The impacts of the court fines and fees reforms passed by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker last year have yet to be realized and in 2020, the coronavirus' impacts on people's employment status could create even more chaos in the court system.

That could, in turn, further impact DeWitt County's budget and has caught the attention of Sheriff Mike Walker. The Sheriff at last month's DeWitt County Board meeting told the board he is concerned because people are unemployed at this time, it could lead to further reductions in fines and fees through the court system.

The Sheriff points out it won't be just court fines and fees that are going to impact their budgets, but because his deputies have not been as active with self-initiated offenses, they won't have revenue generated from those things.

State's Attorney Dan Markwell noted the income from those fines and fees may not arrive late in the year or even next year.