Title
Ordinance establishing fees for copy costs to be charged by the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
Staff Summary
* In 2020, the Lake County Board amended Chapter 35 of its Code of Ordinances to establish copy and certification fees charged by the Circuit Court Clerk, including fees for certified judgments, document reproduction, and hard copy printouts from digital records.
* Since then, the Clerk of the Circuit Court implemented upgraded case management technology that enables attorneys and parties of record to access documents electronically at no cost, while improving access efficiency for the general public.
* Due to restrictions under the Illinois Remote Access Policy, the Clerk cannot offer full electronic access to the general public, though the improved system significantly lowers the cost of reproducing documents.
* The Circuit Court Clerk is requesting a revision to the fee structure to reflect the reduced administrative burden and promote access to justice by lowering the cost of certified copies and document reproduction.
* The ordinance reduces the fee for certified judgment copies, following the first copy from $10 to $6; reduces the per-page document reproduction fee to $0.25; and reduces the automated hard copy print output per-page fee from $6 to $0.25, making access to court documents more affordable for the public.
Body
ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, on September 8, 2020, the County Board adopted a resolution modifying Chapter 35 of the Lake County Code of Ordinances, effective October 1, 2020, which set forth the current fees authorized to be charged by the Lake County Circuit Court Clerk, including but not limited to fees for copying; and
WHEREAS, the Clerk of the Circuit Courts Act set forth the fees permitted to be assessed by the Clerk of the Circuit Court related to the copying of documents for the public; and
WHEREAS, the Clerk of the Circuit Court has improved the technology within its office to include new case management software that cont...
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