circuit judge took his oath of office Monday and is now in a rigorous training program for the bench.
Chief Circuit Judge James Booras said Jay Ukena will serve apprenticeships in all divisions of the courthouse before settling in at the Park City branch court by midmonth.
Ukena's stop in the traffic courts will be only temporary, Booras said, because he will eventually be assigned to one of the family law courtrooms at the main courthouse in Waukegan.
That will happen only after Ukena completes a weeklong training course for new judges required by the state Supreme Court. It will be held in Chicago sometime in January.
The man Ukena defeated in the November election, Judge George Bridges, has been reappointed to one of the associate judge positions open in the county and will remain in his felony courtroom, Booras said.
Attorney wanted:
Attorneys willing to serve as a special public defender in Lake County have until Dec. 12 to get their applications in.
Special public defenders are assigned to represent indigent clients in those cases where the public defender's office has a conflict.
The position open currently is for representing juveniles in court proceedings, although there may be occasional appointments in other types of cases.
The attorney selected will be paid $30,000 per year and will be expected to provide his or her own office and staff.
Applications should be mailed or hand delivered to the office of Robert Zastany, executive director of the 19th Judicial Circuit.
Volunteer honored:
Jacquelyn Kopp of Lake Forest has been honored for her work with the Lake County Court Special Advocates.
The group, which fields volunteer fact-finders for juvenile court judges, presented Kopp with the Terri Zenner award for outstanding service to the community.
The award was presented at the recent CASA annual fundraising dinner at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort.
Kopp has been an officer and board member since 2001 and has helped raise more than $500,000 to support the organization.