Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Law and Judicial (L&J) and Finance Committees met jointly on October 20, 2026, to review and approve the recommended fiscal year 2027 budgets for several county departments, including the 19th Judicial Circuit, Circuit Court Clerk, Sheriff, Public Defender, Coroner, and State's Attorney. The session featured extensive discussion on caseloads, staffing, data reporting, and long-term strategic funding.
The court's FY2027 budget was presented by Executive Director Carl Waller and Finance Director Lisa Wolf. The budget supports court operations, probation, pretrial services, the Hulse Detention Center, and technology. The increase over FY2026 is primarily driven by personnel costs for the 167 full-time positions. A significant discussion focused on the Eviction Mediation Fund, which shifted from ARPA funding to a special revenue fund derived from filing fees. Patrice Sutton clarified that the fund was established to segregate the revenue stream for its intended purpose, and a fund balance worksheet was distributed. The court also discussed its efforts to stand up a dashboard for time-to-disposition for cases, expected by early calendar year 2027. The motion to approve items 8L1-8L8 carried unanimously.
Clerk of the Circuit Court Claire Cartwright presented the fund, which supports the case management system (eCorp), document digitization, and e-citation platforms. The fund is supported by fees and is facing declining revenue. Items approved by both committees.
Clerk Cartwright walked through the budgets for the general fund, document storage, electronic citation, and the clerk's operations and administrative fund.
Sheriff Eidelberg and his staff presented the budget for the Sheriff's office and related funds.
Treasurer Jeff Burke reported on the commission's work. They have streamlined the process by moving the physical power test to a virtual format, which has saved costs and removed a barrier for candidates. The item was approved.
Public Defender Tixai delivered a presentation emphasizing the constitutional mandate of his office. He reported a 140% increase in felony appointments (1,669 to 4,009) since the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act. He cited a RAND Corporation study estimating a shortfall of 32.25 attorneys in Lake County to meet current workload standards.
Coroner Bannock reported FY2025 statistics: 5,918 deaths screened, 621 investigations, and 399 autopsies. The office has expanded public health partnerships, including the Opioid Initiative and Suicide Prevention Task Force. Over 90% of the budget is for salaries. The items were approved without questions.
Carrie Flanagan (CAC) presented on the center's operations, a public-private partnership that serves child victims of abuse. The requested program director position ($47,316 for six months) was included in the recommended budget.
I call this uh L and J committee to order and may have a roll call here. Member DM8. Okay. Uh what's chair can you member Kyle? Member Peterson. Chair Roberts. Here. Okay, item uh eight L one. County administration. It's a joint committee action approving the recommended fiscal year 2027 budget for the 19th judicial circuit court. I'm gonna take a motion. I need a motion and a motion by Ewing, second by Altonberg. Finance motion by member Clark, second by member Velitz. Good morning. Good morning. I'm Carl Waller from the executive director of the 19th. Good morning, Lisa Wolf, Director of Finance for the 19th. To do something. Thank you. Yes, we're ready. All right. Uh the 19 continues its mission of providing a fair and responsive system of justice. Our fiscal 2027 budget supports everything from daily court operations, probation and pretrial services, to the Hulse Detention Center, technology in our courtrooms, and programs that directly help the residents and families use our courts. As with everyone in the county, as well as the needs to keep services reliable and meet state standards. Keeping these funds sustainable is our major focus of the 2027 budget year. We're basing budgets on actual spending. We working on negotiating vendor prices as well as utilizing our special revenue funds for eligible costs whenever possible. We're also significant making a significant um reducing the amount of court automation spending, which helps to realign some of those special revenue fund expenditures. Keep the courts accessible and effective, support public safety, and make responsible use of court resources. And we are very grateful that we have at least one has been approved. And with that, we'll have any questions. Well, I think I'd like to since you currently only eight L1 is on the table. So only the general fund circuit court budget is under discussion at this time. You want to add you want to amend it? Yeah, I'd like to amend it to add uh L two, three, four, and I believe you mentioned five. All the way through eight. Um through eight. That would include them all in the motion. I want to include them all in the motion.