The Circuit Court of Cook County operates 17 locations, including branch courts in the city of Chicago and five suburban districts, the Criminal Courts complex, and a records center. Litigants file 2 million new cases annually, and more than 400 judges conduct 6.5 million hearings each year. The documents needed to support those cases can be staggering: the Clerk's Office manages roughly 1 billion electronic court records.
For the past 10 years, the Circuit Court of Cook County has been working to use technology to improve service, including creating and maintaining timely, accurate and complete records of court cases. The Clerk's Office also aims to provide justice-related agencies with timely and efficient information services to help strengthen public safety and protect civil liberties.
Approximately 1,900 Clerk's Office employees -- more than 80 percent of the court's staff -- traded in slow, aging computer terminals for new HP Thin Clients. Four hundred additional thin clients were installed as public service terminals.
"With budgets as a constant challenge, HP Thin Clients provide excellent performance and reliability," said Bridget Dancy, chief information officer, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Court staffers and citizens now can benefit from web-based access to applications, which eliminate the need for many to travel to court locations. Previously, citizens couldn't take advantage of online technology to access court services. Instead, they had to navigate a maze of rules to find the right office or court to conduct their business in person.
"HP technology is helping us deliver dramatic changes in the way we do business and serve the public," said Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. "We can deliver services faster and more efficiently than ever before."
The cost-effective technology upgrade has helped improve timeliness and accuracy of record keeping. Among the first systems developed to speed the court's work was an integrated cashiering and security system, which automated processing of traffic court fines to eliminate errors and reduce long lines.
Additionally, HP BladeSystem servers will deliver increased performance and capacity to support rapid continued growth.
"Advancements in processors and graphics technology have made HP Thin Clients capable of much more than ever before," said Jeff Groudan, director, Marketing, Thin Clients, HP. "By providing a PC-like experience at a lower cost, HP can help courts, municipalities and states give citizens easy, secure access to government files."
Additional information about HP Thin Clients is available at www.hp.com/go/thinclients .
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