DuPage County has dropped for now its plans to provide extra compensation for jurors by giving them vouchers good for a $5 lunch at the courthouse cafeteria.
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The proposal has been moved to the back burner because the county’s Jury Commission is facing a potential deficit as a result of a significant increase this year in the number of jury trials.
There also appears to be little support for the idea among County Board members.
At a meeting Monday of the board’s Judicial Committee, members suggested they would prefer instead to see an increase in the stipend for jurors required to serve for two days or more.
Daniel Amati, deputy court administrator and director of the Jury Commission, said the commission had hoped to fund the estimated $12,500 cost of providing lunch vouchers with funds available in its budget. Instead, he said, the commission likely will have to request an additional $40,000 from the County Board in the fall because the number of jury trials has increased.