Individuals with Knox County warrants for petty offenses, traffic offenses, or non-violent petty misdemeanor offenses can get a little present from the State’s Attorney’s and Circuit Clerk’s office during the week of Christmas.
State’s Attorney Jeremy Karlin in a press release says that between Monday, December 21st, and Wednesday, December 23rd, said that individuals with warrants for qualifying cases can show up to the courthouse between 8:30 am to 4:30 pm to have their warrants quashed and get new court dates for their cases. These include failure-to-appear warrants.
The Galesburg Police Department and Knox County Sheriff’s office have agreed not to arrest individuals showing up at the courthouse to take advantage of this warrant amnesty.
In a press release, Karlin says this helps everybody in the criminal justice system: defendants can be assured they won’t be picked up on warrants over the holidays, law enforcement benefits by being able to focus on greater priorities than serving warrants, and this reduces the risk of COVID being brought into the jail.
Cheesman states in the release, “The COVID pandemic has resulted in an increase in failure-to-appear warrants. People have had greater difficulty appearing on their scheduled court dates due to COVID exposures and other complications.”
Individuals who have questions about whether they have a warrant or whether their cases are covered under the warrant amnesty can call the Knox County Circuit Clerk’s Office at (309) 345-3879 or the Knox County State’s Attorney’s Office at (309) 345-3880.
