Kane County committee adds funding for neutral exchange center at 401 Campbell Street
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Summary
The Kane County Administration Committee approved adding a supervised neutral exchange and visitation site at 401 Campbell Street to the FY26 capital list, allocating $100,000 from county capital funds to match $100,000 in judicial facility fees and relying on the Bar Foundation for operations and in-kind furnishings.
The Kane County Administration Committee voted to add a renovation project for 401 Campbell Street to the county’s FY26 capital list and to allocate $100,000 in county capital funds to renovate the building as a neutral exchange and supervised family visitation center.
Roger Fonstock, the county’s executive director for IT and building management, told the committee the building needs work on the roof, windows, HVAC, doors and accessibility and estimated total renovation costs at roughly $180,000–$200,000. Fonstock said the judicial facility fee fund would cover the first $100,000 and the county capital fund would supply another $100,000; the King County Bar Foundation committed in-kind furnishings and operational support that staff estimated would amount to additional value.
The request drew support from the judiciary. A presiding family-division judge said 2025 filings showed more than 600 child-related family cases and more than 1,600 protection-order cases, and argued the county lacks a safe, supervised exchange space. State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser and other committee members cited DuPage County’s long-running model and told the committee they had seen reductions in certain incidents when neutral exchange sites are used.
Committee members asked about operations, safety and capacity. The judges and Fonstock said the program would start small, use appointments to avoid overcrowding, include monitored security cameras and panic buttons, and rely on trained staff and guardian ad litem support for documentation and reporting. Fonstock said any work exceeding county procurement thresholds would go through the purchasing process.
Councilmember Gums moved to present the resolution modifying the capital list to include the project; the motion was seconded and approved by roll call. Following the vote, staff said they will proceed with procurement and additional planning to define scope, bids and schedule.
Next steps: staff will refine procurement documents, confirm roof and systems assessments, and bring contractor recommendations and a procurement schedule back to the board for final contracting and implementation.
