Lake County Judge Tests Positive For Coronavirus

WAUKEGAN, IL — A Lake County judge has tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials announced. The judge, who presided over bond court last week at the Waukegan courthouse, contacted Chief Judge Diane Winter on Tuesday to let her know he had contracted COVID-19.

The judge was last on the bench in courtroom T-110 on Friday, according to a statement from the circuit court. He began feeling ill that afternoon and arranged to get tested over the weekend.

As of Thursday morning, the judge was resting comfortably at home, according to a court spokesperson. The courtroom where the infected judge sat and any other areas of the Lake County Courthouse where he spent time have undergone a deep cleaning.

The Lake County Health Department traced the judge's recent contacts, and everyone who may have been exposed has been notified, including court reporters, interpreters, court security officers, private attorneys, public defenders and prosecutors, the chief judge's office announced.

More than a dozen county employees contacted by the health department have started self-quarantining due to the potential courthouse exposure as they seek testing, according to spokespeople for the sheriff, state's attorney and chief judge.

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It was not clear if the judge is the first employee assigned to the courthouse to contract COVID-19, as the Lake County Health Department does not release information about the employment locations of those who test positive.

Likewise, it could not be immediately confirmed whether he was the first sitting jurist in Illinois to test positive for the virus. In Cook County, at least 23 employees working under the auspices of the chief judge had tested positive as of last week, but none of them were judges.

Face masks and social distancing are enforced inside the Lake County Courthouse, according to the chief judge's office, which has limited judicial operations to emergency matters for nearly two months.

Under the judge's subsequent April 1 administrative order, courtroom capacity has been capped at 10 people, while all bond hearings were ordered to be conducted by videoconferencing to the extent possible.