New Juvenile Justice Center courtroom to open July 11

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – A new courtroom to serve abuse and neglect cases will open July 11 in the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center building, 16th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Clint Hull announced in a news release.

The new courtroom is a result of the effort “to offer a more effective and efficient way to hear juvenile abuse/neglect cases,” Hull said in the release.

Judges hear abuse/neglect cases in the Kane County Courthouse on Third Street in Geneva, while juvenile delinquency cases are conducted at the Juvenile Justice Center in St. Charles Township.

“It is common for juvenile litigants to have cases in both abuse/neglect and delinquency courtrooms,” Hull said in the release. “Having them in different locations caused a hardship for judges, justice partners, staff and families to be split between the two buildings, therefore, unable to assist one another.”

When juvenile abuse and neglect cases began to spike in Kane County, nearly tripling since 2018, Hull said he, along with the 16th Circuit juvenile judges, needed to do something to better serve the children’s and their families’ needs in the juvenile justice system.

The judges met with justice system partners to discuss what could be done – systemwide – to address the issue. The solution was to recommend building a second courtroom in the Juvenile Justice Center.

Hull asked the Kane County Board in 2021 to appropriate unused funds and savings to build a second juvenile courtroom. The original design plans of the Juvenile Justice Center called for the construction of a second courtroom without needing to add space to the building, according to the release. The Kane County Board agreed to locate Juvenile Delinquency and Abuse/Neglect courtrooms together in the same building.

Kathryn Karayannis, presiding judge of the Juvenile Division, praised the new addition.

“The new courtroom and updated court facilities are designed to meet the needs of all families involved in juvenile court under one roof,” Karayannis said in the release. “Thank you to Chief Judge Hull and the Kane County Board for identifying the need and persevering to find and provide the support needed to make this project a reality.”

Juvenile Delinquency Judge Sandra Parga mirrored Karayannis’ sentiment, saying, “We are very excited to have a building dedicated to the needs and services that focus on the well-being of all of our kids in Kane County.”

“We are very excited to have both juvenile delinquency and abuse/neglect cases in the same building,” Parga said. “It will allow us to serve everyone better by having everyone together. I want to thank the Kane County Board, State’s Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office for supporting this project.”