MOUNT VERNON, Ill. (KFVS) - On May 27,2020, Chief Judge Tom Tedeschi has announced the entry of an Administrative Order that authorizes the courts of the Second Judicial Circuit of Illinois to resume hearing non-emergency cases.
The order is effective June 1, 2020.
It allows each Resident Circuit Judge to resume scheduling case types which had previously been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, the Illinois Supreme Court authorized the Illinois trial courts to hear only essential matters until further notice.
Chief Judge Tedeschi stated, “Although increased court operations in the Second Judicial Circuit are scheduled to resume on June 1, 2020, it is important that the health and safety of the court users and general public are adequately protected. Therefore, the Resident Circuit Judges of each county in the circuit have been instructed to follow the recommendations promulgated by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), local public health authorities, and the Illinois Supreme Court guidelines concerning the COVID-19 pandemic in their respective court facilities.”
The order also promotes the increased use of remote technologies in an effort to reduce the number of persons required to appear personally at the court facility.
Chief Judge Tedeschi stated, “In June 2020, the courts in the Second Judicial Circuit will not be operating as they were in January 2020. It will be different. These differences may include: limits on the amount of persons in the court facilities, staggered court setting times, and hearings occurring via video or teleconferencing.”
The Second Judicial Circuit is composed of Crawford, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash, Wayne, and White Counties.
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