A hole in the crumbling ceiling tile remains where water poured though in 45th District Court in Oak Park. In a former school for 22 years. In a rebuilt modern building. In a stand-alone building. A few miles away Hazel Park District Judge Keith Hunt shut down court for a day this past year because of a leaking ceiling.
Roofs are leaking, sewers back up, people are on top of one another here.
This is in violation of the city's own fire code. We're breaking the law in how we are conducting our business here in court. But in the most affluent county in the state, this has meant spartan-like conditions until better facilities are found or planned. The Oak Park bench has tried for years to get its own building. The judges didn't want anything fancy.