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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Cook County Board Budget Hearing for Office of the Chief Judge - October 28, 2026

Board of Commissioners — Wednesday, October 28, 2026

BodyCook County, Illinois

SessionBoard of Commissioners

DateWednesday, October 28, 2026

StatusNEW · FILED

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Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

0:11

The recess committee, the uh cook on the board will come to order.

0:16

We have the office of the chief judge, the honorable chair of speech.

0:22

Judge.

0:36

All right,

Speaker 2

0:36

thank

Unassigned speaker

0:37

you.

Unassigned speaker

0:38

Well,

Speaker 2

0:39

thank you, Chair Daly.

0:40

Uh, it's a pleasure to be back here with you and your fellow commissioners to provide an overview of the office of the chief judge's fiscal year 2027 budget and how our allocation of resources reflects the values of my administration, which are efficiency, transparency, and fairness.

Unassigned speaker

0:57

I

Speaker 2

0:58

want to thank you for your ongoing support and communication over these last few months, as we've worked diligently and collaboratively to address originally identified budget gaps.

Unassigned speaker

1:08

I

Speaker 2

1:08

feel confident that together we have been able to balance the importance of fiscal stewardship and the need to ensure appropriate resources for the services the court provides to the residents of Cook County.

1:20

I'm grateful for the many leaders in the office of the chief judge that have helped prepare our team for today.

1:25

As we look forward to providing additional information in responding to your questions, I'd like to introduce the OCJ team.

1:33

Behind me, I'm quite pleased to say is our new trial court administrator, Justice Leroy Martin, who is a familiar face to many, and we're thrilled to have him join our team today and in the future.

1:47

Thank you, Justice.

1:51

Also here behind me is Lorena Roque.

1:54

She's the Deputy Trial Court Administrator, who has also served within the OCJ for 16 years, most recently as a senior research analyst.

Unassigned speaker

2:03

Thank you,

Speaker 2

2:04

Lorena for joining us.

2:05

I'll note that Lorena's specialty is data analysis, and as you guys have all heard from the beginning of my time here, data is going to be a big part of our decision making process.

Unassigned speaker

2:16

And

Speaker 2

2:16

so I'm quite pleased to have Lorena with

Unassigned speaker

2:18

us.

Speaker 2

2:18

I also have here Deputy Chief Mary K.

2:21

Marubio, who oversees first appearance court countywide and acts as the presiding judge of the second district, as well as our resident expert on electronic monitoring.

2:30

And also sitting here directly to my left is Michael McCarthy, also known as the big guy, who's been stepping up while CFO Brensky Coleman is

Unassigned speaker

2:39

out.

Speaker 2

2:40

We also have leadership in the gallery, including my chief of staff, Katie Calhoun,

Unassigned speaker

2:45

our

Speaker 2

2:46

legal team, Kate Nolan and Cliff Helm, Mike Carroll, representing the IT and research and evaluation department, Megan Volker from the Adult Probation Department, Renata Steele is the senior division attorney in the domestic violence division.

3:00

We have our entire team of leaders from juvenile services, Director Sarah Hemeter, Superintendent Mac McGee, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Melissa Spooner.

3:11

We also have Terry Mesa, Director of Interpreter Services, Donald Russell, our jury administrator, Dan Hunter, Director of Family Court Services, and finally Charles Golbert from the Office of the Public Guardian.

3:24

Is Charles here?

Unassigned speaker

3:25

There

Speaker 2

3:25

he is.

3:26

Thank you, Charles.

3:26

Glad to see you here.

3:27

Before I continue, I'd like to acknowledge that this will be Charles's last county budget hearing, as they'll be leaving at the end of the calendar year after decades of distinguished service in the Office of the Public Guardian.

3:41

We are incredibly grateful for the commitment Charles has demonstrated over the years, ensuring that our most vulnerable community members are supported.

3:48

Thank you, Charles, for all your work, and everyone, please join me in a round of applause for his service to the county.

3:58

In addition to our department leadership, who many of you are familiar with, we have our Deputy Chief Judges with us, as previously mentioned, Deputy Chief Judge Marubio.

Unassigned speaker

4:08

We

Speaker 2

4:08

also have Deputy Chief Judge Reddick, who oversees criminal proceedings countywide

Unassigned speaker

4:12

and

Speaker 2

4:12

acts as the presiding judge of the criminal division.

Unassigned speaker

4:15

We

Speaker 2

4:15

also have Deputy Chief Judge Barrett, who oversees civil proceedings countywide.

4:20

Additionally, we have presiding judge Ortiz present, who oversees the pretrial division and first appearance court, a very important part of our judiciary.

Unassigned speaker

4:39

When

Speaker 2

4:39

I last visited in July, I spoke to you about the assessment my administration undertook of our court, its operations, its organization, the budgets, the contracts, and its staffing.

Unassigned speaker

4:50

I

Speaker 2

4:50

provide a list of the accomplishments we'd made, including the restructuring of the court.

Unassigned speaker

4:55

Just a few months later, I'm happy to say that we've continued to make important strides with concrete impact.

