County approves $295,353.17 courthouse basement remodel, citing space and deferred maintenance

Cook County commissioners on March 11 approved a basement remodel at the Cook County Courthouse to create office space for public health, human services and human resources staff and to address deferred maintenance including mold remediation.

County officials said the remodel would free up space on upper floors, add a lactation room, improve ventilation, and address storage and mold problems that have persisted in the basement. Brooke (Facilities Manager) told commissioners the project pulls several contractors and items together, including demo, asbestos testing, a commercial air exchanger with electric reheat, plumbing work to add a lactation room and upgraded network and electrical work.

The county’s construction estimates list line-item bids from vendors named in the packet: Gardner Builders (demolition, sheetrock, painting, floor polishing), Nordic Electric (wiring and low-voltage work), Braun Intertek (VCT tile asbestos testing), and network equipment and office furniture line items. Brooke said she included a 7% contingency because "when we're sawing into the base, into the concrete, digging in the floor, you never know what we're gonna run into." Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve the remodel; the motion passed unanimously.

Nut graf: Officials framed the work as a fiscally responsible reinvestment in county infrastructure that addresses current staff-space shortages while completing needed basement repairs. County staff said they considered renting off-site space and toured other properties — including a proposal from Great Expectations School — but concluded reinvesting in the courthouse was the better long-term option.

Supporting details: Facilities staff presented a line-by-line scope and a corrected total project cost of $295,353.17. The largest single components described in the presentation were demolition and finish work, the commercial air exchanger (sized to ventilate the entire basement and include electric reheats for very cold weather), plumbing to serve the lactation room and enlarged storage, and network/telecom upgrades including new CAT-6 pulls and a switch to support phones and Internet.

Funding and timeline: Brook (Facilities Manager) said funding will come from bonds the county issued last year for the capital improvement plan (CIP) that included the courthouse, law enforcement center and highway department; the board said allocations in the CIP will be adjusted to match final amounts when the project is placed in the CIP accounting. Commissioners said the remodel started from short-term staffing needs identified in the current budget (positions approved but without dedicated workstations) and from deferred maintenance that needs addressing.

Public comment and alternatives: During public comment, a representative of the Great Expectations Foundation described the nonprofit’s recently built, leasable 3,600-square-foot upper-floor space and asked the board to consider leasing that space instead of remodeling the courthouse. Commissioners said that option and other off-site spaces were considered and that proximity and retained capital value argued for reinvestment in the courthouse.

What happened next: Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve the basement remodel; after discussion the board voted unanimously to approve the project. Staff said attached project documents and blueprints are available on the county’s online agenda packet.

Ending: Officials said departments are using the approval to begin contracting and scheduling work and encouraged the public to consult posted project documents for details.