Monday, February 15, 2021
Chicago Sun-Times
by Tom Schuba

As snow continued to pound the Chicago area Monday night, officials announced that federal and county courts are closing Tuesday to in-person hearings.

In an emailed statement, U.S. District Court Clerk Thomas Bruton blamed “the winter storm” for the cancellation of the federal court hearings. Any scheduled in-person hearings in the Eastern and Western divisions of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois can continue remotely or will be rescheduled, Bruton wrote.

Previously scheduled remote proceedings will continue as planned.

Officials in Cook County said Tuesday’s in-person hearings were called off to “limit the number of people traveling to and from court due to adverse weather conditions for our area.”

With the exception of bail hearings and “certain pretrial matters” for defendants already in custody, all court proceedings — including traffic hearings — will be conducted through phone or video conferencing, according to a statement.

Individuals involved in lawsuits that face “technical limitations” and can’t attend hearings via Zoom “will not suffer any adverse consequences,” the statement notes. New court dates will be set for those who can’t attend remotely.

Starting Wednesday, individuals seeking information about their next court dates can call (312) 603-5030 or visit the clerk of the court’s website for details about receiving that information through email or text messages.