Cook County’s courts will remain mostly closed until at least the end of May.
The court had previously been scheduled to resume normal operations on or around May 18.
However, as the outbreak of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has continued, the judge, in his order, said the need also remains to continue activity restrictions at Cook County’s courthouses.
The order coincides with similar shutdown extensions ordered by Chicago's federal courts, and by Gov. JB Pritzker, who extended his statewide stay at home order until the end of May.
The order largely takes the substance of the previous COVID courthouse shutdown orders and pushes them back by two weeks.
Courthouse operations have been largely shut down since March, other than emergency or essential activities.
Under the new order, for instance, all traffic and misdemeanor cases now won’t be heard until June 1 or later, depending on the case.
In the county’s civil courts, lawsuits and actions filed in the law division that had been scheduled to be heard before April 30 are delayed by 56 days. All actions scheduled to be heard after April 30 have gotten a 35 day continuance. Those matters had generally been scheduled to be heard from May 18 to June 17.
The county will empanel no new grand juries before June 1.
And the order maintains its hold on all home eviction and foreclosure proceedings until at least June 1.
No marriages will be performed in the courthouses until after June 1, at the earliest, the order said.