A proposal to close the Merrillville Town Court is drawing backlash from the community and legal action from the Lake County Clerk's Office. In July, the Merrillville Town Council introduced an ordinance to abolish the court at the end of September, citing "increased economic challenges."
During Tuesday's council meeting, Town Judge Eugene Velazco said residents deserve to have speeding tickets and other legal matters resolved locally. "What you're doing will impact mostly minority people. Why? Because we make up more than 50 percent. Don't forget that we're at 36,000 people in this town," Velazco said.
Beyond that, the closure could also mean the end of the truancy court program. Candace Lillie is the director of student services, diversity, equity and inclusion at the Merrillville Community School Corporation. She told council members that the truancy court has been a valuable resource for students who didn't respond to traditional discipline.
"Once they had come before the truancy court, we saw an immediate turnaround, and so for students who then begin to attend school, then the grades are better. Then, they may graduate, which helps the town of Merrillvile because now you don't have dropouts on the streets with not many options," Lillie said.
Now, the Lake County Clerk's Office has decided to join existing litigation between the town and its court. Attorney Amanda Hires says the Clerk's Office isn't opposing the closure, but just wants to slow down the proposed timeline.
"That would put the Lake County residents and the Merrillville residents at great risk, if the orderly transition that we had previously laid out on April 22 of this year was not followed," Hires told council members.
So far, the town council hasn't brought the ordinance back for a final vote.
