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New Kane County case management system delayed 2 more months

The "go live" date for the Kane County circuit court clerk's new case management system has been delayed until Dec. 5.

Officials had hoped for Tuesday but decided to postpone it amid challenges writing programs to convert information in the old database, Circuit Clerk Thomas Hartwell said.

"I am frustrated," Hartwell said Wednesday. "I want to get the system implemented and start taking advantage of all these efficiencies as soon as possible."

Hartwell had pegged Labor Day weekend to premiere the $6 million system, two years after the county contracted with Texas-based Tyler Technologies to install.

The current system is inaccurate and grossly inefficient, with law enforcement officers and Hartwell's staff having to often input the same information multiple times. Authorities must manually search and even count by hand to do research or evaluate certain types of cases or trends.

The new system will be quicker, more accurate and allow attorneys to file court motions and lawsuits electronically, saving lawyers time driving to and from the circuit clerk's office in St. Charles.

Hartwell said Tyler officials were having difficulties writing programs to convert court fine and penalty amounts to the new system. He also noted Illinois has 4,000 criminal and traffic offenses for which programmers must create tables to convert data.

"Illinois is a little more complicated (compared to some other states)," Hartwell said. "They're moving forward. I just wish it was (last) weekend."

Tyler officials had problems over the summer and suggested pushing the date back a month from Labor Day.

But Hartwell said the county's information technology staff would be wrapped up preparing for the Nov. 8 general election so Dec. 5 became the new date.

Hartwell said his 116 staff members would receive about 12 hours training each in November and more if needed and depending on their role at the office. "That's the beginning. Hands-on learning is always the best," he said. "You don't want to train too early. You want to train just before you go live to have maximum impact."

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