Maps Data: Google, ©2022 Landstat / Copernicus

The Cook County Criminal Court Building, colloquially known as “26th and Cal” and most recently renamed the “The George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building” in 2012, is located in the Little Village neighborhood in Chicago’s southwest side (Hawilo et. al). The neighborhood, which is engrossed by the South Lawndale community area, is known as the “Mexico of the Midwest,” (Winguard). However, at the time of the courthouse’s construction, the working-class neighborhood was largely made up of German, Czech, and Polish immigrants (Winguard).

   Downtown Little Village.

 La Villita Links to an external site. by Peter Fitzgerald Links to an external site./CC BY-SA 4.0 Links to an external site. 

The court building sits on a 96-acre plot adjacent to the Cook County Jail. Its full address is 2650 S California Ave, Chicago, IL 60608 which is located roughly six miles from the Loop—a decision that was and remains the subject of controversy (Hawilo et. al)(Welter). While Little Village is accessible via the Pink Line, visitors taking public transit must walk roughly one mile from the closest stop, and those traveling by car face limited parking (Baer). The area surrounding the courthouse is likewise “barren,” forcing legal meetings to occur on the front steps of the courthouse (Welter).

 Aerial view of Little Village and Cook County Jail.

         Cook County Jail complex Links to an external site. by David Wilson/CC BY-SA 4.0 Links to an external site.   

Per journalist Katy Welter, the reason for this relative inaccessibility was due to the fact that “access to justice was not top on the planning committee’s priorities,” when choosing the location for the site. They also argued that a downtown, more accessible location could pose a detriment to property values and the “spirit” of the city (Welter). However, this out of sight, out of mind placement "away from the seat of Chicago’s money and power,” only contributes to a larger “courtroom culture of detachment and alienation,” (Hawilo et. al 175).

Before the Cook County Criminal Courthouse took over 26th and California, the Bridewell Prison (later known as the House of Corrections) occupied the land (Chicagology). The presence of this existing courthouse, and thus the presence of municipally owned land contributed heavily to the site decision, because a cheap, simple “city-county swap,” would be all that was needed to secure the expansive plot (Bogira 52).

 Bridewell Prison exterior. DN-0000314, Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum Links to an external site.