Winnebago and Boone County Courthouses
For the last couple of months, the Winnebago and Boone County Courthouses have been operating on a reduced traffic schedule to combat the spread of COVID-19. During that time, the court was only allowing essential cases to be heard and all other matters were continued. As of today, the 17th Circuit is operating under a new temporary administrative order that allows non-essential matters to be heard. Even though the courts are opening back up, there are still policies in place to help reduce the number of people in the courthouse and prevent the spread of contagious diseases.
Listed below are some of the main points of the administrative order that persons with business in the courthouse should be aware of. The full administrative order is available at http://www.illinois17th.com/images/press%20release%2005212020.pdf
- Masks / Face Coverings – All persons in public areas of the courthouse are strongly encouraged to wear a mask or face covering and must do so if one is offered
- Reduced Call Size / Staggered Calls – The courts are now staggering their calls in order to reduce the size of each call. Everyone with business before the court will be required to appear promptly at their assigned time slot.
- Additional Persons Discouraged – Litigants are strongly discouraged from brining any other person with them to the courthouse.
Secretary of State and DMV
All Secretary of State / DMV facilities will be open June 2nd, with the exception of Chicago Central and Chicago Loop Express. Listed below are highlights of the policy changes going into effect. For a full list, visit the Secretary of State’s website at CyberdriveIllinois.com
- From June 1 through July 31, facilities will focus on serving ONLY new drivers, customers with expired driver’s licenses/ID cards and vehicle transactions.
- All expiration dates for driver’s licenses, ID cards and vehicle registrations have been extended at least 90 days after the governor’s June 1 disaster proclamation executive order ends.
- Visitors must wear face masks and stand at 6-foot intervals to follow social distancing guidelines, limiting the number of customers inside a facility at one time.
- Secretary of State and State Treasurer have waived E-check payment processing fee through Aug. 2, 2020 for vehicle sticker renewal, duplicate driver’s license/ID card and driver’s license renewal with Safe Driver Renewal.
