For violators of Evanston housing ordinances and health codes, a trek to the Skokie courthouse is no longer a requirement for a hearing.

City Council passed an ordinance July 24 that transfers prosecution of all ordinance violations — except for moving violations and those involving incarceration — to the judgment of hearing officers in Evanston. The move, city officials said, will save hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

The administrative adjudication program, which began in March and initially focused on parking violations, was implemented after aldermen reviewed a 1999 study on the process and deemed it beneficial for the city, said Wayne Moran, the city’s director of administrative adjudication.

The council passed an ordinance in January that reassigned parking violation hearings from the Cook County Circuit Court in Skokie to the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave. Anyone who receives a ticket or citation appears in front of a hearing officer, Moran said. The officer determines the facts of the case and makes a judgment as weighty as that of any judge in the courthouse.

Fines have ranged from $10 to $750, depending on previously determined department guidelines; all decisions can be appealed. In some cases, violators can choose to perform community service instead of paying a fine.

Of the approximately 25,000 cases that have been processed, only four complaints have been made, Moran said.

“Localities are the better judge of what needs to be the primary focus in the localities,” Moran said.

The purpose of extending administrative adjudication to housing and health violations was to gain quicker compliance from violators, Moran said. Whereas some violations take 30 to 120 days before compliance can be enforced, the new program can guarantee it more quickly.

City officials say the efficiency of handling the violations in Evanston rather than Skokie has a large impact on city funds and services.

By retaining the percentage of paid fines that normally would go to Cook County, the city gains approximately $400,000 a year, Ald. Dennis Drummer (2nd) said.

In addition, officials such as police officers who would be forced to take time off to testify in court no longer will have to, saving the city overtime fees and keeping more police on the streets, Drummer said.

“The city sends out a prosecutor, a police officer and a clerk for each time a case is prosecuted (in Skokie),” Moran said. “Under the administrative adjudication program, there is a state law that allows the ticket itself to be the … evidence, and it can stand alone. There is no reason for an officer to be present, and they can be on the street doing direct intervention rather than spending time in court.”

These benefits have been proven in other cities where similar plans have been put in place.

“From my perspective and that of other Skokie officials, I have been very pleased with the way it’s working,” said Terry Oline, property standards supervisor for Skokie.

Skokie has had its administrative adjudication program in effect since 1998 and does not cover parking violations. But due to marked improvements in compliance over court hearings in Evanston, Skokie officials are considering expanding the system to include parking violations, Oline said.

“We were somewhat dismayed with the circuit court system and the time it took to get issues resolved,” Oline said.

While officials agree that the extra money generated from the program is positive, the primary goal of the program is to boost compliance.

“Our main objective has always been to gain compliance and improve the quality of life for people,” Moran said.