The Chief Judge of the 21st Circuit in Illinois has announced cameras will be allowed in Kankakee County Courts.
Chief Judge Kathy Bradshaw-Elliott announced Friday that news cameras will be allowed in criminal trial courts in Kankakee County under a pilot program approved by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride of the Illinois Supreme Court gave his blessing to the trial program earlier.
The 21st Circuit becomes the second circuit in Illinois approved for cameras in the courtroom and will join the 14th Judicial Circuit where extended media coverage has already been implemented under the experimental program. The 14th Judicial Court covers the Quad Cities area.
While the 21st Circuit is comprised of Kankakee and Iroquois counties, Bradshaw-Elliott asked that the experimental program proceed only in the criminal courts in Kankakee County to provide a model before it is expanded to other courtrooms in the circuit.
There is currently no set date for the program to begin.
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