St. Clair County to limit access to courthouse due to rising COVID cases
Due to the rising number of coronavirus cases fueled by the omicron variant, access to the St. Clair County Building in downtown Belleville will be closed to the general public beginning Monday and all in-person court proceedings will be limited to “essential matters.”
“All essential services offered by the courthouse will continue, however, you should contact the office from which you require service or contact the general number 618-277-6600 to be directed to the proper office,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said in a news release.
Chief Circuit Judge Andrew Gleeson asked lawyers to use remote proceedings when appropriate until Jan. 24.
The jury trial weeks of Jan. 10 and Jan. 24 have been canceled, Gleeson said in a news release. Also, no marriages or civil unions will be conducted until Jan. 24.
For more information, go to the county’s webpage at www.co.st-clair.il.us/public-notices to see the county’s five-page COVID-19 plan regarding office hours and service options and a list of rules the court system will follow.
On Thursday, the state recorded more than 44,000 new COVID cases, the highest single-day case count since the pandemic began, according to a report from Capitol News Illinois.
The St. Clair County coronavirus positivity rate was at 25.9% this week, which set a record.
This story was originally published January 8, 2022 at 1:15 PM.
