Free Access & Fairness Survey Results - Illinois

United States Bankruptcy Court Northern District Of Illinois Access & Fairness Survey Results April 21-28, 2008

Rating was done on a five-point scale:
1--strongly disagree; 2--disagree; 3--neither agree/disagree; 4--agree; 5--strongly agree

Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Section I. Access

Ratings
4.2 4.2 4.4 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.3

Finding the courthouse was easy. The forms I needed were clear and easy to understand. I felt safe in the courthouse. The court makes reasonable efforts to remove physical and language barriers to service. I was able to get my court business done in a reasonable amount of time. Court staff paid attention to my needs. I was treated with courtesy and respect. I easily found the courtroom or office I needed. The courts Web site was useful. Section II. Fairness

10. The court's hours of operation made it easy for me to do my business. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The way my case was handled was fair. The judge listened to my side of the story before he or she made a decision. The judge had the information necessary to make good decisions about my case. I was treated the same as everyone else. As I leave the court, I know what to do next about my case.

Average Access Score 4.3

Average Fairness Score 4.3

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FINDINGS GOAL: To get feedback from our customers and to achieve an 80% or higher overall score and at least an average of a 4.0 to each question on our survey. Overall Access and fairness index scores Using a 100point scale, The United States Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Illinois received an overall access index score of 85.7 and fairness of 85.6 For the second time we received a rating of 4.0 or better in all questions under access and fairness categories. We received our highest ratings on question seven. I was treated with courtesy and respect. Our lowest rating on question four, the court makes reasonable efforts to remove physical and language barriers to service. THE REASON FOR THE VISIT TO THE COURTHOUSE The majority of our customers continue to be attorneys representing a client at 60%, 19% were attending a hearing of a trial, 7% a party in a legal matter, 6% make a payment, 4% to get information and 4% to file papers. THE NUMBER OF VISITS TO THE COURTHOUSE Fiftytwo percent of the respondents visit the courthouse on a regular basis, 17% several times a year, 14% once a year or less and 17% first time in the courthouse. GENDER There were more males than females that responded to the survey, 68% males and 32% females. DEMOGRAPHICS We also asked our customers to identify themselves, which 71% identified themselves as White, 18% Black or African American, 6% Hispanic or Latino, 2% mixed race, 1% other and 1% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. COMMENTS We continue to receive favorable comments in the area of service in the courthouse.

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CM/ECF Procedures


Filing CM/ECF Motions: A new version of CMECF will be implemented later this summer. This version has the ability to search for specific events and should make the process easier. Timeframe for revised forms: Thank you for your concern. We will make every effort to allow your staff sufficient lead time to revise forms in the future. Conforming efiling with district courts procedures: Although the process of efiling is similar, bankruptcy and district court have different efiling procedures for various reasons. If there's a specific procedure or process we will be happy to compare the two and determine if we can conform. We will continue to focus on providing quality service to our customers by: Quarterly assigning clerk's staff in the hallways on scheduled chapter 13 days to assist our customers. Thanks for your Input