McLean County approves courtroom audio and display upgrades funded by state and court automation fees

Will Scanland, representing McLean County circuit court, told the committee the county received a flat $50,000 grant as part of a statewide program to upgrade audio and video recording in 13 courtrooms. The county split projects into two parts: microphone arrays for two large courtrooms to improve capture of the well and juror area, and lavalier/auxiliary microphones for six smaller courtrooms where audio capture has been inconsistent.

Scanland said vendors Scodum (formerly Thompson Electronics) and CTI supplied responsible bids; the committee approved proposals for Scodum’s array microphones and CTI’s AV additions, with the combined work expected to use about $49,900 of the grant. He noted vendors in central Illinois face capacity constraints and that bid responses statewide have been limited.

Separately, the committee approved an appropriation from the court automation fee fund to replace three failing television displays in the Law & Justice Center lobby that show daily court schedules and public information. Scanland said two displays were failing and the third was expected to fail soon; staff increased the requested appropriation above the current quote to cover possible price changes tied to chip shortages. Funds are retained in the automation fee fund if unspent.

Ending: Both AV project proposals and the lobby-display appropriation passed on voice votes with no opposition reported; Scanland said implementation and scheduling will proceed with the selected vendors.