By: Tim Black
Sometimes it takes a little Coronavirus Court Closures, a little social distancing, and a little working from home to realize how much you love your job. As I sit at my dining room table, surrounded by the mess I have neglected during wedding planning, wedding having, honeymooning, and catching up after wedding having, I miss Maddy‘s stories, Laura‘s TV recaps, Dean trying to hide my coat, Suzanne putting out fires related to her kids’ school, and college basketball chats with Jake. It takes a different level of dedication to pore through police reports with a fully-stocked kitchen and a fully-operational television a mere ten feet away. But this is the reality for now – I don’t want to be a spreader. #DontBeASpreader
Luckily for us, and luckily for our clients, the Coronavirus has prompted Cornoavirus Court Closures in the Circuit Courts of Cook County and DuPage County, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the Sheriff’s Merit Board, and have rescheduled almost every proceeding for a date beyond mid-April. If you click on the name of the Court in the last sentence, it will link you to that Court’s announcement about Court closures. For the most part, if you have a misdemeanor or traffic case between now and April 15, 2020, it will be rescheduled. Pay attention to your mail – the Clerk will send you a notice. The same goes for felony cases with a few exceptions – plea agreements, arraignments, bond hearings, and detention hearings will all be held, as will emergency matters.
It is important that everyone does their part to stem the spread of the Coronavirus beyond the Coronavirus Court Closures, and these first few weeks are most essential. We recommend that you take a few minutes to check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for best practices and continue to monitor the CDC website, the court websites, and this website for some of the latest breaking news about the Coronavirus and how it affects you.
Rest assured that through the Coronavirus Court Closures, although we are not necessarily in the office during this time of social distancing, we are hard at work finding all of the holes in the prosecution’s case, examining every angle of your defense, and preparing to fight for you. This Coronavirus is not keeping us down – it’s giving us extra time to prepare. Just like LeBron, we aren’t wasting this time; we will come back for the playoffs stronger and better rested than we have ever been and it should scare our adversaries. If you need to contact us, we may not always be available on the office telephone line, but don’t let that stop you from calling us on our cell phone if you have the number or emailing us at laura@lauralaw.org or tim@lauralaw.org. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
In the meantime, take these Coronavirus Court Closures as an opportunity to work on a project you’ve been meaning to finish, to master an old hobby or learn a new one, and to spend quality time with your loved ones. Try not to go crazy and remember to wash your hands. We’ll see you on the other side.
P.S. – CONGRATULATIONS to our own Patrick O’Brien for defeating Christopher Pfannkuche for the Republican nomination for Cook County State’s Attorney in the Primary on Tuesday. He will go on to face Kim Foxx in the general election. Congratulations Pat, good luck in November, and we could not think of a better candidate in the entire state of Illinois to run the State’s Attorney’s Office. For more information on Pat’s platform and ways to support his campaign, click this link to his campaign website and follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
