Courts plan to function in the worst of times

Illinois courts are drawing up a plan that would allow them to continue operating in the aftermath of a disaster.

And the plan most court systems in the state will be following will be in large part drawn by Lake County Court Administrator Robert Zastany.

Chief Judge James Booras said this week that the state Supreme Court directed all judicial circuits to come up with a plan to continue functioning in the event of a crippling blow to the social structure.

Booras, who met this week with court officials of all the collar counties to discuss progress on the plan, said Zastany is creating a guidebook that will be adopted throughout the state.

Booras said courts would be necessary in the wake of a catastrophic event for a number of reasons, such as settling disputes among agencies, mediating resistance to government orders and so forth.

Routine matters such as divorces and traffic tickets would be sent to the back of the pack, Booras said, so that the courts could concentrate on critical issues.

"The idea is to keep people from making arbitrary decisions," Booras said. "Even in a disaster, the courts have to be able to protect people's rights."

Lawyer appointed

A former Mundelein woman whose conviction for trying to kill her ex-husband and his wife was overturned more than two years ago finally has a lawyer.

Sandra Rogers, currently in the Lincoln Correctional Center, was sentenced to 30 years for enticing Jonathan McMeekin to attack the couple in their Lincolnshire home on May 19, 2003.

In 2007, Rogers had her conviction thrown out because she was not properly informed of statements McMeekin, who pleaded guilty for a 20-year sentence, allegedly made in the Lake County jail.

In a letter to Circuit Judge John Phillips, Rogers said she has had four lawyers appointed to represent her thus far but none has been able to stay on the case.

She said the lawyers were opting out of her case because they either worked in the state's attorney's office at the time her case was pending or currently have cases pending before Associate Judges George Strickland or Christopher Stride.

Strickland and Stride were the prosecutors who handled Rogers' case and are likely to be called as witnesses if she goes to trial.

This week, Phillips appointed Waukegan attorney Ralph Strathmann to represent Rogers, after Strathmann assured him he would waive any potential conflicts in the case.

A court date in the case has been set for Aug. 7.