Chief Judge Avila told the Kane County Judicial & Public Safety Committee on Oct. 16 that proposed 2026 budget allocations could force the judiciary and related public-safety offices to cut services or eliminate positions. "We're partners in this," Avila said, adding that county funding choices will determine which services the courts can provide.

Avila said one budgeting issue in particular—the county's treatment of a roughly $900,000 interpreter-reimbursement line—makes it impossible for the judiciary to present realistic cut scenarios. "If that $900,000 is now supposed to come out of the $4,100,000, that's actually like a $3,200,000 budget," Avila said, arguing that the accounting treatment effectively reduces his operational budget.

The committee heard related warnings across the public-safety system. Public Defender Rochelle said cuts required by the board would force elimination of seven attorney positions in her office, "nearly my whole misdemeanor division," jeopardizing specialty courts and increasing the risk of ineffective-assistance claims if remaining attorneys face oversized caseloads.

Circuit Clerk Barreiro said the clerk's office would need to cut about 21 clerk positions to meet the proposed reductions and warned that counters, telephone service and courtroom clerks could be eliminated. "If we don't have clerks in the courtrooms, then as the judge said, it delays the courts," Barreiro said.

A representative for the sheriff said reductions would affect patrol, jail operations and emergency response and could increase civil-liability risk for the county. "Every dollar cut from public safety today becomes a potential lawsuit," the speaker told the committee.

State's Attorney Mosser said her office must cut more than $3 million from its general-fund budget, which she said would equal approximately 40 positions. Mosser told the committee that some of the planned cuts would remove investigators and prosecutors who handle child-abuse cases and victims' advocates. She also said the county has been holding revenue "in excess of the 90-day reserves" that could be used to support public-safety services.

Officials described knock-on effects if staffing and clerical support are reduced: juror management and compensation, clerk-provided courtroom services, speedy-trial scheduling, and juvenile-detention supervision. Court Services Director (title listed in the record as Miss Oz/Aust) described statutory staffing ratios in juvenile detention (an 8-to-1 ratio) and warned that falling below those limits could force juvenile facilities to shut down and risk lawsuits.

Several speakers said the simplest short-term fix would be to adjust how the interpreter-reimbursement line is shown and allocated in the county budget. Avila said the judiciary plans to bring a resolution to the full county board to clarify or change the allocation practice for interpreter reimbursements.

Finance Director Tepe told the committee he and other finance leaders are aware of the issues and that the finance committee will consider them at a special meeting. Committee members asked that judiciary and its partners attend that finance meeting to present their requests and supporting detail.

The discussion did not produce any formal vote on budget changes during the JPS meeting. Instead, department heads and elected officials requested further review by the county board and finance committee and said they will submit proposed resolutions or requests for reallocation.

Ending: Committee chair and members invited court and public-safety leaders to the finance committee meeting and agreed to continue the discussion next week. Several committee members emphasized that they did not want to see essential services reduced and asked staff and elected officers to bring concrete proposals and revenue details to the scheduled finance discussion.