PULASKI COURTHOUSE GETS GRANT

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Holding a trial in the Mound City firehouse isn't common, but it happens.

"We've conducted trials at the firehouse and in a number of offices on the first floor of the courthouse," said Trucy Clark of the Pulaski County clerk's office.

Those practices are sometimes necessary so that disabled people can attend a trial because the third-floor courtroom is inaccessible.

The three-story Pulaski County Courthouse could be completely handicap accessible -- including the third-floor courtroom -- by late next year. Pulaski County will receive a $147,300 grant to install an elevator in the structure. That would put the building in compliance with the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The grant is from the Community Development Assistance Program, which is administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs.

Gov. Jim Edgar announced grants totaling $750,000 to help 13 local governments renovate public buildings to provide access for people with disabilities.

The Pulaski County Courthouse has never had elevators, said Lisa Thurston, executive director of Southern Five, a regional planning organization headquartered at Shawnee Community College near Ullin.

Southern Five made application for the elevator grant at the request of Pulaski County and will administer the grant.

It will be the third grant for Pulaski County Courthouse work over the past four years. Clark said previous grants were used for wheelchair ramps to enter the main floor of the courthouse.

"And we only recently completed a project to make the building restroom accessible," said Clark.

There have been some occasions when sheriff's officers have carried disabled people to the third-floor courtroom in their wheelchairs, said Sheriff Gene Dixon.

At one time a grant was requested to place chairlifts in the courthouse. But the lifts didn't fit into the historical theme of the building, and the funds were denied.

"We're happy to see the elevator funds granted," said Thurston. "All citizens should be able to have access to public facilities or services. Once they are installed, all five counties in the Southern Five area, will have courthouse access in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act."

That includes Alexander, Johnson, Union, Massac and Pulaski counties.

Massac County came into full ADA compliance three years ago and was the fourth county courthouse in the Southern Five region to do so. The Pulaski County Courthouse could be in compliance within a year and a half.

"Once grants have been awarded, we have two years to complete the project," said Thurston. "We would hope that it would be much quicker, however. We haven't seen all the particulars on the grant yet."

In announcing approval of the most recent grants, Edgar said many small communities were making efforts to comply with the requirements of the ADA, but the improvements are costly.

The latest state grants give a number of local governments in Illinois the financial help they need to move ahead with projects that will provide access to those with disabilities, said Edgar.