Water Almost Everywhere, but Fewer Plastics

One of the greatest joys of my time as Chief Judge is the opportunity to pen a short column each month to highlight the happenings in the 19th Circuit and occasionally to inform you all about some momentous change in the law that will forever affect our practice. While this occasionally lends itself to a discussion of some importance on one topic, there are times when there is a lot happening but nothing that would merit an entire column. This is one of those times. Here comes a hodgepodge . . .

As you have undoubtedly heard, the Illinois Supreme Court stayed implementation of the much discussed and debated Safe-T Act statewide—literally at the 11th hour. Although our justice partners and the court were thoroughly prepared to begin court proceedings consistent with the act on January 1, we will now wait anxiously for our marching orders from the Court.

Christmas is always a time for fun and surprises, and this year we had several unpleasant surprises. The unbelievably cold weather caused a sprinkler line to burst in the atrium between the administration tower and the main court building on Christmas morning. Water flowed freely after the pipe burst for at least 30 minutes. This led to a good deal of water damage. In the center court area courtrooms 201 and 101 had the greatest damage. In addition to the courtroom damage, the atrium was affected as well. Everything from the third floor down was damaged or destroyed. Although ServePro was on the scene doing dewatering and dehumidifying, it will take considerable time to restore all of these areas for safe operational use.

As if the damage to the main courthouse weren’t enough, our juvenile courthouse was similarly afflicted. At the same time we were dealing with the Waukegan facility, a sprinkler line burst

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in the Vernon Hills facility. The damage was not nearly as significant but will take time to remediate. A bit of a rough start to the new year will hopefully be followed by great things in the future.

February 25 marks the return of an in-person Mock Trial Competition at the courthouse. For those unfamiliar with mock trials, a brief history is merited. Dating back centuries, these exercises provided an educational opportunity for young and aspiring lawyers. Given either hypothetical or real-life cases, students were given the chance to develop theories and practice their trial skills in a safe, educational environment. At the high school level in Illinois, the competition is governed by the Illinois State Bar Association. There are series of regional competitions culminating in the Mock Trial Invitational held in March in Springfield. We

BY CHIEF JUDGE MARK L. LEVITT

are very fortunate to have Judges Bishop and Rossetti organizing our invitational tournament. If you have never had the opportunity to see a mock trial in person, I encourage you to come check it out.

Finally, a note on courthouse operational changes. If you have been looking for your favorite vending items—or even some of the machines themselves—you undoubtedly noticed that they are gone. For those of you who have been called for jury duty and were looking for the coffee machine, it too is gone. This is all courtesy of the Lake County Board. The Board’s Planning, Building, Zoning, and Environment committee determined that these machines and the products they vend were inconsistent with the county’s policy on “single use plastics.” In case you were wondering, now you know.