GARY — The Lake County Courthouse in Gary will be closed indefinitely following a small fire Thursday that damaged a key electrical component.
Lake County Commissioner Michael Repay, D-Hammond, said Friday the minimal smoke issues from the fire have been repaired, but a vital component of the electrical system has been destroyed.
“The component, a switch gear, has a long lead time for production and will cause the Gary Courthouse to be closed until further notice,” Repay said in a press release.
Repay said administrators and staff from the courts, county clerk, prosecutor and sheriff departments met with commissioners’ staff Friday to plan to work around the closure.
Civil Division Room 4 temporarily will relocate to Magistrate/Probate Commissioner Courtroom on the second floor of the Hammond Courthouse at 232 Russell St., Hammond.
Civil Division Room 3, Family Court, temporarily will relocate to Room B105 in the Lake County Government Center, 2293 N. Main St., Crown Point.
Both civil division courts will be open to hear emergency matters only Tuesday. Normal court operations will resume Wednesday. All hearings for both courts will proceed as scheduled from that date forward at the respective temporary new locations. Lawyers and litigants for cases in either court should report to the new temporary location for any hearings.
Telephone numbers for both courts will remain unchanged.
Lawyers and litigants should file all pleadings and papers regarding Room 4 cases in the Clerk’s Office in Hammond and Room 3 cases in Clerk’s Office in Crown Point.
The IV-D Court will operate as usual Tuesday. All cases that were scheduled to be heard at the Gary Courthouse will instead be heard at the Lake County Junvenile Justice Complex, 3000 W. 93rd Ave., Crown Point. There will be no delay or disruption to the IV-D Court schedule.
Repay said commissioners and staff are working to make these temporary arrangements as seamless as possible.