New court offers victims safety;
Design segregates
abusers, families
Chicago Tribune
September 29, 2005
By Mickey Ciokajlo
Battered women and their children will no longer have to cram
into narrow hallways, often brushing against their abusers, in the new
Cook County Domestic Violence Courthouse slated to open next month.
"This is really about getting out of a facility that compromised
the day-to-day administration of justice," said Robert Bastone,
a recently retired Cook County judge now working as an assistant to Chief
Judge Timothy Evans. "It was just a bad situation."
The new $62 million courthouse at 555 W. Harrison St. will replace the
dirty and unsafe quarters at 1340 S. Michigan Ave. The facility will
open to the public Oct. 11, but a grand opening ceremony is scheduled
for Thursday.
The four-story courthouse will give victims of domestic violence and
their children a well-lit and clean facility that has been carefully
designed to keep them segregated from their alleged offenders.
"Physically, it was such a terrible thing to work with for so long," victim
advocate Mary Trew said. "It's really a miracle nothing has happened
there."
The facility also will consolidate civil orders of protection, now located
at 28 N. Clark St., giving abused women one location to turn to in their
quest for help from the courts.
Advocates pushed for years to get the Domestic Violence Court moved
out of the facility at Michigan and 13th Street. In the spring of 2002,
Cook County Board President John Stroger recommended moving the facility
to the former Helene Curtis headquarters along the Chicago River.
That plan soured after the River North Association objected and Mayor
Richard Daley called the location "silly" for such a use.
The county switched to its backup plan, although at the time the cost
was estimated at $75 million, 25 percent higher than the Helene Curtis
site.
The renovation of the 113-year-old brick warehouse was completed for
$51 million, said Michael LaMont, Cook County's director of capital planning.
Coupled with the purchase price of $11.1 million, the final price tag
is much lower than originally anticipated.
The courthouse is the county's first "green" facility, meaning
it includes environmentally friendly features such as solar panels, piping
to recycle rainwater for landscaping and high-efficiency mechanical systems.
"For the first time in anyone's memory, the courthouse will provide
a safe, efficient location for the victims of domestic violence," said
Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, who was a leading advocate for
both the court and its environmental features.
Copyright 2005, Chicago Tribune Company
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