Kane courtroom aims to plead

Spend a lot of time at the courthouse, and there's good chance you'll develop the opinion that nothing here ever happens quickly.

But that seems to be less and less the case in Kane County lately when it comes to property crimes that rise to the level of felony.

Officials say more than 750 felony cases have been resolved in the last seven months in a single courtroom, the result of a new "arraignment court" where attorneys try to resolve cases that likely will end in a plea deal or diversion, such as drug court, without sending them to a trial judge.

The new court in St. Charles, under veteran Circuit Judge James C. Hallock, was up and running Feb. 1 and officials so far seem pleased.

"It did accomplish what we wanted, which was to have kind of a buffer with felony court for cases that were resolvable," Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti said. "We move these cases very quickly. You don't sacrifice justice for speed. But you have to spend time on what it needs to be spent on."

Before, a person charged with a felony typically would appear before one judge to have bond set, then go to a different judge to begin working toward a trial or plea. (A judge transfer itself can add a month or more to the life of a case.)

Now, cases that prosecutors believe can be easily resolved without going to trial, remain with the first judge (in this case, Hallock) to see if they can be kept off the already hectic trial court schedule.

Barsanti said cases considered suitable for arraignment court typically involve crimes against properties and not people. Prosecutors also take into consideration the defendant's criminal background.

"We make the best offer we can, and if they don't take that, the offer is gone," Barsanti said. "They can't get that relatively sweet deal."

Keith Brown, chief judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit, said the system has "had a very noticeable effect on the entire criminal division" by allowing trial judges more time to focus on more serious and complex matters.

"They're still busy," Brown said. "It's just a different kind of busy."

The numbers: According to Brown, felony court filings are up 17 percent so far this year, but he declined to speculate as to the reason.

Barsanti said he expects to see 4,000 felony cases by the end of the year. From Feb. 1 to Aug. 31, there were 1,998 dispositions, with 774 happening in arraignment court.

The average caseload for a single felony trial judge in Kane County is 250 to 350 at any given time, Barsanti said.

Ryckman case: One example of a case moving quickly in arraignment court involved a 39-year-old Sugar Grove woman who was charged and convicted of counterfeiting in less than a month.

Shirley A. Ryckman, who was accused of making phony $20 bills on her home computer, took a plea deal and was sentenced to 62 days in jail, probation and community service at the end of August, less than four weeks after her arrest.