Lake County spending $3.8 million for new computerized court case management system
Lake County is spending $3.8 million for a new computer court case management system to be implemented during the next three years, officials announced this week.
Journal Technologies was selected as the vendor for the county's new Integrated Case Management System that will incorporate computer operations for the Lake County circuit clerk's office, the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in Lake County, and the Lake County state's attorney's and public defender's offices.
The cost includes the three-year implementation process and the first year of maintenance for all four departments, officials said. The new system will be fully online in May 2022, officials said.
Once online, the new system will cost approximately $733,000 annually to operate, which is expected to reduce the maintenance cost of the court case management system by approximately 50 percent annually, officials said.
"The new ICMS will not only increase accessibility and efficiencies of our services, but will ultimately save taxpayer dollars," Circuit Clerk Erin Cartwright Weinstein said in a news release Wednesday.
The new program will replace the outdated court management system installed in the circuit clerks office in 1997.
It will allow departments to design the case management system to meet each of their individual needs, officials said.
The information also will be more accessible to the public, and individuals will be able to obtain data and documents from their homes and offices. This means users will no longer have to travel to the courthouse for basic services.
The Lake County Board voted April 9 to hire Journal Technologies as the vendor for the new system. Lake County and Journal Technologies completed negotiations and entered into a contract May 15.
MTG Management Consultants also hired to assist in ensuring the contract terms are being met and continued collaboration exists between the departments throughout implementation.