DuPage officials consider moving Downers Grove traffic court to Woodridge

DuPage officials are considering a proposal to move one of the county's field courts from Downers Grove to a new police station planned for Woodridge.

The county in recent years has made security upgrades and added more sheriff's deputies to the Downers Grove traffic court, but the location in American Legion Post 80 on Saratoga Avenue still is considered a temporary spot.

"It wasn't designed for a courtroom," said county board member Jim Healy, chairman of the board's public works committee. "The judges don't like it."

So the Naperville Republican said officials have spent the past several years reviewing other options, including the possibility of moving the traffic court to another location in southeast DuPage.

Now the county has an opportunity to move the traffic court to Woodridge because the village is planning to build a new police station on Janes Avenue, north of 75th Street.

Woodridge and the county are talking about the possibility of adding a roughly 3,300-square-foot multipurpose space to the project. If built, the added space would serve as a field court location and be a community room when court isn't in session.

Healy said the spot would be secure and have enough parking for the 75 to 125 people who visit the Downers Grove site during each court call. Another benefit is that the station will be less than a mile from I-355 and 75th Street.

DuPage would need to contribute $1.3 million to pay for the construction of the multipurpose space. It also would need to sign a 20-year lease and pay the village an annual maintenance fee.

County board member Jim Zay said he's concerned because DuPage would need to dip into its cash reserves to raise the $1.3 million.

"I don't think it's an option," the Carol Stream Republican said.

He said the board should consider the possibility of closing the Downers Grove field court and moving it to the main courthouse in Wheaton.

"If our main concern is security, there's no more secure facility than our courthouse," Zay said.

When the county last talked about doing that four years ago, police chiefs from southeast DuPage lobbied against it. The chiefs argued that moving the Downers Grove field court to Wheaton would require their officers to spend more time traveling.

"We could easily bring it to the courthouse here," Healy said. "But having a field court is a convenience for those municipalities."

If municipalities in southeast DuPage want a field court in their area, Zay said, they should help pay for it.

"We haven't looked at all the options," Zay said. "Just don't come to me and say, 'I want $1.3 million and I'm going to sign a 20-year lease.'"

After the county board's judicial and public safety committee talked about the Woodridge proposal on Tuesday, members decided to postpone a decision for two weeks so they could get answers to several related questions.