Kane case system moves forward with online payments, e-filing
People are now able to make online payments as part of the Kane County circuit court clerk's new case management system, and e-filing for lawsuits is coming soon.
Nearly 100 people have paid traffic tickets and other fines online since the feature went live Friday, Clerk Thomas Hartwell said. As of noon Monday, 91 people had paid online, Hartwell said.
"I am really glad that part is up and running because of the convenience for customers," he said. "It's for all cases, particularly those who want (court) supervision."
When county leaders in 2014 signed off on the new, $6 million case management system, online payment was one feature touted as an improvement over the antiquated system that required information to be entered multiples times by different parties. It also necessitated a search by hand if authorities wanted to search for arrests for a specific type of crime over a period of time.
The new system went live in early December 2016.
Coming in the next couple of weeks is the ability for attorneys to electronically file lawsuits that seek more than $50,000 in damages, Hartwell said.
The clerk's website has a button for "Electronic case filing," but Hartwell said his staff is still working out a few issues before the service is available to all attorneys.
"We're getting close. We're having some attorneys send us stuff to practice to see how it's working," Hartwell said. "We've got a lot of things in the works and I'm glad we're getting over some of the hurdles to make them happen."
Hartwell said chancery files, which are primarily foreclosures, will be the next type of litigation opened up for e-filing after lawsuits.