The Tazewell County Board on Wednesday chose a schematic design for the proposed Tazewell County Justice Center Annex.
The estimated "all-in" price tag of $44 million for the four-level, 79,000-square-foot annex that would be built north of the 91,000-square-foot Justice Center at 101 S. Capitol St., includes construction and architectural costs, surveying costs, permitting fees, fixtures, furniture and equipment costs and a 10% contingency.
The design shows the annex with three courtrooms with ancillary spaces, a top floor with unfinished shells for three other needed courtrooms with ancillary spaces, a secured underground connection to the jail at the Justice Center, jury rooms, offices for the state's attorney and probation department (with substance use disorder counselor space), the circuit clerk's traffic division, and an IT data center.
The board voted 12-5 at a special meeting to move ahead with the design, which was one of seven design options put together by project architect Wold Architects and Engineers, which has an office in Palatine, and construction manager P.J. Hoerr of Peoria. The companies hired by the board in February.
In a memo to the board, County Administrator Mike Deluhery listed seven strong points of the approved design:
- In addition to housing the felony, misdemeanor and traffic courtrooms, shelled spaces would be created for three other needed courtrooms, which could be finished when funds are available. There would be flexibility to finish one, two or three courtrooms at a time. The cost to finish the three courtrooms is an estimated $4-6 million.
- Three-way separation would be created for in-custody individuals, employees/judges and the public.
- There would be added security for the probation office during business hours because visitors to the annex would have to go through security at the lone public entry.
- A separate after-hours entry for the probation office and substance use disorder counselor would be built.
- All county operations would be moved out of the Tazewell Building and the old post office.
- No additional property would need to be purchased.
- There would be room for expansion, which would require the purchase of neighboring land.
Here are some other notes from Deluhery regarding the design:
- Three courtrooms (until the top-floor courtrooms are finished at the annex) and the circuit clerk and public defender's offices would be in the Tazewell County Courthouse at 342 Court St. The public defender's office would move into the vacated state's attorney's office.
- Security in the courthouse and annex until the top-floor courtrooms are finished would cost between $300,000 and $400,000 annually.
- The county's financial policies call for a minimum fund balance of 33% of expenses in the general fund. If the $34 million set aside for the annex project, $7.6 in general fund money and $2 million in interest income are used for the project, the general fund balance is estimated to be 50% at the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year in November 2025.
Before board members voted on the design, which was recommended for approval by the board's property committee, they were urged by Kate Gorman, chief judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit, Sheriff Jeff Lower and State's Attorney Kevin Johnson to move forward with the plan.
'"I've been a Tazewell County resident all my life and I love our 108-year-old Tazewell County courthouse, but its time has passed us by," Gorman said. "We need to build this annex for future generations. It will change the trajectory for Tazewell County and it's residents."
Lower voiced concerns about security in the courthouse, which does not have the three-way separation that would be in place in the annex. Prisoners are taken through public areas to get to courtrooms in the courthouse.
"We're living in a time where we're seeing increased violence and bad behavior," Lower said. "I have three judicial orders on my desk to ban people from the courthouse. I hadn't had one previously for 10 years.
"The courthouse is one big open building. We're doing our best to keep it safe. We're managing."
Johnson urged board members to make the juvenile courtroom the first one that's finished in the shelled spaces.
"Our juvenile caseload is growing dramatically," he said. "The juvenile courtroom used to be a part-time courtroom. Not any more."
Children ages 18-under who commit crimes are considered juveniles in Illinois' court system. Johnson said he's heard state lawmakers are considering raising the age to 21-under, which would further stress the county's juvenile courtroom.
Board member Maxwell Schneider, who cast one of the five votes against the design, said the design is $10 million over the proposed budget, "we're only getting three of the six needed courtrooms, and Tazewell County taxpayers would be responsible for $24 million of the $44 million that's needed (the county received $20 million in funding for the annex project from the federal government).
"We do other things besides justice in our county," Schneider said. "I'm afraid we're not going to be able to do those things."
Schneider said he isn't against the annex, just against the proposed cost. He asked the board to approve two other design options that cost an estimated $34.6 million and $37.7 million, but each was voted down, the latter by a 12-5 vote.
In each of rejected designs, the three future courtrooms would need to be done as building additions. Representatives from P.J. Hoerr said shelling spaces for future courtrooms vs. adding them later would result in an estimated 30% cost savings.
County Board Chairman David Zimmerman said before the vote on the approved design, "there isn't an easier decision than to approve this design. We have money in the bank. This design will meet the needs of our county for years."