Speaker 2

5:01

Last week, my office sent an updated list of OCJ accomplishments intended to demonstrate the breadth of work happening across the circuit court.

5:09

Before going into those details, however, I'd like to walk you through our fiscal year 27 budget.

5:16

Organizational budgets document an administration's values and its priorities, and I am confident the court's budget demonstrates our efforts to balance fiscal stewardship and a system-wide commitment to efficiency, safety, and justice.

5:30

Our fiscal year 27 general fund is $386.5 million, that is a 24.5 million increase from fiscal year 26.

5:39

The difference is largely salaries and benefits along with additional FTEs.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Court Reporting██████████████████18%

Criminal Justice████████████████16%

Personnel Matters███████████████15%

Juvenile Justice█████████████13%

Domestic Violence█████████9%

Technology and Innovation████████8%

Interpreter Services█████5%

Budget Equity Analysis████4%

Procedural███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Cook County Board Budget Hearing for Office of the Chief Judge - October 28, 2026

The Office of the Chief Judge presented its fiscal year 2027 budget to the Cook County Board, outlining a $386.5 million general fund request (a $24.5 million increase from FY26) and highlighting progress in staffing, operations, and services across the circuit court. Chief Judge Beach emphasized efficiency, transparency, and fairness, and fielded questions from commissioners on domestic violence courthouse hours, interpreter services, electronic monitoring, juvenile detention, and other initiatives.

Budget Overview

Total FY27 general fund: $386.5 million, a $24.5 million increase from FY26, largely in salaries, benefits, and additional FTEs.
Anticipated revenues: $2,450,000 from the Office of the Public Guardian (up $50,000), $80,680,967 in reimbursements from the AOIC and Office of Statewide Pretrial Services (up $4.5 million), and approximately $18 million in grants (down $1.7 million).

Staffing and Personnel Improvements

Non-judicial staff vacancies reduced by over 57% across the circuit court.
New leadership positions created: Trial Court Administrator (Justice Leroy Martin) and Ombudsperson (Veronica Claudio).
Juvenile services leadership overhauled: Director Sarah Hemeter, JTDC Superintendent Mac McGee, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Melissa Spooner.
Interpreter services: All full-time Spanish interpreter vacancies filled for the first time in years; budget includes new FTEs for two Russian and two Arabic interpreters. Certification requirement relaxed but must be obtained within 18 months of hire.
JTDC youth detention specialist vacancies reduced from 32 (June 2025) to 8 (October 2026), resulting in a 20% decrease in overtime spending.

Juvenile Services and JTDC

The Chief Judge described changes at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) including a new laundry process, progress toward PRIA safety standards, and a pre-evaluation by the John Howard Association (final report expected February 2027).
Programming funds were secured through overtime savings, shifting from reliance on external volunteers.
The SORA Center shelter care contract with Heartland ends November 30, 2026; the OCJ is in conversations with multiple alternative providers.
An independent assessment by the Annie Casey Foundation (Catalyze Justice) is underway, examining safety, security, programming, and youth and staff perspectives. An initial visit found no safety issues.

Domestic Violence Courthouse

Commissioner Daly asked about recommendations from the domestic violence committee. Chief Judge Beach detailed new extended hours: in-person at the courthouse until 6 p.m. (currently 4:30), supplemented by fully remote hours until midnight, Monday through Friday, with existing remote hours on weekends. The change requires additional judges and court administrators, but the Chief Judge noted such resources are a zero-sum game across divisions.
An RFP for after-hours advocacy resulted in Family Rescue joining the existing network.
The shift to stalking no-contact orders from 555 West Harrison to the Daly Center was also noted.

Electronic Monitoring and Probation

Commissioner Bridge asked about the transition of electronic monitoring (EM) from the Sheriff’s office. The Sheriff still handles about 100 cases; the transfer has begun and is expected to be mostly complete by the end of FY27. Chief Judge Beach expressed interest in eventually moving all EM to the state's Office of Statewide Pretrial Services (OSPS), as done in over 80 other counties.
OSPS funding increased by $4.5 million, offsetting a $3.7 million reduction in other grant resources.
Adult Probation initiatives: increased cognitive behavioral interventions (over 170 referrals in FY26), a partnership with Chestnut Health Systems for substance use treatment screening (200+ screened, 100+ eligible), distribution of over 2,000 Narcan kits and 8,600 one-day venture passes, and expanded partner intervention programs.
Commissioner Treter asked about a shift in FTEs under home confinement; Chief Probation Officer Megan Volker explained it reflects contractual titles due to new hires, not a reduction in positions.

Other Initiatives

Jury utilization in the First Municipal District improved from 13% (January 2026) to 69% (mid-October 2026) while reducing the number of judges assigned, achieved through data analysis.
Pro se assistance desks expanded, particularly at the Markham Courthouse.
The OCJ is exploring digitization of court documents to expedite jail release times, but the Chief Judge noted that judges typically issue orders on the bench and that delays often stem from the clerk’s key-punching process. An EMIT pilot program is being developed to automate the order system.
The Empower app for domestic violence survivors saw a 197% increase in uptake since January, and the Chief Judge is working with advocates and the State’s Attorney’s office to further expand use.

