LaSalle County court staff told the county board that a rising number of jurors failing to appear is disrupting trials and forcing the courts to issue more summons.

"We sent out 1,084 summons, 402 reminders," Tricia said, reporting jury management for recent weeks. "We brought in 128 jurors, and we had 55 failure to appears." Tricia described the court's current follow-up process: a two-day window to call the court, then a "fancy red letter" asking the prospective juror to contact the office; if there is no response, "that's pretty much where it ends." (First reported at 14:11.)

The lack of eligible jurors has led to trials being postponed or canceled. "We were supposed to have 2 juries this week. 1 did go. The other 1 wasn't — the attorney was ill. But, we don't have enough jurors. We can't go to trial," Tricia said (15:21).

Staff and board members discussed enforcement options and outreach. Tricia said contempt or a rule to show cause is a legal avenue but described it as time-consuming and labor-intensive to prepare and serve. "If you didn't respond at all, then that raises some red flags that you're just flipping a finger at us," she said, describing the consequence that could follow nonresponse (17:10).

Court staff also reported common public misconceptions about jury service. "People think they're going to be sequestered. They think they're gonna be here for 2, 3, 4 weeks," Tricia said, noting that local trials typically are much shorter and that the statewide trend shows similar reluctance in other counties (21:51).

Board members suggested a publicity effort to change public expectations and urged coordination with other counties and the chief judge about formal enforcement. Tom Templeton and others said public messaging could deter casual noncompliance without relying solely on punitive measures (17:57, 23:01).

The court is scheduled to handle several high-profile cases in coming months, which staff said will further increase summons numbers and the need for jurors and expert witnesses. Tricia said she will consult other jury coordinators and report back to the board on possible next steps (19:12).