As far as county courthouses go, Henry County's Courthouse is among the best looking in Illinois…read more Built in 1878 in the Second Empire architectural style, it's still in great condition. Unfortunately, unlike most Illinois county courthouses, it doesn't sit in the center of the commercial district. Instead, it's located about 2 blocks west of the historic downtown area, as if it was banished for bad behavior. Henry County has some interesting history as a settlement of New England pioneers (they also founded New Boston, not too far from Cambridge) who came into occasional conflict with nearby Swedish immigrants who also populated the area.

I visited this office today for copies of marriage and birth certificates. Sarah was very helpful…read morewith the process. She was thorough and knew exactly what she was doing. This was an interesting trip and made easier because of her.

We discovered downtown Monroe last summer after making the 2+ hr journey up from Illinois…read more Needless to say, we have been back 3-4 times since. I'm not much of a 'shopper' but the square has a little bit to offer just about everyone. We've also enjoyed their farmer's market and festivities. With Minhas Brewery located on the periphery and a handful of good restaurants within the square itself, we'll keep coming back. Cheers.

Monroe, Wisconsin is an adorable town in Middle America with a quaint small town feel, and a…read morewonderful town square. The historic courthouse sits in the middle of the square and reminds me of a castle in a fairy tale. It is composed of red brick with white brick accents and looks like it belongs in the movie It's A Wonderful Life. The Limburger Rebellion was actually fought on the steps of the courthouse which apparently blazed the trail towards notoriety in the cheese industry. I kid you not. There is a vibrant shopping area surrounding the square with a variety of local businesses. There are a number of artsy statues surrounding the square that are just plain fun. There is plenty of open space with plenty of room to hold community events such as concerts, farmers' markets, chili cookoffs and other festivals. Every other year (held in even years) there is a large celebration called the Green County Cheesedays Celebration which takes place in the town square. http://www.cheesedays.com/ If you're anywhere in the area, this is a fun place to visit, full of small town charm and good clean fun!

Well, I hope that if you find yourself here, it's to VIEW proceedings or a trial (versus actually…read moretaking part) or using their legal library. With that said, here are a few tips: You cannot bring ANY food or beverages in, including water. Apparently the thought is that, instead of water, you might have a liquid accelerant in that thar bottle. If you DO bring your water bottle in, you'll either have to empty it in the plants outside of the front doors, or walk back to your car, since McHenry County's Finest at the front won't let you throw it away inside of their garbage cans. (I wonder if there are vending machines somewhere inside, though, because I've seen counsel with food and beverage items..or, maybe the rules are bent for them?) If you're taking part in a divorce hearing, good luck: the judges are known to be snarly. The one my family went in front of actually got pretty theatrical and showed huge favoritism towards a drawn-out trial involving an attorney (versus following through with a scheduled trial that we were prepared for). If you try to do something yourself and end up, say, at the State's Attorney's Office, you probably won't get very far. We actually got quite the run-around from them, so now my family's attorney has to send a letter to get the State's Attorney to act (re: having someone prosecuted for filing false charges with the court). The Police Department wasn't much better at first (the female officer at the front desk was also very snarly...sensing a theme here?), but things improved when we were able to talk to a more head-officer and he took his time out to listen to our issue and explain procedures to us since we were misinformed by others. Some of McHenry County's Finest WERE friendly in directing us to where we needed to go, and did so with a smile. And one carried on a conversation with my brother (who was wearing his military dress uniform). Maybe it's because we were wearing more than our weekend sweats, didn't look shady, my brother's in the service, and we had our 90 year old great aunt in tow? If you're bored and have nothing else to do, though, I gotta say: this is the best free entertainment/people-watching EVER.

There's a snack machine and pop machine but no coffee vending machine. Some hot coffee would be…read morenice. It's cold here. The security guards are cranky.

It's a court house, most people do not want to make a habit of needing to visit on a regular basis…read more Interesting fact about the building, during the civil war it was nearly tore down. Before being built court was held in a blog cabin that was located on the south east corner of Washington Park.

We got married here, and everyone from security, to the clerk, and the judge was super nice!! There…read morewas only 3 couples getting married, we were the second ones to go and we loved how quick it was. We were able to take pictures and video in the courtroom so we have those memories forever. Thank you everyone here at the Kendall County Court House.

I have visited many courthouses in my lifetime. I'm the daughter of two lawyers, I did mock trial…read morein undergraduate for four years, and I worked for a local domestic violence shelter, so I know my courthouses, and this is by far one of the best. The sheriffs here are wonderful and very nice. You can bring your cell phone into the building, you just have to turn it off when you go into the courtrooms. The Clerks are all wonderful and very helpful, the only downside is there aren't as many of them as you'll find in other courthouses so sometimes you have to wait in line. The judges in this county are also great. If I needed a divorce this is where I would want to get it. The judges are all fair, and well versed in the law. Overall I would say Kendall County Courthouse should be an example to other counties as to how to run their courthouses.

Your "no phones" rule cost me my apartment because I could not make it to my hearing because I…read moreneeded my phone to take the bus to get to the courthouse. So, thanks for that, Scott County. I really thought this place was going to be better than this. Oh well. update: definitely ended up on the street. I hope the worst to everyone who works there.

No one has any idea what's going on or how to do their job apparently. I was on hold for 20…read moreminutes. All I had asked was if my custom plates had come in yet and the lady named Tracy was confused and had me on hold for 20 minutes..

Small and historic building that could have a home in any movie…read more This courthouse in the Main Street of Sycamore Illinois, houses their civil and criminal courts, as well as other offices of the estate. Entering you are greeted by a metal detector as with all courthouses, but then you are taken back in time with an amazing staircase that would have been at home in the Titanic, that takes you to the courthouse second floor. Now I was naughty and went a bit too fast and a bit too furious, down the street and got myself a pesky ticket. The ladies at the counter were able to handle the payment in about 2 minutes! Now that's small town America fast service. Imagine what it would be like back in Vegas? I peaked inside some courtrooms and they are charming and the whole building has a sense of a bygone time. You can imagine Bonnie and Clyde style desperadoes having their time in court here. Check it out, but hopefully not with a ticket, or something more, lol!