Courthouses across the area are closing ahead of the extreme cold headed toward Chicago on Wednesday.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will be closed on Wednesday and are scheduled to reopen Thursday.
Both the Cook County Circuit Court and the 1st District Appellate Court will be closed both on Wednesday and Thursday.
In an announcement from Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans’ office, the only exceptions to the closure are bail hearings and pretrial matters for detained defendants at the Leighton Criminal Court Building and at the Juvenile Center.
Predictions set Wednesday’s high temperature at 12 degrees below zero, and the low temperature as cold as 23 degrees below.
The high on Thursday is forecast at a comparatively balmy 1 degree below zero.