The Village of Palatine

Palatine is a village in Cook County Illinois which is located approximately 30 miles from the Chicago Loop and about 14 miles from O’Hare International Airport. Palatine’s location puts it within reach of the cultural and business-related advantages of Chicago.

Roughly 66,000 people live in Palatine making it the seventh largest community in Cook County and the 18th largest in the State of Illinois. Palatine is nationally known for three things. In the 1990’s Palatine was sued by an atheist over the Village seal which had the image of a Christmas cross inside the outline of an eagle. Eventually, the Village dropped the seal. In 1993, the Brown’s Chicken Massacre received extensive national attention. On January 8, 1993 two individuals robbed a Brown’s Chicken at closing time and murdered seven employees. The case remained unsolved for nine years until the ex-girlfriend of one of the killers went to the police and informed them that he had admitted to committing the murders in 1993. In 2007, Juan Luna was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. James Degorski, the other individual implicated in the murders, was found guilty in 2009 and was also sentenced to life in prison. In 2008 Palatine threatened to secede from Cook County because Cook County had put in place a big sales tax increase. As a result, Palatine was able to get their sales tax reduced to 9%. In spite of that, in 2009 Palatine voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of a referendum that called for Palatine to secede from Cook County. Palatine borders Lake County Illinois to the north of the village. Lake County’s sales tax rate is 7%, putting Palatine at a serious disadvantage.

Settlers began moving into the area that became known as Deer Grove, Plum Grove, Englishman’s Grove and Highland Grove in the 1830s. In 1853 the Illinois and Wisconsin Railroad made its way to Deer Grove. While that railroad eventually failed, it was taken over by the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Since engines came from England, it became known for being the only left-handed railroad in the country. Like the other towns and villages in the area, such as Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows and Hoffman Estates, Palatine experienced a huge population boom in the last two decades. In particular, from 1960 to 1970, the population grew From 11,500 to 25,900. By 1973 the population in Palatine and reached 28,800. Currently, the population stands just short of 69,000. JPMorgan Chase has a large payment processing center in Palatine and Weber-Stephen products,, and Square D have their headquarters in Palatine. Weber-Stephen makes the famous Weber grill while Square D is the largest maker of circuit breakers in the United States.

The Village recently announced that they have approved a plan that will enhance the downtown Metra station. The Metra train goes directly to the downtown Loop. The plan includes an additional multi-family residential development and improved access to the station for pedestrians and for bicyclists.

Palatine Law Enforcement

The Palatine Police Department is located at 595 North Hicks Road, Palatine Illinois. The Police Department is made up of 110 sworn officers and 35 civilian employees. The Palatine Police Department has more officers than Hoffman Estates, Arlington Heights. and Rolling Meadows, but fewer than Schaumburg. The Palatine Police uses an innovative program called the NBD program (Neighborhood Based Policing). They divide the Village into 7 different patrol beats and they assign a sergeant who oversees the officers who are permanently assigned to those beats. This allows the officers and sergeants to tailor their services to the individual neighborhood and communities that they serve.

Palatine Criminal Cases

Since Palatine is located in the northwest suburbs of Cook County, their criminal cases are heard at the third Municipal District Courthouse in Rolling Meadows. The Rolling Meadows Courthouse is located at 2121 Euclid Avenue, Rolling Meadows, Illinois. This Cook County Branch Courthouse is the home of the criminal cases that arise out of the Northwest part of Cook County. Some of the villages and towns have their criminal cases heard in Rolling Meadows are Arlington Heights, Barrington, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, and Hoffman Estates. In addition to criminal cases this Courthouse also hears civil matters and divorces. The courthouse has two full-time dedicated felony courtrooms and numerous misdemeanor courtrooms.

The Village of Palatine also has a red light traffic program. Red light traffic tickets are handled by the village prosecutor and are treated as Municipal Violations that are heard at the Village of Palatine Village Hall.

Award Winning Criminal Attorney for Palatine Residents

We have over 46 years of combined experience representing Palatine residents in criminal cases. We are regularly at the Rolling Meadows Courthouse and are well known by the Judges and the prosecutors who work out of that Courthouse. If you are facing criminal charges and are looking to hire an attorney to represent you, give us a call. We are highly respected and well known for taking cases that other attorneys would be afraid to take. Our exceptional service has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers Association when they declared us a top 100 criminal attorney. We can put our experience and our knowledge to work for you. We can be reached at any time by calling us toll free at 1-800-228-7295 or locally at 312-593-1769.