PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New schedule for Central Bond Court at 26th and California

Released On 10/30/2014

To allow more time for preparation of pre-bond reports that assist judges in their bail-setting decisions, Central Bond Court at 26th and California will convene at a later time beginning in November, announced Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. Pre-bond reports are objective assessments of the level of risk an alleged offender may present to public safety and whether the individual is likely to return to court for the next appearance. Compiled by the court’s pretrial services officers, the reports are based on interviews with alleged offenders shortly after their arrival in the Cook County Jail and information obtained from law enforcement data bases.   Beginning Saturday, November 1, 2014, Central Bond Court will convene according to the following schedule: 

    Monday through Friday (except court holidays)   1:30 p.m., felonies only 
         
    Saturdays, Sundays and holidays                           12 noon, misdemeanors 
                                                                                       1:30 p.m., felonies

Chief Judge Evans said, “A later schedule for Central Bond Court will improve the ability of our Pretrial Services Unit to more thoroughly screen detainees before their appearance in bond court, giving greater weight to the reliability of the risk assessment. Also beginning November 1, the pretrial services officers will be present in court to state the risk assessment score on the record and to answer any questions judges may have about the assessment results. This will help detainees and any family members and friends who may be present to better understand what is going on in court.” 

Cases are heard in Central Bond Court as follows: Monday through Friday, felonies (except violent sex crimes and homicides) alleged to have been committed in the City of Chicago are heard; on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, all crimes (both felonies and misdemeanors) alleged to have been committed in the City of Chicago and suburban Cook County are heard. The misdemeanor call and felony call are held separately on weekends and holidays to accommodate the higher number of cases on those days. 

The later schedule is part of Chief Judge Evans’s collaborative efforts with the Illinois Supreme Court to create statewide standards for pretrial operations. Those efforts include the recent installation of telephones in the pretrial services interview area to give non-English speaking detainees free over-the-phone access to interpreters in more than 200 foreign languages.