Starting May 12, municipalities in county court districts 2 and 3, serving the Northwest suburbs, can begin dropping off inmates at the Skokie courthouse on weekends and holidays for transit to Chicago to complete the arrest and bonding process. It’s a mild win for local police departments who would have had to spend time, money and fuel to take their own prisoners to 26th & California. And it’s a win for county, which will keep bond court closed on weekends and holidays at its circuit branches including Rolling Meadows and Skokie. Now, rather than driving 30 to 40 miles to Chicago, area officers will only be required to drive 10 to 20 miles for prisoner drop-off in Skokie.

It’s nice to see a compromise in tough times, especially between mighty Cook County and its smaller units of government in the suburbs. For Dunne, hope remains that eventually bond court reopens in Rolling Meadows and Skokie. For residents and government alike, it’s another layer in the waiting game of economic recovery.