From the Tribune

Judge tells board to use funds for new courthouse
By Dennis Sullivan | Special to the Tribune
February 15, 2008 If the Will County Board does not use some of the millions generated
by a sales tax increase to build a new courthouse, the chief judge
would be happy to force the board to act in a judicial order, he said
Thursday.
His voice occasionally rising, Chief Judge Stephen White told the
board's Budget Review Committee that the current courthouse, built in
the late 1960s, is so crowded that people trying to enter in the
morning typically must stand outside, even in freezing weather. It
doesn't get much better inside, he said.
"I had 800 people waiting this morning to get into a courtroom, one
single courtroom," White said.
The chief judge became exasperated when some board members pointed
out that the money could be used for county roads or to subsidize a
small property tax rebate.
Recalling that it took a judicial order in the early 1980s to get
DuPage County officials to cover the cost of a new courthouse, White
warned with a smile: "If we're not one of the needs, let me know.
Maybe you want somebody to order you to do it."
White's comments came during a committee discussion about recent
state legislation that increased the sales tax in the collar counties.
The legislation allocates half the tax revenue to Cook County-area
transit and the other half to each collar county for roads and public
safety needs.
County Board Chairman Jim Moustis (R-Frankfort) estimates that the
tax will bring in $20 million to Will County the first year.
County Board members acknowledged that using the money to build a
courthouse would serve public safety needs. But Criminal Justice
Committee Chairwoman Ann Dralle (R-Lemont) said, in a comment prior to
the meeting, that there is little political support for a new
courthouse.
"Most people who use the court system only use it once a year," Dralle said.
Dralle, whose committee deals directly with the 12th Judicial Circuit
Court's needs, said residents would raise other uses for the money.
"It's a different perspective for the public," she said. Before the
meeting, County Board member Cory Singer (R-Frankfort) said most, if
not all, of the new tax revenue should go to infrastructure needs.
Singer estimated road costs would reach $1.5 billion by 2030.