With demolition off the table, here’s the next pitch for the Public Safety Building in Rockford

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The downtown Public Safety Building could be remodeled to make some of the most sensitive and tense court cases safer for the families involved.

That’s one of several options Winnebago County Board members will weigh after deciding last month to repurpose rather than raze all or a portion of the building. The former jail has sat empty since July 2007, when crowded cells were cleared out and inmates were moved into the Winnebago County Criminal Justice Center. Rockford police moved out of the building and into three district stations starting roughly five years ago.

Now, court officials and some County Board members see potential to reuse the space to alleviate pressures of some of the busiest courtrooms and create additional court space that could be needed when criminal justice reform laws surrounding bail go into effect next year.

Those needs, in part, put a stop to long-considered plans to demolish the building.

“About the time we would get rid of the extra square footage, we’re going to have to try to find somewhere that we need more square footage,” said County Board member Keith McDonald, a Republican from District 6. “I hated to get rid of real estate that we don’t know for a fact we won’t need.”

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A proposal in the works from the 17th Judicial Circuit Court would move five courtrooms from the Winnebago County Courthouse to the second floor of the PSB. It would also relocate the Domestic Violence Assistance Center, which assists survivors with filing an order of protection, and the child care facility. Additional changes would include work to reconfigure the security entrance and move the jury commission from the fifth floor of the courthouse to the first floor.

The improvements would be paid for with funds the county receives from the federal American Rescue Plan.

The moves would put the four family courtrooms and the domestic violence coordinated court in closer proximity. Right now, patrons must travel between several floors to get an order of protection, drop off kids for child care, attend family courtrooms or the domestic violence coordinated courts.

“It’s a journey. It’s disjointed and it’s not an advisable practice,” Chief Judge John Lowry said. “This would reduce all that and make it much safer, more streamlined and more effective.”

‘Complicated and dangerous cases’

The four family courtrooms are the smallest in the courthouse, and the National Center for State Courts determined they’re insufficient, said Tom Jakeway, the 17th Judicial Circuit’s trial court administrator.

The small size means sensitive family cases, orders of protection and other domestic issues often put survivors in close proximity to the accused.

“Just the feeling, if you can imagine, if you’re really scared of someone and you feel them sitting directly behind you, how terrifying and intimidating that could be,” said Nicole Ticknor, deputy court administrator of domestic violence courts.

Tight proximity creates the potential for intimidation, Lowry said.

“The potential for intimidation is real,” the chief judge said. “I’ve seen this from my perspective from the bench. That intimidation can be as subtle and nuanced as a glance, a glare or a very slight shake of the head side to side as if to say ‘don’t testify.’ That’s real and I’ve seen it.”

The outside of the family courtrooms are surrounded by a glass enclosure, where the accused, survivors and family members may congregate, Ticknor said.

“I don’t think it can be overstated how complicated and dangerous these cases can be,” she said. “People are in very close quarters around people who they don’t feel safe around. It increases anxiety for survivors, it also increases the level of agitation for everybody present.”

Remodeling the Public Safety Building would allow the courts to keep people separated and safe. It could also increase participation in the criminal justice system by making people feel safer in the courthouse, Ticknor said.

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Getting ready for reform

The four courtrooms vacated in the courthouse could then be remodeled, reducing the number to two or three rooms because of the small size of the existing space, Jakeway said.

Lowry said extra space will soon be needed once the state’s criminal justice reforms role out.

The centerpiece of that controversial new legislation is the state’s end to cash bail, which goes into effect at the start of 2023. It will require additional courtroom space for the speedy detention hearings – when a judge determines whether someone should be held while awaiting trail – required in the law.

Other PSB options

McDonald, who serves as chairman of the County Board’s Administrative and Operations Committee, challenged fellow board members last week to brainstorm other possibilities for the PSB.

Among the ideas was using the former jail as a regional training facility for corrections officers. Or, ground floor space could be used for commercial business such as a small deli or coffee shop.

The court’s proposal for remodeling will be presented to McDonald’s committee next month. There’s no timeline for making a decision.

“I’m worried about rushing into something and making a hasty decision,” McDonald said. “I would love if anybody in the public has got suggestions on what they think would fit well there.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.