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More court case fee increases coming to Kane County

Adding to court fees it's already raised or created the last two years, the Kane County Board is preparing to start 2016 with more fee increases.

The Kane County sheriff, law librarian and chief judge all presented requests for fee increases Thursday. If approved, the fees would increase by $7 for all civil case filings and 10 cents for any legal matter requiring a court appearance.

The 10-cents increase would raise the court security fee - instituted last year - to $48. The $47.90 was the number justified by a 2015 fee study to determine the cost of having security personnel in courtrooms. The added 10 cents, according to Sheriff Don Kramer, is needed because most people don't carry 90 cents, and the circuit court clerk's office found it burdensome to make 10 cents change.

"We probably just should have made the original fee $50," Kramer said.

The county increased the fee from $25 late last year.

The second requested fee increase is needed because people aren't filing as many lawsuits. Circuit court clerk fees for civil cases can add as much as $500 once cases are filed. Such filings are down throughout the county.

As a result, one of the services that relies on those fees - the children's waiting room - is strapped for operational cash. The waiting room provides free child care for parents who have courthouse business and have no child care option. Infants through 12-year-olds can use the waiting room. All civil filings come with a $5 fee right to fund the waiting room. Chief Judge Susan Clancy Boles wants to double the fee to $10. There's been no fee increase for the waiting room since 2012.

"The waiting room is a huge public service to those people who have business in the judicial center," Boles said.

Likewise, the law library at the courthouse also receives almost all of its funding from civil filing fees. Each lawsuit sends $19 to the law library. Librarian Halle Cox wants to increase the fee by $2 to the statutory maximum of $21. Cox and Boles indicated public demand for law library services is hitting new highs as state budget woes have severely limited funding for other legal aid resources.

The full county board must vote on the fees before any hikes are put in place.

According to the fee schedule published by the circuit court clerk's office, most fees for civil filings have increased about $24 since 2014. Fees for marriage licenses, death certificates and real estate transfers all increased last year. User fee increases have been the preferred method, over general tax increases, to fund budget shortages in the county the past few years.

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