ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

The Village of Spring Grove has regular court appearance dates for the adjudication of violations of municipal ordinances and violations of certain provisions of the Illinois Motor Vehicle Code.  The Administrative Adjudication Court hears most of the following types of cases:

  • Building Code Violations

  • Zone Code Violations

  • Vehicle Impound Hearings

  • Police-Issued Tickets, such as, but not limited to:

    • Disorderly Conduct

    • Underage Consumption of Alcohol

    • Minor Drug Offenses

Administrative Law Judge

An outside attorney has been appointed as the Administrative Law Judge to preside over all adjudication proceedings.  The Judge is not a Village employee, nor does he receive any employee benefits.  Administrative Law Judges are specially trained to remain impartial in these cases and to effectively interpret the Municipal Code of the Village of Spring Grove.

Court Dates

Court Dates are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month beginning at 1:30 pm.  Court is held in the Village Board Room located at 7401 Meyer Road, Spring Grove, Illinois.  Court starts promptly at 1:30 pm, so plan to arrive several minutes ahead of time.  The Judge will begin each session with brief instructions regarding courtroom processes, and cases will then be called in the order deemed appropriate by the Judge.

Payment

Payment is due in full at the time of the ruling.  Cash or credit cards are acceptable forms of payment.  If for any reason payment is not made, the case will be sent to an outside agency for collections and additional fees will be added.

Hearings

An Administrative Adjudication Hearing is a civil proceeding and is not criminal in substance.  Case files in adjudication are punishable by fines and a variety of other penalties, but are not eligible for sentences of incarceration.  Hearings are less complex than a State court trial, however, they do follow a similar structure to ensure fairness and due process to all parties involved.

It should be noted that hearings will not be held on the first assigned court date.  Hearing dates will be set after an initial plea of "not liable" to the charges against you.  At this time a future date will be set for the actual hearing.

On your scheduled hearing date you should bring any documents or materials you may want to present to the Administrative Law Judge as evidence.  You should make arrangements to have any person(s) in attendance that you may want to testify as a witness.

NOTE:  It is not a defense to a charge of a code violation that a respondent has come into compliance after the date the violation occurred.

If you have questions regarding adjudication hearings you may contact the Office of Adjudication at 815-675-2596 ext 104 or email us at SGPD@SpringGroveVillage.com.