Cook County to open special court facility in case of mass arrests during DNC in Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Cook County Circuit Court system announced Wednesday that it will be opening an additional temporary court facility in case of mass arrests during the Democratic National Convention this month.
At the request of the city and the Chicago Police Department, the court system has been preparing extensively to deal with possible additional court proceedings related to arrests during the convention.
"We have been meeting for weeks with more than 50 people from county, city, state, and federal agencies to prepare for the possibility of multiple arrests. We want to make sure the police are able to focus on providing security and that the rights of arrested individuals are scrupulously respected," Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans said in a news release. "We thank our fellow government officials and our court staff for their continued cooperation in this important endeavor."
The convention is planned for Aug. 19 through Aug. 23.
In addition to setting up a new temporary court facility, the Circuit Court said several dozen judges have cleared their calendars of all but the most essential proceedings so they can be available to take on DNC-related criminal cases.
The Circuit Court expects most cases will still be handled by judges who already president in the Pretrial and Criminal Divisions at the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse. But if Chicago Police announce a mass arrest incident, the Circuit Court may use its now-shuttered former Branch 29 facility, located in the Area 3 Police Headquarters at 2452 W. Belmont Ave., for hearings for those arrested.
The court facility will be open from 8 a.m. to midnight. A total of 57 judges—in addition to those already assigned to the Criminal and Pretrial Divisions, have already been trained on Pretrial Fairness Act requirements and will hear cases at either the Area 3 courthouse facility or the Leighton Criminal Courthouse if needed, the court system said.
Judges will hear cases at the Area 3 facility between Aug. 11 and Aug. 31, the court system said.
If there are too many arrests even for the Area 3 facility on Belmont Avenue to handle, the overflow will be processed by Chicago Police at alternate facilities—and the cases will be heard at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, the court system said.
The court system also noted that officers from the Chicago Police Department, Cook County Sheriff's Office and Illinois State Police who have been subpoenaed to appear for cases between Aug. 12 and 30 will be excused from doing so until the next date in the case. There are some exceptions, including cases that arise out of incidents relating to the DNC, the court system said.
Those who receive jury summonses between Aug. 12 and Aug. 30 will be on standby status, while special and grand juries will be convened during that period of time at the discretion of the presiding judge of the Criminal Division, the court system said.
Meanwhile, jury trials during that period that would otherwise be held at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse will move to the Third Municipal Courthouse in Rolling Meadows if they cannot be rescheduled.
Most of those who work the courthouses nearest the convention—which will be held at the United Center with events also planned for McCormick Place—will be operating remotely during the convention. These include the George W. Dunne Administration Building at 69 W. Washington St., the Daley Center at 50 W. Washington St. where civil and traffic cases are heard, the Juvenile Center at 2245 W. Ogden Ave., and the Domestic Violence Courthouse at 555 W. Harrison St. Children's rooms in these buildings will be closed.
Large protests are planned for the DNC—which is in Chicago this year for the first time since 1996. A coalition of over 100 groups are planning to protest the War in Gaza.
First Amendment advocates have said they're concerned about the city's plans for handling protests. Activists specifically cited a Chicago Police policy calling for mass arrests of protesters—which is at the center of a federal court filing in which several activist groups said it "eviscerates protections required by the First Amendment."
Published reports indicate that two people were arrested during a protest around the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee during this month—and the protests remained peaceful. Other arrests were also reported during the convention—including that of a 21-year-old man accused of carrying a concealed weapon near an RNC checkpoint, according to CBS 58 in Milwaukee.
The Democratic National Convention was held virtually in 2020 amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2016, several people were arrested during protests outside the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia—including four who climbed a fence, and seven more who breached a fence into a restricted area the following night. Many of those arrested at the 2016 convention were supporters of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign for president who believed he had been mistreated by Democratic Party leaders.
