New associate judge approved for Champaign County
Sep. 28—URBANA — Sixth Circuit Chief Judge Randy Rosenbaum announced Thursday that the Illinois Supreme Court has approved the addition of another associate judge for Champaign County.
While that's good news for the current judges from a workload perspective, it's likely to create havoc for the cash-strapped county since the state of Illinois pays only the salary and benefits of the judge and the court reporters but nothing for the extras a judicial position requires.
"The biggest concern in space. We don't have a courtroom," Rosenbaum said.
The current courthouse addition that opened in 2002 was built with just 11 courtrooms to accommodate the 11 judges on staff, a number that has remained static for more than three decades.
In early August, Rosenbaum made his pitch to the Supreme Court for more help, arguing politely, of course, that the county has grown in population in 20 years as have the number of case filings.
"I gave them statistics based on their own records that McLean, Sangamon and Peoria counties are all smaller, have fewer cases filed and yet they have more judges. We are the 10th largest and they are 11 (Sangamon), 12 (Peoria) and 13 (McLean)," he said. "I think that's what persuaded them."
Rosenbaum has historical perspective, having been around the courthouse for 25 years. He served as the county's public defender from November 1998 to October 2016, when he was appointed to a judgeship. He was elected a circuit judge in 2018 and became the circuit's chief judge in January 2021.
"I've always thought we were overworked here," said Rosenbaum, who handles half the adult felony caseload in addition to his administrative duties for the six counties in the Sixth Circuit.
"It wasn't until I got to know other chief judges and could gather information about their counties that it made me think we need to do something," he said.
Rosenbaum said he had been working for a couple of years with the late Sen. Scott Bennett about drafting legislation to create more posts, but when politics kept that from coming to fruition, Rosenbaum said he found "a little known provision in the law that allows the Supreme Court to allocate a judgeship to a county."
On Aug. 1, he sent his request to Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and Justice David Overstreet, who represents Champaign County.
"They were very impressed with the need and I was very impressed with the speed," said Rosenbaum of the approval.
The approval has created a boatload of questions that still need answers, foremost being, how quickly can the position be filled? Associate judges are selected by the elected circuit judges.
But the most time-sensitive issue, Rosenbaum noted, is getting the new judge's staff a spot on a budget line item as county board members work their way through the mountain of requests from other county department heads.
"A temporary fix is to have two judges share a courtroom, but the long-term fix is to create a new courtroom," said Rosenbaum.
At a minimum, a judge requires a court clerk to handle case scheduling and make docket entries of what happens in cases.
Depending on the kinds of cases the judge would hear, he or she could need a dedicated court reporter to create the record.
And when court is in session, a court security officer employed by the sheriff's office needs to be present.
Champaign County Director of Administration Michelle Jett said expenses associated with a new judge weren't planned for the 2024 budget and will likely be discussed tonight in a county board budget session.
Rosenbaum shared the news Thursday morning with the court administrator, the director of court services, the state's attorney, the public defender, the circuit clerk and the sheriff.
"Ideally, I would like to fill the spot by early spring, even if the physical location has not been completed; we can take temporary steps to address that. This is wonderful news for the County and I look forward to working with many of you on these issues," Rosenbaum wrote.
