More than 100 people gathered on Washington Street in Waukegan Tuesday morning to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Lake County’s new courthouse tower and a memorial dedication to late County Board member Audrey Nixon.
The $110 million, 220,000-square-foot tower is now the tallest building in Waukegan, standing 170 feet feet above street level, according to officials.
“The skyline is forever changed, and we are incredibly hopeful it will lead to other investments in Waukegan,” said County Board member Mary Ross Cunningham of Waukegan, chair of the board’s Law and Judicial Committee and one of the speakers Tuesday.
Lake County Circuit Court Chief Judge Jay Ukena said the new building increases and modernizes court operations to serve the county, with features including 12 new courtrooms, which will house all of the felony courts as well as several courts from other divisions. A new jury assembly room and a ceremonial courtroom that seats 150 are also built and ready for operation.
Ukena said the extra courtroom space paved the way for state approval of a 40th judgeship for the 19th Judicial Circuit Court, which he said the circuit has needed for some time.
“It’s important that we have enough courtrooms to serve the people,” Ukena said.
Ukena said the facility will help “keep Lake County in first place” in terms of criminal justice statewide.
It will be a busy month at the courthouse, with the major move of courts and facilities to the new tower scheduled next week and the new tower scheduled to open for court business July 30.
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County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor said the decision to hold the ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday was in memory of a County Board member who long served as Law and Judicial chairman and was deeply involved with the project.
“It’s Audrey Nixon’s birthday today,” Lawlor said to applause.
The newly reconstructed walkway over Washington Street that will connect the existing courthouse with the new tower has been dedicated as the Audrey H. Nixon Pedestrian Bridge.
“She would be incredibly proud,” Lawlor said to a crowd that included several members of Nixon’s family. “She spent her lifetime bridging divides and bringing people together.”
Those in attendance included retired and active judges, County Board members, county administrative officials, countywide elected officials and state legislators.
Former Chief Judge Fred Foreman, who was heavily involved in the original planning for the new tower, said, “It’s beautiful.”
“It’s a real contribution to the downtown Waukegan economy,” Foreman said during a tour of the new tower. “It keeps the law offices here.”
Unlike the current courtrooms and hallways, the the new tower includes large windows throughout, offering natural light and impressive vistas of the skyline and Lake Michigan from its higher floors.
All rooms are ADA accessible, and many feature new amenities including technological improvements that officials said will help streamline the legal process and be more comfortable for workers and visitors.
Next week, regular felony courtrooms will not be open, but Bond Court will remain open in its current location, and specialty courts, such as drug and mental health courts, will also be open. Any time-sensitive proceedings or significant legal hearings will also be accommodated during the week, even though the regular full court call will not be held, according to Circuit Court Administrative Executive Director Danny Davis.
On July 30, the new courts are scheduled to open, with the new main tower entrance located on Washington Street at County Street.
The newly rebuilt overhead walkway will also allow prosecutors, defense attorneys and others still working in the existing courthouse, as well as the public, inside access to the tower.
The main entrance and parking lot at the north end of the existing County Building/Courthouse complex will remain open, but the former Washington Street entrance to the existing building will be closed, replaced by the new tower entrance, Davis said.
Construction of the new tower began in June 2016.