By Stephen Anderson

The historic Macoupin County Court-house in Carlinville, now in need of refurbishing, is where Presiding Judge Joseph P. Koval struck down the ill-advised state Judicial Redistricting Act 11 years ago.

The domed Renaissance Revival structure, in which court documents signed by Abraham Lincoln are displayed, was finished in 1870 to the tune of a lavish $1.3 million at a time when city fathers thought Carlinville might become the state capital.

Although its sandstone exterior and opulent interior could use touching up, times have been tough in Macoupin County since two coal mines, Crown II and Monterey, closed.

Sales tax revenue in the county had averaged about $2 million annually in the first seven years of this decade, but funds from this source are estimated to total less than a million dollars in the current fiscal year.

So county officials are hoping to have the courthouse named to the National Register of Historic Places so it can become eligible for restoration grants. The city's historic district already is on the National Register.

County Sheriff Don Albrecht, who heads the initiative, has a committee that is compiling materials to verify the historic nature of the courthouse and is consulting with officials of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Venue for ISBA lawsuit

When the Illinois State Bar Association challenged the Judicial Redistricting Act in 1997, it the suit was filed in the Macoupin County Courthouse.

That venue typified the chaos that legislators caused by changing the boundaries of judicial districts and circuits without input from the bench and bar of the state.

The new map of the 7th Circuit had Sangamon County in the 4th Appellate District and Macoupin County in the 5th Appellate District.

Thus voters in Carlinville environs would elect 4th District justices, but appeals of litigation would have to be argued before 5th District justices.

In ISBA, et al. v. Mike Mathis, et al., the state bar association named Macoupin County Circuit Clerk Mike Mathis and 4th District Appellate Clerk Darryl Pratscher as representative of the 41 statewide clerks who were affected by the split jurisdictions.

On June 2, 1997, Judge Koval ruled for the ISBA, finding the remap unconstitutional, and stayed the order for 21 days so it could be reviewed by the Illinois Supreme Court.

Koval, who is now retired, adopted Cook County rulings, in March by Judge Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird, that the 1st District could not be split into three subdistricts, and the provision could not be severed from other parts of the legislation.

She also found the remap of four downstate districts therefore unconstitutional because Senate Bill 825 had been "a negotiated compromise … intended to be passed in its entirety."

A bigger, better bench

The history of the Macoupin County Bar Association, published by the ISBA in 1977, tells of the first courthouse being built of hewn logs in 1830, a year after the county was established.

The first jurist to preside there was Supreme Court Justice Samuel D. Lockwood. The 18x24-foot structure was "the frontier seat of justice" for 10 years.

The next courthouse, built for $15,000, was a two-story, 50x50-foot building. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas both practiced there occasionally, and Douglas was state's attorney for a time.

"A history of the Macoupin County Bar would be incomplete without mention of the famous 'Million Dollar Court House,' still in use today," the 1977 ISBA account notes.

At 191 feet in height, it was second in magnitude only to a courthouse in New York City. The cornerstone was placed in 1867 and construction was completed in 1870.

The Carlinville Chamber of Commerce Web site reveals a total cost of $1,342,226.31 but "rumors of a scandal involving misused appropriations" tarnished appreciation of the magnificent courthouse.

The judge's bench contains five types of Italian marble. A seven-foot Elizabethan chair for the judge had to be wheeled on a track by a bailiff. Finely carved walnut seating was provided for lawyers and litigants.

Other features include 40-foot Corinthian columns and thick steel doors, each weighing about a ton.

The architect, Elijah E. Myers of Springfield, also designed the county jail. It was built in 1869 but now is open only for visits by the many tourists who come to see and photograph the courthouse.

Evidence of the alleged financial scandal is only circumstantial. The Macoupin County clerk at the time boarded a train one night in 1870 and was never seen again.

Taxes were raised in the late 1800s and early 1900s to pay off the courthouse cost. The debt was retired during a two-day celebration in 1910.

Anybody who is interested in helping Macoupin County get the courthouse included on the National Register of Historic Places can call (217) 854-3135, ext. 281.