North Side Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley is taking up the cause of a new facility for the county’s domestic violence court, saying the old one has outlived its usefulness.
The commissioner, whose district comprises seven North Side aldermanic wards, spoke at a remembrance vigil Oct. 23 for victims of domestic violence, sponsored by the State’s Attorney’s Office and held at the current courthouse at 1340 S. Michigan Ave.
As early as 1998, the county’s Committee on the Courts issued a report urging that a new facility be obtained. At the vigil, Quigley questioned why, over three years later, the county has made no progress toward that goal—not even since this April when board members shot down the proposal of a West Side courthouse.
“The county has a duty to provide a facility for domestic violence victims that is safe and efficient,” Quigley said. “I promise that this will be my top priority in the upcoming budget.”
The current domestic violence courthouse, in use since 1985, handles about 1,000 cases a week. But its undersized courtrooms can only fit 20 victims and accused abusers at a time; everyone else must wait out in the hall. This number has significantly increased since the building’s initial inception as a courthouse due to a 1997 law that required police departments to arrest and detain accused abusers overnight, Quigley said. As a result, women must sit and wait in the same space with their accused abuser for their case to be called.
“The victims of domestic violence...deserve to take part in the criminal justice system without fear of confrontation with their accused abusers in the hallway,” Quigley said. “That is why I want to see a new courthouse that is easily accessible, safe, and with sufficient space to allow victims and their abusers to be separated until their appearance in court.”
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