Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Network Upgrade

Level-1 designed network upgrades for the Cook County Clerk, enabling secure, high-speed access to digital court records across facilities.

As the administrative nerve center of one of the world’s largest unified court systems, the Office of the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court manages judicial records for millions of proceedings annually. With a workforce of nearly 1500 employees and a $100 million annual operating budget it oversees one of the most data-intensive operations in public service and is responsible for maintaining and safeguarding all records of judicial proceedings across this expansive system. To serve more than 400 judges and a population exceeding 5 million across Chicago and its suburbs, the Clerk’s Office required a powerful, modern network infrastructure that could meet the demands of real-time access, high-volume processing, and secure data storage. 

In 2008, the Clerk’s Office acquired a county-wide document management system to digitize records and streamline access across all court facilities. While the system’s internal architecture was self-contained, the County’s broader network infrastructure lacked the speed, bandwidth, and capacity necessary to fully support a multi-user, high-volume electronic records environment. 

As a subcontractor to AMCAD, Level-1 Global Solutions was brought on to design the enhanced network infrastructure needed to support this digital transformation. We began with a comprehensive site assessment of each courthouse, the Clerk’s main headquarters, and several district police stations with bond courts all of which required regular and secure access to the new system. Our team evaluated each site’s capacity and connectivity requirements and developed tailored network specifications to meet anticipated demand. 

What We Delivered 

• Detailed network assessments for every Clerk of the Circuit Court office in every courthouse and administrative facility  
• Capacity-driven infrastructure design customized for electronic records access and case management 
• Development of a distributed, multi-site network model to optimize LAN/WAN traffic across the county 
• Bandwidth scaling strategies to accommodate high-volume concurrent users 
• Identification and documentation of legacy cabling and electrical infrastructure to support system upgrades 
• Strategic network routing and segmentation to ensure secure, reliable connectivity across all facilities 
• Cross-disciplinary coordination with mechanical, electrical, and IT teams for future-proof planning 

Level-1’s design work made it possible for the Clerk of the Circuit Court to transition into a modern, digitized records management system that serves more than 5.2 million residents. By laying the groundwork for secure, efficient access to legal records, we helped one of the world’s largest judicial systems improve operational transparency, reduce reliance on paper-based workflows, and future-proof its infrastructure for the demands of 21st century governance.