Buffalo Grove inches closer to court diversion program

Buffalo Grove trustees this week further laid the foundation for the village to roll out its administrative adjudication program by their January target date.

The program will take certain vehicle or code violations out of the court system and divert them to the village campus, where a hearing officer will address the cases.

"The original purpose and intent of this program is to allow some level of convenience and less expense for our residents, who would not have to necessarily appear in court in either Cook or Lake county, depending on the type of violation and where it occurred," Village Manager Dane Bragg said.

The change also means less time for the village staff and police attending court hearings, while also allowing the village to capture more revenue from fines.

The village board Monday passed three ordinances, including one expanding the scope of its existing administrative hearing system to allow adjudication for building code, property maintenance code, residential code and vehicle code violations.

The second ordinance allows for the appointment of a traffic compliance administrator and a hearing officer. It also authorizes the traffic compliance administrator to supervise a program that allows vehicles to be immobilized, whether by towing or booting, for violations.

The third ordinance adds immobilization to the municipal code.

"We do not have a boot, but should we wish to get a boot in the future, this ordinance is in place and allows us to do that legally," Police Chief Steven Casstevens.

The village board also awarded a contract of up to $39,000 to the IT Stability Group for the software to implement the adjudication program.