Commissioner Questions and Responses

Commissioner Day: Followed up on domestic violence courthouse hours and interpreter services. The Chief Judge noted the challenges of judge allocation but committed to using data to reallocate resources. On interpreters, he cited technology allowing remote interpretation to reduce burdens and mentioned a pipeline committee.
Commissioner Bridge: Asked about EM transition and caseload increases due to new charging decisions by the State’s Attorney. The Chief Judge confirmed an increase in detention hearings, which extend court hours. He also confirmed that the board has no authority over circuit court judges.
Commissioner Kevin Morrison: Expressed appreciation and had no questions.
Commissioner Hagler: Thanked the Chief Judge for addressing EM concerns.
Commissioner Morita: Praised language access improvements at the Skokie Courthouse and the first ADA courtroom, and noted the courthouse’s community role.
Commissioner Vasquez: Asked about the JTDC independent review (scope to be finalized in December, includes safety, staffing, programming, and external perspectives) and digitization of court documents to speed jail releases. The Chief Judge invited her to observe first appearance court and discussed the EMIT pilot. He also noted no data is currently collected on remote appearances, but tracking will begin.
Commissioner Nye (in closing): Noted previous discussions and asked about the Empower app. The Chief Judge reported the 197% uptake increase and upcoming collaboration with the State’s Attorney.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes were taken during the hearing.
The Chief Judge committed to:
- Further updates on domestic violence courthouse hours and implementation timeline.
- Sharing final JTDC assessment reports from the John Howard Association and Annie Casey Foundation.
- Continuing the EM transition from the Sheriff and exploring a shift to OSPS.
- Working with commissioners on data-driven resource allocation.
Commissioners expressed support for the Chief Judge’s efforts and requested ongoing communication on these initiatives.

Meeting Transcript

The recess committee, the uh cook on the board will come to order. We have the office of the chief judge, the honorable chair of speech. Judge. All right, thank you. Well, thank you, Chair Daly. Uh, it's a pleasure to be back here with you and your fellow commissioners to provide an overview of the office of the chief judge's fiscal year 2027 budget and how our allocation of resources reflects the values of my administration, which are efficiency, transparency, and fairness. I want to thank you for your ongoing support and communication over these last few months, as we've worked diligently and collaboratively to address originally identified budget gaps. I feel confident that together we have been able to balance the importance of fiscal stewardship and the need to ensure appropriate resources for the services the court provides to the residents of Cook County. I'm grateful for the many leaders in the office of the chief judge that have helped prepare our team for today. As we look forward to providing additional information in responding to your questions, I'd like to introduce the OCJ team. Behind me, I'm quite pleased to say is our new trial court administrator, Justice Leroy Martin, who is a familiar face to many, and we're thrilled to have him join our team today and in the future. Thank you, Justice. Also here behind me is Lorena Roque. She's the Deputy Trial Court Administrator, who has also served within the OCJ for 16 years, most recently as a senior research analyst. Thank you, Lorena for joining us. I'll note that Lorena's specialty is data analysis, and as you guys have all heard from the beginning of my time here, data is going to be a big part of our decision making process. And so I'm quite pleased to have Lorena with us. I also have here Deputy Chief Mary K. Marubio, who oversees first appearance court countywide and acts as the presiding judge of the second district, as well as our resident expert on electronic monitoring. And also sitting here directly to my left is Michael McCarthy, also known as the big guy, who's been stepping up while CFO Brensky Coleman is out. We also have leadership in the gallery, including my chief of staff, Katie Calhoun, our legal team, Kate Nolan and Cliff Helm, Mike Carroll, representing the IT and research and evaluation department, Megan Volker from the Adult Probation Department, Renata Steele is the senior division attorney in the domestic violence division. We have our entire team of leaders from juvenile services, Director Sarah Hemeter, Superintendent Mac McGee, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Melissa Spooner. We also have Terry Mesa, Director of Interpreter Services, Donald Russell, our jury administrator, Dan Hunter, Director of Family Court Services, and finally Charles Golbert from the Office of the Public Guardian. Is Charles here? There he is. Thank you, Charles. Glad to see you here. Before I continue, I'd like to acknowledge that this will be Charles's last county budget hearing, as they'll be leaving at the end of the calendar year after decades of distinguished service in the Office of the Public Guardian. We are incredibly grateful for the commitment Charles has demonstrated over the years, ensuring that our most vulnerable community members are supported. Thank you, Charles, for all your work, and everyone, please join me in a round of applause for his service to the county. In addition to our department leadership, who many of you are familiar with, we have our Deputy Chief Judges with us, as previously mentioned, Deputy Chief Judge Marubio. We also have Deputy Chief Judge Reddick, who oversees criminal proceedings countywide and acts as the presiding judge of the criminal division. We also have Deputy Chief Judge Barrett, who oversees civil proceedings countywide. Additionally, we have presiding judge Ortiz present, who oversees the pretrial division and first appearance court, a very important part of our judiciary.

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