PEKIN (25News Now) – Tazewell County is one step closer to building a so-called Justice Center addition.
The county council held a special meeting on Wednesday evening to discuss the new building. Members voted 12 to 4 in favor of a construction plan worth $44 million.
The board was presented with seven options with varying criteria, ranging from $33 million to $50 million. Board Chairman David Zimmerman said the solution chosen was in the middle and would be the most cost-effective going forward.
The facility will total 80,000 square feet and be four stories high and will be located at the corner of Elizabeth and Court St. in downtown Pekin, across from the original Justice Center and Courthouse.
The addition will house six courtrooms, but only three of them will be furnished immediately and reserved for criminal cases. The other three will remain empty until the county has the funds to equip them. Zimmerman said it will be cheaper to furnish one courtroom than to build an entirely new facility once it is finished.
“In the meantime, we will still have three courtrooms in the old courthouse. There is an incentive (to move all the old courtrooms) because housing deputies in both facilities costs about $400,000 each. So once we can move all the courtrooms here, we will save $400,000 a year,” Zimmerman said.
Much of the expense will be covered by Tazewell’s share of the American Rescue Fund. Zimmerman said the district has set aside $34.4 million, which has earned $2 million in interest over the past two years. The rest will come from reserves.
“We will still have a solid 50% reserve, so we are happy with what we are doing and will be financially solid even after we build this facility,” Zimmerman said.
Increased safety is another goal that those involved took into account during the design process.
The extension will include an underground corridor connecting the prison to the courtrooms.
In the current courthouse, inmates are transported out of the prison in a van and led through public areas past victims, witnesses and judges.
“Of the 20 largest counties in the state, we are the only one that does not have back hallways for the detainees,” Zimmerman said. “That protects (the detainees) and the county and makes securing these facilities much easier.”
The 108-year-old courthouse will continue to serve the county’s purposes.
Zimmerman said the local government will sell the Tazewell building and the old post office and move operations to the old courthouse. For example, the public defender’s office will move to the district attorney’s office.
“Our plan is to close two buildings downtown that are very old and very expensive to maintain. With a new building, our maintenance costs will go down,” Zimmerman said.
Tazewell County hired local Peoria resident PJ Hoerr as construction manager.
Katherine Gorman, presiding judge of the district that includes Tazewell County, praised county board members and stakeholders for their cooperation.
“I am confident that this new facility will equip the 10th Judicial District with the modern tools and technology needed to efficiently and effectively deliver justice to the citizens of Tazewell County,” Gorman said.
Chairman Zimmerman assumes that further plans for an extension to the justice center will be presented to the district council for a vote in the fall.
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