McHenry County putting court information online

Checking for your next court date on a traffic citation, whether you still owe fines on an old ticket or just satisfying a curiosity about what's happening in McHenry County's justice system no longer will require a trip to the county courthouse in Woodstock.

The McHenry County Circuit Clerk's office is now making basic court information available on its Web site, mchenrycircuitclerk.org.

Searchable information includes charges and sentences, past court events, upcoming court dates, parties to a case, summons information, and balances due on fines and court costs.

"Public access has long been a major goal for the circuit clerk's office and we are thrilled to now be able to provide this service," Circuit Clerk Kathy Keefe said.

Besides making the information available for online viewing, the office also now has the ability to provide electronic copies of court documents by e-mail.

Under the system in place, the office will accept requests for documents, research the number of pages sought and inform the requester of the fee for the copies. After payment has been received, the documents are e-mailed in pdf format.

The charge for electronic copies is the same as paper copies: $2 for the first page, 50 cents per page for the next 19 pages, and 25 cents per page for additional pages. Payment can be made online.

The office cannot at this time provide certified copies, but hopes to add that feature within the next few months.

"We believe these new services will improve our level of customer service by eliminating unnecessary trips to the courthouse and allowing for a much quicker return of documents, rather than waiting for copies to arrive by mail," Keefe said.