Thank you for Two Great Years
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s my term as Chief Judge officially comes to an end on January 1st, this will be my last opportunity to address Docket readers through the Chief Judge’s Page. As I reflect upon my two years as Lake County’s Chief Judge I am overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation for all of the hard work and dedication of every employee and staff member of the 19th Judicial Circuit that has made these past two years ones of growth, progress and innovation for our court system and the Lake County legal community. Because of their professionalism, and with the cooperation and dedication of our many court partners, the 19th Judicial Circuit has been able to continue its tradition of excellence and service to the citizens of Lake County. During my occupancy of the Chief Judge’s office
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I had the honor of presiding over the opening of the new Criminal Court Tower and administrative facilities. And while the ribbon cutting was just the culmination of a lot of hard work and planning that began years before my tenure, I was privileged to represent all those who made the project possible, as well as the multitude of attorneys, judges, litigants, probation officers, State’s Attorneys, Public Defenders, sheriff’s deputies, court reporters and clerks that will make this new facility a living symbol of justice for years to come. Additionally, we have begun, and are now well into, the project that will culminate in the implementation of the Court’s long-awaited case management system (CMS). This new system will allow us to take advantage of the latest innovations in technol-
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Chief Judge’s Page ogy and better serve the public. We also started an early-resolution call for criminal cases, and our first ever courtroom solely dedicated to the service of self-represented litigants. As with any marking of time, the past two years has seen changes in personnel that will resonate for years to come. With the retirement of Judges John Scully, Michael Fusz and Margaret (Meg) Marcouiller, the 19th Judicial Circuit lost the skill and experience of three of our most respected and learned colleagues. And, with the swearing-in of Associate Judges Stephen DeRue, Jacquelyn Melius, Ari Fisz, Reginald Mathews, Patricia Cornell, Bolling Haxall and Circuit Judge Joseph Salvi, we have gained a breadth of experience and dedication that will impact our courts well into the future. Additionally, 2019 saw the appoint-
BY CHIEF JUDGE JAY W. UKENA ment of Steve Fabbri, a long-time probation officer and supervisor in the Probation Department, as Lake County’s new director of Adult Probation, replacing the retiring Rose Gray who served in that position for ten years and was with Adult Probation for a total of 39 years. With the retirement of Dr. Dena Traylor, Dr. Holly Hinton was appointed as new interim director of psychological services. Finally, we also hired a new executive director, Todd Schroeder whose first day of work was November 27, 2019. Todd comes to us with a range of experience at both the state and local levels and will be a great asset to our judicial operations. Sadly, the last two years was also marked by the passing of three retired judges, Judges John Phillips, Bernard Drew and Michael Fritz, all of whom