Public Safety Building remodel could cost $20.4M. Here’s a look at the proposed renovations

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A proposal to renovate the mostly vacant downtown Public Safety Building to create a safer court environment for families and survivors of domestic violence could cost more than $20 million.

Winnebago County Board members got a first look at the estimated costs and a potential layout for a new Family Courts Center during a presentation last week from leaders of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court. But, for now, the proposal is at a standstill as board members ask county staff to explore alternative options that could be less expensive.

“I support it, we need to do it, but is there a more economical way we can do it?” said County Board member Keith McDonald, chairman of the Operations and Administrative that heard the court’s proposal.

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Rockford police started moving out of the PSB and into three district stations about five years ago, and the former jail inside the building has been empty since July 2007. That’s when crowded cells were cleared out and inmates were transferred to the new Winnebago County Criminal Justice Center.

‘Scary place for survivors’

The new plan is to reuse the space to alleviate pressures of busy and potentially volatile family law courtrooms, which have congested public waiting areas that can present risks for intimidation and threats, court officials have said.

“It’s a scary place for survivors,” Mayor Tom McNamara, who has made curbing domestic violence one of the pillars of his administration, said on This Week in the Stateline. “This is certainly a big gap that’s been hanging out there, so I applaud the court system.”

Nearly 40% of the city’s violent crime in 2021 was related to domestic violence, according to the presentation court officials made. Last year there were 3,124 petitions for protective orders filed in the county. And, orders for protection, divorce or family cases totaled 26% of all new cases filed.

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Moving courtrooms to the PSB could also help fill a need for more space when criminal justice reform laws surrounding bail go into effect next year.

The base cost of the renovations is $18.5 million, according to the court’s presentation. Additional costs such as IT infrastructure, elevator upgrades, electronics and communications equipment and abatement of asbestos could push the total cost to $20.4 million.

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The project would be funded with a portion of the $54.8 million in American Rescue Plan funding the county is getting from the federal government as part of a coronavirus relief package.

McDonald said some County Board members are leery of spending such a large chunk of the funding on the project. He said spending should cap at $18 million, “all your overages rolled into that.”

Family Courts Center

The first floor of a remodeled Public Safety Building would include new space for jury assembly, a child care facility, less congested seating areas, potential cafe space and a new security entrance.

On the second floor there would be five courtrooms, a domestic violence assistance center, seating areas and conference rooms, a security and information desk, judges chambers and administrative offices.

Those changes would help the county bring three of its family courtrooms into compliance with a National Center for State Courts safety study. The existing facilities on the fourth floor of the county courthouse have size concerns.

The moves would put the four family courtrooms and the domestic violence coordinated court in closer proximity and enhance the coordination between the courtrooms and the domestic violence assistance center, court officials say.

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