Judicial Assistants Unit

About the Unit
The Judicial Assistants Unit consists of 7 employees who support 15 Circuit Judges and 24 Associate Judges, as well as the Administrative Office of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit. These valuable staff members perform countless duties including: coordinating the schedules of 39 judges, 71 traffic ticket writing agencies, and 20 prosecuting agencies, spread over 5 different campuses, including the Depke Juvenile Complex, the Lake County Court Complex, and 3 branch court locations.

In addition, support is provided to the Civil, Criminal and Consolidated Family Law divisions. The Judicial Assistants have been cross-trained in other units of the Judicial Operations Division and provide support to these units on an as needed basis.

The judges within the 3 divisions rely on the Judicial Assistants to assist with the processing of their individual caseloads. In addition to creating the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly court calendars, the unit also evaluates pending caseloads and develops and implements automated and procedural systems to support effective court calendar management techniques. Collectively, the unit produces statistical reports which are utilized by judges, administrators, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, and other departments. The unit also serves as the liaison between various internal and external departments in regards to court-related information.

Duties & Responsibilities

The Administrative Office of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit relies on the Judicial Assistants to perform a myriad of duties including:
  • Type judges’ case decisions, orders, juror letters, and correspondence
  • Schedule meetings and activities
  • Coordinate travel arrangements
  • Arrange meetings and appointments
  • Respond to inquiries (internal and external) received via mail, telephone, or email
  • Perform secretarial and general clerical duties
  • Provide assistance to Jury Commission, Law Library and Kids' Korner
  • Assist in special projects
The Judicial Assistants report directly to the Unit Manager who reports directly to the Director of Judicial Operations. Although each position has its own general area of responsibility, there is a great deal of overlap among the areas and the Assistants work cooperatively to ensure the system operates both productively and efficiently.